Poetry

Type in the content of Bryant directed this poem at [|American]  [|painter]  [|Thomas Cole], a member of the [|Hudson River school] of painting. At this time in [|American history], writers and artists were attempting to create a uniquely American [|culture] and break away from the influence of [|England] and Europe. Bryant is exhorting Cole not to forget his American [|heritage].

[|William Cullen Bryant] ( [|1794] - [|1878] )

Thine eyes shall see the light of distant skies: Yet, Cole! thy heart shall bear to [|Europe] 's strand A living image of thy native land, Such as on thy own glorious canvas lies. Lone lakes - [|savannahs] where the [|bison] roves - Rocks rich with summer garlands - solemn streams - Skies, where the desert [|eagle] wheels and screams - Spring bloom and autumn blaze of boundless groves Fair scenes shall greet thee where thou goest - fair, But different - every where the trace of men, Paths, homes, graves, ruins, from the lowest glen To where life shrinks from the fierce [|Alpine] air. Gaze on them, till the tears shall dim thy sight, But keep that earlier, wilder image bright. your page here.