W. C. Bryant
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William Cullen Bryant (November 3, 1794 – June 12, 1878) was an American
romantic poet Romantic poetry is the poetry of the Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. It involved a reaction against prevailing Enlightenment ideas of the 18t ...
, journalist, and long-time editor of the '' New York Evening Post''. Born in Massachusetts, he started his career as a lawyer but showed an interest in poetry early in his life. He soon relocated to New York and took up work as an editor at various newspapers. He became one of the most significant poets in early literary America and has been grouped among the
fireside poets The fireside poets – also known as the schoolroom or household poets – were a group of 19th-century American poets associated with New England. These poets were very popular among readers and critics both in the United States and overseas. Th ...
for his accessible, popular poetry.


Biography


Youth and education

Bryant was born on November 3, 1794, in a
log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a less finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first generation home building by settlers. Eur ...
near
Cummington Cummington is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 829 at the 2020 census, down from 872 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Cummingto ...
, Massachusetts; the home of his birth is today marked with a plaque. He was the second son of Peter Bryant (b. Aug. 12, 1767, d. Mar. 20, 1820), a doctor and later a state legislator, and Sarah Snell (b. Dec. 4, 1768, d. May 6, 1847). The genealogy of his mother traces back to passengers on the '' Mayflower'': John Alden (b. 1599, d. 1687), his wife Priscilla Mullins and her parents William and Alice Mullins. The story of the romance between John and Priscilla is the subject of a famous narrative poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ''
The Courtship of Miles Standish ''The Courtship of Miles Standish'' is an 1858 narrative poem by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow about the early days of Plymouth Colony, the colonial settlement established in America by the ''Mayflower'' Pilgrims. Overview ''Th ...
''. He was also the nephew of
Charity Bryant Charity Bryant (May 22, 1777 – October 6, 1851) was an American business owner and writer. She was a diarist and wrote acrostic poetry. Because there is extensive documentation for the shared lives of Bryant and her partner, Sylvia Drake the ...
, a Vermont seamstress who is the subject of
Rachel Hope Cleves Rachel Hope Cleves (born 1975) is an American-Canadian historian, best known for her 2014 book ''Charity and Sylvia: A Same-Sex Marriage in Early America''.Weybridge, Vermont Weybridge is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. The population was 814 at the 2020 census. Geography Weybridge is located in central Addison County in the Champlain Valley. It is bordered by the town of Middlebury to the southeast ...
. Bryant and his family moved to a new home when he was two years old. The
William Cullen Bryant Homestead The William Cullen Bryant Homestead is the boyhood home and later summer residence of William Cullen Bryant (1794–1878), one of America's foremost poets and newspaper editors. The estate is located at 205 Bryant Road in Cummington, Massachuse ...
, his boyhood home, is now a museum. After just one year at Williams College (he entered with sophomore standing), he hoped to transfer to Yale, but a talk with his father led to the realization that family finances would not support it. His father counseled a legal career as his best available choice, and the disappointed poet began to study law in
Worthington Worthington may refer to: People * Worthington (surname) * Worthington family, a British noble family Businesses * Worthington Brewery, also known as Worthington's * Worthington Corporation, founded as a pump manufacturer in 1845, later a dive ...
and Bridgewater in Massachusetts. He was admitted to the bar in 1815 and began practicing law in nearby Plainfield, walking the seven miles from Cummington every day. On one of these walks, in December 1815, he noticed a single bird flying on the horizon; the sight moved him enough to write "
To a Waterfowl "To a Waterfowl" is a poem by American poet William Cullen Bryant, first published in 1818. Summary The narrator questions where the waterfowl is going and questions his motives for flying. He warns the waterfowl that he could possibly find dan ...
". Bryant developed an interest in poetry early in life. Under his father's tutelage, he emulated Alexander Pope and other Neo-Classic British poets. " The Embargo", a savage attack on President Thomas Jefferson published in 1808, reflected Dr. Bryant's Federalist political views. The first edition quickly sold out—partly because of publicity attached to the poet's young age. A second, expanded edition included Bryant's translation of classical verse. During his collegiate studies and his reading for the law, he wrote little poetry, but encounters with the Graveyard Poets and then Wordsworth regenerated his passion for "the witchery of song."


Early poetry

"
Thanatopsis "Thanatopsis" is an early poem by the American poet William Cullen Bryant. Meaning 'a consideration of death', the word is derived from the Greek 'thanatos' (death) and 'opsis' (view, sight). Background William Cullen Bryant was born in 1794 in ...
" is Bryant's most famous poem, which Bryant may have been working on as early as 1811. In 1817 his father took some pages of verse from his son's desk, and at the invitation of Willard Phillips, an editor of the '' North American Review'' who had previously been tutored in the classics by Dr. Bryant, he submitted them along with his own work. The editor of the ''Review,'' Edward Tyrrel Channing, read the poem to associate editor
Richard Henry Dana Sr. Richard Henry Dana Sr. (November 15, 1787 – February 2, 1879) was an American poet, critic and lawyer. His son, Richard Henry Dana Jr., also became a lawyer and author. Biography Richard Henry Dana was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Novem ...
, who immediately exclaimed, "That was never written on this side of the water!" Someone at the ''North American'' joined two of the son's discrete fragments, gave the result the Greek-derived title ''Thanatopsis'' ("meditation on death"), mistakenly attributed it to the father, and published it. After clarification of the authorship, the son's poems began appearing with some regularity in the ''Review''. A portion of Bryant’s poem, ''Thanatopsis,'' is at the base of the William Cullen Bryant Memorial behind the New York Public Library which was dedicated in 1911. "
To a Waterfowl "To a Waterfowl" is a poem by American poet William Cullen Bryant, first published in 1818. Summary The narrator questions where the waterfowl is going and questions his motives for flying. He warns the waterfowl that he could possibly find dan ...
", published in 1821, was the most popular. On January 11, 1821, Bryant, still striving to build a legal career, married Frances Fairchild. Soon after, having received an invitation to address the Harvard University
Phi Beta Kappa Society The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ar ...
at the school's August commencement, Bryant spent months working on "The Ages", a panorama in verse of the history of civilization, culminating in the establishment of the United States. As it would in all collections he subsequently issued, "The Ages" led the volume, also entitled ''Poems'', which he arranged to publish on the same trip to Cambridge. For that book, he added sets of lines at the beginning and end of "Thanatopsis" that changed the poem. His career as a poet was now established, though recognition as America's leading poet waited until 1832, when an expanded ''Poems'' was published in the U.S. and, with the assistance of Washington Irving, in Britain.


Editorial work

From 1816 to 1825, Bryant depended on his law practice in Great Barrington, Massachusetts to sustain his family financially, but the strain of dealing with unsophisticated neighbors pushed him to trade his unrewarding profession for New York City and the promise of a literary career. With the encouragement of a distinguished and well-connected literary family, the Sedgwicks, he quickly gained a foothold in New York City's vibrant cultural life. His first employment, in 1825, was as editor of the ''New-York Review'', which within the next year merged with the ''United States Review and Literary Gazette''. Although literary historians have neglected his fiction, Bryant's stories over the seven-year period from his time with the ''Review'' to the publication of ''Tales of Glauber Spa'' in 1832 show a variety of strategies, making him the most inventive of practitioners of the genre during this early stage of its evolution. In the throes of the failing struggle to raise subscriptions, he accepted part-time duties with the '' New-York Evening Post'' under William Coleman; then, partly because of Coleman's ill health, traceable to the consequences of a duel and then a stroke, Bryant's responsibilities expanded rapidly. From assistant editor he rose to editor-in-chief and co-owner of the newspaper that had been founded by Alexander Hamilton. Over the next half century, the ''Post'' would become the most respected paper in the city and, from the election of Andrew Jackson, the major platform in the Northeast for the Democratic Party and subsequently of the Free Soil and Republican Parties. In the process, the ''Evening-Post'' also became the pillar of a substantial fortune. Despite his Federalist beginnings, Bryant had shifted to being one of the most liberal voices of the century. An early supporter of
organized labor A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...
, with his 1836 editorials asserting the right of workmen to strike, Bryant also defended religious minorities and immigrants, and promoted the abolition of slavery. He "threw himself into the foreground of the battle for human rights" and did not cease speaking out against the corrupting influence of certain bankers in spite of their efforts to break down the paper. According to newspaper historian Frank Luther Mott, Bryant was "a great liberal seldom done justice by modern writers". He was elected an Associate Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1855. Despite his once staunch opposition to Thomas Jefferson and his party, Bryant became one of the key supporters in the Northeast of that same party under Jackson. Bryant's views, always progressive though not quite populist, in course led him to join the Free Soilers, and when the Free Soil Party became a core of the new
Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...
in 1856, Bryant vigorously campaigned for John Frémont. That exertion enhanced his standing in party councils, and in 1860, he was one of the prime Eastern exponents of Abraham Lincoln, whom he introduced at
Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...
. (That "
Cooper Union speech The Cooper Union speech or address, known at the time as the Cooper Institute speech, was delivered by Abraham Lincoln on February 27, 1860, at Cooper Union, in New York City. Lincoln was not yet the Republican nominee for the presidency, as the ...
" lifted Lincoln to the nomination, and then the presidency.) In the 1860 presidential election, he elected Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin as a presidential elector.


Later years

'' Bryant edited the very successful ''
Picturesque America ''Picturesque America'' was a two-volume set of books describing and illustrating the scenery of America, which grew out of an earlier series in '' Appleton's Journal''. It was published by D. Appleton and Company of New York in 1872 and 1874 a ...
'', which was published between 1872 and 1874. This two-volume set was lavishly illustrated and described scenic places in the United States and Canada. In his last decade, Bryant shifted from writing his own poetry to a blank verse translation of Homer's works. He assiduously worked on the '' Iliad'' and '' The Odyssey'' from 1871 to 1874. He is also remembered as one of the principal authorities on
homeopathy Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths, believe that a substance that causes symptoms of a dis ...
and as a hymnist for the Unitarian Church, both legacies of his father's influence on him. In 1843, Bryant bought a house he christened Cedarmere (for the cedar trees around the pond, or "mere") in Roslyn Harbor, on Long Island. In 1865, he bought the farmhouse in Cummington, where he'd grown up, and summered there annually until his death. He made substantial improvements to the houses at both properties. He was known for his attention to trees on his land, and later in life he expressed concerns that deforestation in the United States would prove disastrous for American agriculture. Bryant died in 1878 of complications from an accidental fall suffered after participating in a Central Park ceremony to honor Italian patriot Giuseppe Mazzini. He is buried at Roslyn Cemetery in Roslyn, New York.


Critical response

Bryant became one of the most significant poets in early American literary history. He is typically included among the group of poets referred to as the
fireside poets The fireside poets – also known as the schoolroom or household poets – were a group of 19th-century American poets associated with New England. These poets were very popular among readers and critics both in the United States and overseas. Th ...
, along with Longfellow,
John Greenleaf Whittier John Greenleaf Whittier (December 17, 1807 – September 7, 1892) was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Frequently listed as one of the fireside poets, he was influenced by the Scottish poet ...
, James Russell Lowell, and
Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (; August 29, 1809 – October 7, 1894) was an American physician, poet, and polymath based in Boston. Grouped among the fireside poets, he was acclaimed by his peers as one of the best writers of the day. His most fa ...
They are considered to be among the first American poets whose popularity rivaled that of British poets, both at home and abroad and are so named because their writing was a source of entertainment for families gathered around the fire at home. Bryant's poetry has been described as being "of a thoughtful, meditative character, and makes but slight appeal to the mass of readers." Edgar Allan Poe praised Bryant and specifically the poem "June" in his essay " The Poetic Principle":
The rhythmical flow, here, is even voluptuous—nothing could be more melodious. The poem has always affected me in a remarkable manner. The intense melancholy which seems to well up, perforce, to the surface of all the poet's cheerful sayings about his grave, we find thrilling us to the soul—while there is the truest poetic elevation in the thrill. The impression left is one of a pleasurable sadness.
Editor and children's writer Mary Mapes Dodge wrote that Bryant's poems "have wrought vast and far-reaching good in the world." She predicted, "You will admire more and more, as you grow older, the noble poems of this great and good man." Poet and literary critic
Thomas Holley Chivers Thomas Holley Chivers (October 18, 1809 – December 18, 1858) was an American doctor-turned-poet from the state of Georgia. He is best known for his friendship with Edgar Allan Poe and his controversial defense of the poet after his death. Bo ...
said that the "only thing ryantever wrote that may be called ''Poetry'' is 'Thanatopsis', which he stole ''line for line'' from the Spanish. The fact is, that he never did anything but steal—as nothing he ever wrote is original." Bryant's poetry is tender and graceful, pervaded by a contemplative melancholy, and a love of solitude and the silence of the woods. Though he was brought up to admire Pope, and in his early youth imitated him, he was one of the first American poets to throw off his influence. Bryant had an interest in science and in geology especially. Thomas Cole was a friend and both, at different times, considered the "geological structure" of Volterra in Italy. He met
Charles Lyell Sir Charles Lyell, 1st Baronet, (14 November 1797 – 22 February 1875) was a Scottish geologist who demonstrated the power of known natural causes in explaining the earth's history. He is best known as the author of ''Principles of Geolo ...
in England in 1845. As a writer, Bryant was an early advocate of American literary nationalism, and his own poetry focusing on nature as a metaphor for truth established a central pattern in the American literary tradition. Some however, argue that a reassessment is long overdue. It finds great merit in a couple of short stories Bryant wrote while trying to build interest in periodicals he edited. More importantly, it perceives a poet of great technical sophistication who was a progenitor of Walt Whitman, to whom he was a mentor.


Legacy

Although born in and with deep family ties in New England, Bryant for most of his lifetime was thoroughly a New Yorker—and a very dedicated one at that. He was a major force behind the idea that became Central Park, as well as a leading proponent of creating the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He was one of a group of founders of New York Medical College. He had close affinities with the Hudson River School of art and was an intimate friend of Thomas Cole. In 1884, New York City's Reservoir Square, at the intersection of 42nd Street and Sixth Avenue, was renamed Bryant Park. Reservoir Square was behind New York City's massive above-ground reservoir, on Fifth Avenue. In 1900 the reservoir was demolished and replaced by the main building of the New York Public Library. In 1915, a statue of William Cullen Bryant by sculptor Herbert Adams was one of the statues of “Eminent Americans” that surrounded
The Palace of Fine Arts The Palace of Fine Arts is a monumental structure located in the Marina District of San Francisco, California, originally constructed for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition to exhibit works of art. Completely rebuilt from 1964 to ...
at the Panama Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, California. The William Cullen Bryant Memorial in Bryant Park includes a bronze of the same work. Just outside New York City, the
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
village of Roslyn Harbor, New York is home to the William Cullen Bryant Preserve, located on land he formerly owned next to what is now the
Nassau County Museum of Art The Nassau County Museum of Art (NCMA) is located east of New York City on the former Frick "Clayton" Estate, a property in Roslyn Harbor in the heart of Long Island’s Gold Coast. The main museum building, named in honor of art collectors a ...
. Bryant is also the namesake of the Bryant Library in Roslyn, New York, located near his Cedarmere Estate. Other locations named after Bryant include: Bryant, a neighborhood in Seattle; Bryant Woods, one of the four original villages in Columbia, Maryland; Cullen Bryant Park in Toronto, Ontario; the Bryant Free Library in Cummington, Massachusetts; and the Bryant House at Williams College. Several schools are named after Bryant, including
William Cullen Bryant High School William Cullen Bryant High School, or William C. Bryant High School, and W.C. Bryant High School, or Bryant High School for short, is a secondary school in Queens, New York City, United States serving grades 9 through 12. Name It is named in hon ...
in Long Island City, New York, and elementary schools in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Long Beach, California,
Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, and Great Barrington, Massachusetts. A rural schoolhouse in Sanford, Maine was also named for Bryant. Martin Luther King Jr. quoted Bryant in his speech "
Give Us the Ballot "Give Us the Ballot" is a 1957 speech by Martin Luther King Jr. advocating voting rights for African Americans in the United States. King delivered the speech at the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom gathering at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D ...
", when he said, "there is something in this universe which justifies William Cullen Bryant in saying: 'Truth crushed to earth will rise again.


See also

* Cullen, Saskatchewan and
Bryant, Saskatchewan Bryant is an unincorporated community in Benson Rural Municipality No. 35, Saskatchewan, Canada. The community is located on Highway 702, approximately west of Lampman and north of Estevan. Bryant gets its name from Quaker poet, journalist, ...


Notes


References

*''William Cullen Bryant: An American Voice'' by Frank Gado () *''William Cullen Bryant'' by Charles H. Brown () *


Further reading

* Muller, Gilbert H
''William Cullen Bryant: Author of America''
New York: State University of New York Press, 2008. * Symington, Andrew James. ''William Cullen Bryant: a biographical sketch : with selections from his poems and other writings''. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1880
Internet Archive


External links

Works * * *
"THE SKELETON'S CAVE" by William Cullen Bryant; taken from "Tales of Glauber Spa" (1832)
Other
Mr. Lincoln and Friends: William Cullen BryantWilliam Cullen Bryant Homestead
in Cummington, Mass.

by Paul P. Reuben {{DEFAULTSORT:Bryant, William Cullen 1794 births 1878 deaths 19th-century American poets American male poets Poets from New York (state) American people of English descent American Unitarians Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame for Great Americans inductees New York (state) Democrats New York (state) Free Soilers New York (state) Republicans New York Post people People from Cummington, Massachusetts People from Roslyn, New York Romantic poets Williams College alumni Poets from Massachusetts 19th-century American male writers Knickerbocker Group Bryant Park Translators of Homer 1860 United States presidential electors