Biographer, William Cullen Bryant

William Cullen Bryant was born in Massachusetts in 1794 and died in New York City in 1878, quite a lifespan for the time. He was a lawyer, poet, and editor in his life. Bryant's father encouraged him to start writing poetry as a teenager. At that time, his writings were heavily influenced by his family's Calvinist Federalists beliefs. His later poems would hold his own developed ideals as a liberal democratic Unitarian.  
(http://www.poemhunter.com/william-cullen-bryant/biography/)

Thanatopsis is considered Bryant's most renowned work. First published in 1817 by the North American Review, the title is derived from Greek meaning view of death. Bryant would see the death of many of his friends in his long life and give many orations at their funerals. In Thanatopsis, he presents a standalone view of death. A view that speaks of no afterlife. The dead merely merge with nature, and that's the end of life. In his later poems, his view of death takes on a more Christian outlook. This is probably because of the death of his friends. He didn't want to believe that would be the end of them I guess.
(http://www.bookrags.com/biography/william-cullen-bryant/), (http://www.2020site.org/literature/william_bryant.html)

William Cullen Bryant seems to have had a very pleasant life and his poetry is very detailed on his reflections about life. When a man has nothing to stress about, he has plenty of time to reflect on his surroundings. He saw a pretty good chunk of the Earth, traveling to France, Italy, Germany, Egypt, Syria, Cuba, and much of the U.S. He was in love with nature, being influenced by the works of William Wordsworth. This traveling could only amplify that infatuation. Here is an animation of Bryant reading his famous poem. Listen carefully to his references of the living ending their lives comfortably in the rock, waters, etc of nature.
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This man had no hardships. He lived a peaceful life in a time when poetry wasn't an income at all almost, getting by as a lawyer. He was proclaimed the leading American poet of the time, and all of his work was highly celebrated with many American critics saying that an American could not have written such brilliant works. Today he is still given good criticism. I wouldn't know enough to criticize him or his work, but I will say that this was one of the least interesting authors of the not so interesting authors we studied about this semester.