William Cullen Bryant (1794–1878)
Author of The Library of World Poetry
About the Author
Like so many successful New Yorkers during the nineteenth century, William C. Bryant was born and reared in New England. There, in his native Massachusetts, among the beautiful highlands of the Berkshires, he learned early to be a close observer of nature and a careful student of English show more versification. A child prodigy, he began to make rhymes before his tenth birthday, and in 1808 he gained some fame as the author of The Embargo, or Sketches of the Time, a satire in verse in which he echoed the conservative political sentiments of his elders. Soon, however, he found his own voice and point of view, and the poetry that followed, unlike so much of the literature that was being produced in the United States in the early decades of the nineteenth century, was considered by his contemporaries to be unmistakably American. During his own lifetime and since, his most famous poem has been "Thanatopsis" (from the Greek thanato and opsis, meaning "a meditation on death"), which was first published in the North American Review in 1817. Other poems, such as "Inscription for the Entrance to a Wood" (1817), "A Forest Hymn" (1825), and "To the Fringed Gentian" (1832), printed during the next several decades, brought him recognition both at home and abroad as the leading poet in the United States. Always solemn and stately, his verse seemed cold to James Russell Lowell, who humorously spoke of Bryant's "iceolation." But others praised Bryant for his careful artisanship, his commitment to romantic aesthetics, his celebration of nature, and his liberal faith in the historical destiny of the United States. Matthew Arnold called "To a Waterfowl" (1818) one of the finest short lyrics in the English language, and "The Prairies" (1833) and "Earth" (1835) have been seen as noble literary expressions "of the Jacksonian version of the American Dream." By training a lawyer and by profession a journalist, Bryant was editor-in-chief of the New York Evening Post from 1829 until his death in 1878. This position gave him enormous influence on national affairs, and his early support for the fledgling Republican party in the 1850s helped insure that party's success. When he was nearly 80 years old, he translated the Iliad and Odyssey of Homer into English blank verse. Bryant died in 1878. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Works by William Cullen Bryant
Early American Poetry: Selections from Bradstreet, Taylor, Dwight, Freneau, and Bryant (1978) — Contributor — 34 copies
Thanatopsis, Sella, and other poems (Macmillan's pocket American and English classics) (1900) 14 copies
The Song of the Sower 6 copies
Bryant - poems of William Cullen Bryant — Author — 4 copies
The Bryant birthday-book 4 copies
A New Library of Poetry and Song Volume II: Edited by William Cullen Bryant with his review of Poets and Poetry from the Time of Chaucer (2014) 2 copies
PICTURESQUE AMERICA; OR the Land We Live in, a Delineation By Pen and Pencil, 2 Volume Set (1872) 2 copies
Selections from His Poetry and Prose 2 copies
Letters from the East 2 copies
Unpublished poems 1 copy
Christmas in 1875 1 copy
Poems By Bryant 1 copy
From The Embargo 1 copy
Tales of the Dark Romantics and Beyond: Tales of the Dark Romantics — Contributor — 1 copy
The Prairies 1 copy
Poetical works of William Cullen Bryant. Collected and arranged by the author. 1883 [Leather Bound] 1 copy
"The Pequot War," 1 copy
This Beautiful World 1 copy
To the fringed gentian 1 copy
The Divine Comedy 1 copy
Gems from Bryant 1 copy
Scribner's Popular History of the United States-Rom the Earliest Discoveries of the Western Hemisphere-5 Volumes (1897) 1 copy
Iliad of Homer 1 copy
The Poems of Bryant 1 copy
Thirty poems 1 copy
The fountain and other poems 1 copy
An Autumn Pastoral 1 copy
Associated Works
The Best Poems of the English Language: From Chaucer Through Robert Frost (2004) — Contributor — 1,242 copies, 3 reviews
Chloe Plus Olivia: An Anthology of Lesbian Literature from the 17th Century to the Present (1994) — Contributor — 482 copies, 1 review
The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Volume 1 (1990) — Contributor, some editions — 252 copies, 1 review
The Lincoln Anthology: Great Writers on His Life and Legacy from 1860 to Now (2008) — Contributor — 170 copies, 1 review
American Antislavery Writings: Colonial Beginnings to Emancipation (2012) — Contributor — 145 copies
The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Concise Edition (2003) — Contributor — 72 copies, 1 review
The Tavern Lamps Are Burning: Literary Journeys through Six Regions and Four Centuries of New York State (1964) — Contributor — 25 copies
American Literature: The Makers and the Making (In Two Volumes) (1973) — Contributor, some editions — 25 copies
Homes of American Authors : Comprising Anecdotical, Personal, and Descriptive Sketches (1855) — Contributor — 2 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1794-11-03
- Date of death
- 1878-06-12
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Williams College
- Occupations
- poet
editor
lawyer
translator - Organizations
- New York Evening Post
Free Soil Party
Republican Party - Awards and honors
- The Hall of Fame for Great Americans (1910)
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Cummington, Massachusetts, USA
- Places of residence
- Great Barrington, Massachusetts, USA
New York, New York, USA - Place of death
- New York, New York, USA
- Burial location
- Roslyn Cemetery, Roslyn, New York, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- New York, USA
Members
Reviews
Bryant is one of the greatest poets in America, and his poetry really resonates with me. Bryant's poetry program sought to establish an American literary tradition.
The Family Library of Poetry and Song: Choice Selections from the Best Poets, English, Scottish, Irish, and American; Including Translations from Ancient and Modern Languages (Holiday Edition; Illustrated). by William Cullen Bryant
I bought this tome in the early 1970s at a used book sale for 25¢ (or perhaps it was $2). It's a much-loved, antique volume filled to bursting with notable pre-1870 poetry (written in English). Of course, "modern" poetry came along after the turn-of-the-century and this poetry quickly fell out of favor and became antiquated. Still, one can sentimentally indulge, can't we?
Picturesque America; or, The land we live in. A delineation by pen and pencil of the mountains, rivers, lakes, forests, water-falls, shores, cañons, valleys, cities, and other picturesque features of our country, Vol. 1 and 2 by William Cullen Bryant
A classic, filled with high-quality engravings of towns and scenes across America, plus hundreds of illustrations, some of them full-page. The complete books are hard to find because so many of them have been disbound so the plates could be sold individually. Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 have different bindings and were purchased at different times. I also have many of the plates separately, from a box of engravings I purchased.
Picturesque America, or, The Land we live in : a delineation by pen and pencil of the mountains, rivers, lakes, forests, water-falls, shores, canyons, valleys, cities, and other picturesque features of our country -2 Volume set Volume 1 - 1872 , Volume 2 - 1874 by William Cullen Bryant
Awesome pics and engravings of the early US (1870's) in these 2 massive volumes! A must see publication, if you can fine a copy anywhere around!
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Statistics
- Works
- 123
- Also by
- 34
- Members
- 1,244
- Popularity
- #20,622
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 9
- ISBNs
- 128
- Favorited
- 1
