Bryant

William Cullen Bryant wrote many pieces of literature that could be categorized as Romanticism. One of his pieces of work, "To a Waterfowl," he demonstrates many components of romanticism. He demonstrates individualism when he say "dost thou pursue thy solitary way?" showing someone choosing to be on their own. Optimism is shown when he says, "While glow the heavens with the last steps of day," because though many people would describe the day ending as dark and use it as a symbol for something negative, Bryant used the heavens to describe it and described it as a "glow" which is a very positive way to describe it. People are always saying to "think on the bright side' and that is an optimistic phrase. Self-Reliance is used when Bryant says, "Lone wandering, but not lost." That shows self-reliance because someone is alone but they didn't get lost by themselves, they are wandering but not lost. Intuition is shown when he says, "Though the dark night is near" because he is foreshadowing the night and when the sun falls. But he could also be symbolizing something else drawing near, he could be foreshadowing something dark or bad happening soon. I think that in this poem he is trying to get people to realize that someone or something can try to bring you down, but it's up to you if you let it. Bryant shows this by the bird flying away from the hunter who is trying to kill him, the bird does not die showing the fact that you can overcome obstacles.