William Cullen Bryant
1794-1878
By: Lindsey Morgan
Early Childhood:
Born on November 3, 1794, to Dr. Peter Bryant and Sarah Snell, in Cummington, MA. The whole family lived in Sarahs
dad's house, even after William left to practice law at 22. He had 5 siblings.
He didn’t love his childhood, his grandfather was really religious (conservative calvinist), but through this Cullen
learned about hymns and poetry. His father did switch to the Unitarian church, which Cullen did not approve of.
He struggled with his beliefs, which is what probably led to “Thanatopsis”.
Dr. Bryant also had a love for the arts, and found joy when his son expressed the same kind of passion. With their
bonding, William and his father perfected his talent which had him published at the age of 13 in The
Northampton Hampshire Gazette.
In 1807, Cullen to wrote “Embargo”, a savage attack on President Jefferson for passing “The Embargo Act.” By spring
1809, there were 2 editions of Bryant’s.
Middle Life:
Cullen passed the bar in 1815. He opened his own practice, worked under another firm; which he ended up
being given half of, because one of the partners saw potential. He even was elected to a 7 year term as
Justice of the Peace for Berkshire County.
Married Frances Fairchild in January 1821; they had 2 girls, Frances and Julia.
Finally after quitting law in 1824 (which he hated), William became an editor for the New-York Review and
Atheneum Magazine and was merged with the United States Review and the Literary Gazette, which all
failed within a year each. In 1826 he ended up running the New-York Evening post, first as assistant
editor, then editor-and-chief and co-owner for half a century. This newspaper was beyond a success.
Later Life:
Bryant was a philanthropist/ humanitarian, using his newspaper to
became one of the most liberal voices of the century. He
introduced Abraham Lincoln for presidency, led to the creation of
Central park and Metropolitan Museum, also supporting the right
for labor to unionize.
Frances died in 1866. William died June 12, 1878, after falling and
getting a concussion. A week later he had a stroke that paralyzed
one side of his body and he became comatose.
Work:
William wrote mainly Romantic poetry, Fiction and news worthy
articles. Some famous ones are “Thanatopsis”, “The Ages”, “To
a Waterfowl”, and all editions of Poems. He was apart of the
Romanticism era, but he also wrote about mortality; which is why
he's apart of the Graveyard era.
The main themes in Bryant's writing are: nature, freedom, emotional
expression, simplicity and imagination.
His inspirations rooted from Isaac Watts, but turned into more
expressive authors like William Wordsworth, Robert Blair, Beilby
Porteus, and Kirke Whites.
QUIZ
1. When was Cullen born?
2. What were his wife and daughters names?
3. What was the name of his newspaper?
4. At what age did William leave to go to law school?
ANSWERS:
1. November 3, 1794
2. Frances, Frances and Julia
3. The New-York Evening Post
4. 22
Works Cited
http:/ / www.poetryfounda tion.org/ bio/ willia m -cullen-bryant# poet
http:/ / www.poem hunter.com / willia m-cullen-brya nt/ biography/
http:/ / www.poets eers .org/ ea rly-a merica n-poets / willia m -cullen-brya nt/
http:/ / s tudy.com / a ca dem y/ les s on/ tha na tops is -by-willia m -cullen-brya nt-s um ma ry-a na lys is -quiz.htm l
http:/ / www.vcu.edu/ engweb/ webtexts / Brya nt/ brybio.htm l
Brya nt, Willia m Cullen. “Tha na tops is .” The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 8th ed. Vol. B. New
York: Norton, 1999. 123-124. Print.