While "The Raven" is a powerful poem, it reads more like a story and therefore seems less serious and effective than "Thanatopsis." In their uniqueness, each poem realizes the human condition in that we can and are affected by death in different ways. In short, every individual will handle death and the thoughts of death in his or her own way.
Works Cited
Bryant, William Cullen. "Thanatopsis." Masterpieces of American Poetry. Van Doren, Mark, ed. New York: Garden City Publishing Co., Inc. 1936.
Eddings, Dennis. "Theme and Parody in 'The Raven.'" Poe and His Times: The Artist and His Milieu. 1990. Gale Resource Database. Information Retrieved December 08, 2008. http://www.infotrac.galegroup.com
Gado, Frank. Dictionary of Literary...
2001. Gale Resource Database. Information Retrieved December 08, 2008. http://www.infotrac.galegroup.com
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Raven." The Complete Tales of Mystery and Imagination. Minneapolis: Amaranth Press. 1981.
Rio-Jelliffe, R. "Thanatopsis' and the Development of American Literature." William Cullen Bryant and His America. 1983. Gale Resource Database. Information Retrieved December 08, 2008. http://www.infotrac.galegroup.com
Thompson, G.R. Egar Allan Poe." Purdue University. Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 3: Antebellum Writers in New York and the South. 1979. Gale Resource Database. Information Retrieved December 08, 2008. http://www.infotrac.galegroup.com
