Thanatopsis Questions

1. The two Greek words combined to make the title are "thanatos", meaning death and "opsis", meaning sight. The meanings of these words contribute to the poem in that they make the reader realize that the poem is talking about looking past the "obstacle" of death, to truly see the beauty of one's surroundings. 

2. To shroud is the act of covering or concealing, and it related to the poem because death is described to shroud, hindering us from being aware and appreciating what is around us. A pall is anything that shrouds, relating to the poem in that death is a pall to us. The narrow house is a synonym for the grave. The word relates to the poem because it refers to a person dying and him or her being placed in a grave, or narrow house, and becoming one with nature. Like a narrow house, a sepulcher is a grave, tomb, or burial place, relating to the poem by nature being characterized as a comfortable grave. 

3. I personally believe that this poem is about life. While it talks about death most of the time, there's more emphasis on life. It's main purpose is to remind the reader of the inevitable and impending end, and that while we are alive we cannot take advantage of the nature or atmosphere around us. 

4.The tone of the first part of the poem is one of coldness, sorrow, and mourning as it speaks about someone dying and leaving behind the beauty of nature. The tones shifts at line 31 to a tone of hope and joy as the realization is made that when one does they do not die alone, but rather with all the others who have passed, and they're not leaving the beauty of nature but becoming one with it.

5. An elegy is a poem of deep reflection on topics of sorrow, death, loss and other sad things. Thanatopsis meets these conventions as most of the poem speaks about death and departing from the world which had been so full of care and beauty, indicating immense sorrow and loss. 

6. In the poem there are many elements of nature. If the poem were to be a painting then it'd most likely be a really beautiful hilly landscape of some sort with various details depicted on the plants, sky, land, etc. There may be a shift in the light of the painting to relate to the shift in 

7. This poem so an example of a historical piece because it represents literature in the time era it was written and the fact that people heavily believed in the comforting of nature. The poem uses an older form of the English language. Because of the vivid imagery it depicts, and the deep feelings of emotion behind it, this poem is also a Romantic poem. The poem can also be interpreted as a Calvanist poem because it reveals to the reader that God can be accessed through nature. It is a description of the ultimatum that a relationship with God can be emphasized through nature.