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Jaden Stork-Jones
Professor Pors
ENG 201: American Literature
2 Mar. 2020
Nature through the Eyes of the Beholders—MLA Style
Washington Irving, William Cullen Bryant and Henry David Thoreau were all male
writers who had a great influence on society. They all inspired others through their writings and
life experiences. During the time period of ‘Age of Reason’, people were greatly influenced by
nature using it as metaphor in describing various aspect of life. This is why these men were such
strong influences in the world of literature by using nature as writing subjects but from different
unique perspectives. However, the most noticeable difference between these three men was the
way they each incorporated nature into their writings.
Washington Irving was a historian and author who would come to be known as “The
Father of American Literature”. He wrote about his experiences in nature, always referring to it as
beautiful. “Many of them came from his experiences in the Hudson Valley, which helped put the
area-and America-on the literary map” (Stein). He wanted to share his experiences in nature with
the world, in hopes that everyone else would see it to be just as beautiful as he did.
“Despite the perhaps psychosomatic ill health that had plagued him since childhood, Irving had
an incalculable love of beauty and nature” (Stein). Even though he experienced a childhood full of
sickness, he still chose to see the beauty in life and in nature. This was proven in his writings. His
Rip Van Winkle was “the depiction of Rip Van Winkle as a common man, as well as the function of
nature within the story” (Gieseler). Within Rip Van Winkle, nature is prevalent in the story around
the characters. It is especially prevalent around the main character, Rip Van
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Winkle, and is an important part of the story. In this story of Irving’s, nature comes to life as the
“mountains and the distant Hudson river provided the perfect backdrop for a modern American
fairy-tale” (Wood). This proves how Washington Irving used nature within his writings, which was
by personification and beauty. This way of using nature was very different than how Cullen Bryant
and Henry David Thoreau wrote about nature.
William Cullen Bryant was an American Nature Poet and journalist who related nature to everyday
life, religion and life struggles in his work. The message of his poem, The Gladness of
Nature was to appreciate nature because how can we be sad when there is such beauty around
us? In A Forest Hymn, he compared nature with religion. “He wrote with equal appreciation of the
human spirit and the beauty of nature, seeing God reflected in all these things” (Barrett). He
compared nature’s beauty to that of God’s love. In this poem, he states that this forest is the
perfect place to witness God’s amazing creation and to start a prayer for meditation. “A Forest
Hymn represents more than a sure skill; it also shows the poet shifting in the direction of
religious orthodoxy. Beginning, ‘The groves were God’s first temples,’ it argues that the forest is
an appropriate place for communion with God–not, as Bryant had previously held in
Thanatopsis, that God is immanent in Nature, or that the universe is the material manifestation of
spirit” (Gado). In A Forest Hymn, Cullen Bryant sees nature as something beautiful that God has
created and seeks God through this beautiful place as His presence is there. However, in
Thanatopsis, Cullen Bryant refers to nature as a woman that God created and states that any man
who dare love her is honorable and worthy. He saw the beauty in nature just like Irving did.
However, Cullen Bryant saw the beauty through religion as Irving and David Thoreau saw it in
different ways.
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Henry David Thoreau was a philosopher of nature and its relation to the human condition.
He showed this throughout his work by celebrating nature and independence. He is best known
for his book Walden which was inspired by Walden Lake where he spent two years in a small
cabin enjoying all that nature had to offer. “Thoreau’s Walden promotes a philosophy of
simplicity derived from Emerson’s philosophy of ‘self-reliance’ that could inspire people to live
in better connection with nature and, if followed, that could help to save our planet” (Amanda
A.). He believed that people should appreciate nature’s beauty by secluding ourselves from
others. He also believed that everyone should try to save the planet. “Sought isolation and
nearness to nature. In his writings, he suggests that all living things have rights that humans
should recognize, implying that we have a responsibility to respect and care for nature rather
than destroying it” (Amada A.). Throughout his work, it prevalent that humans are not the only
organisms that have rights. Instead, every living thing has rights and deserves respect. This
includes everything in nature, such as trees, plants, and animals. Henry David Thoreau saw the
beauty in nature like Washington Irving and William Cullen Bryant both did. However, the main
difference that David Thoreau had was that he saw what nature deserved, which was respect and
rights.
Washington Irving, Henry David Thoreau and William Cullen Bryant all were inspiring
writers in American literature. They each influenced society with their writings greatly. These
three men saw the true beauty in nature but expressed it in different ways throughout their
writing. Washington Irving did so by comparing the beauty of life with of nature, while William
Cullen Bryan expressed this by comparing it to religion in different ways and Henry David
Thoreau compared nature to humans stating that it deserved rights and respect.
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Works Cited
A., Amanda. “Thoreau on Nature in Walden.” THE WANDERER, 4 May 2017,
thewandererliteraryjournal.wordpress.com/2015/12/11/thoreau-on-nature-in-walden/.
Accessed 1 Mar 2020.
Barrett, Elizabeth. “Christian Poetry: ‘A Forest Hymn’ by William Cullen Bryant.” Poetree, 16
May 2012, poetree.dreamwidth.org/56811.html. Accessed 1 Mar 2020.
Gado, Frank. “William Cullen Bryant.” Poetry Foundation,
www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/william-cullen-bryant. Accessed 29 Feb 2020.
Gieseler, Christina. “Romantic Elements in Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle.” Grin, 2007,
www.grin.com/document/148711. Accessed 27 Feb 2020.
Wood, Jessica. “Rip Van Winkle and Elements of American Romanticism.” Prezi.com, 28 Jan.
2014, prezi.com/tlefwto1hbzf/rip-van-winkle-and-elements-of-american-romanticism/.
Accessed 27 Feb 2020.
