Question

select the correct answer. in this excerpt from the poem thanatopsis by william cullen bryant, what is the meaning of the word swain? thou shalt lie down with patriarchs of the infant world--with kings, the powerful of the earth--the wise, the good, fair forms, and hoary seers of ages past, all in one mighty sepulchre. the hills rock-ribbed and ancient as the sun,--the vales stretching in pensive quietness between; the venerable woods--rivers that move in majesty, and the complaining brooks that make the meadows green; and, poured round all, old oceans gray and melancholy waste,-- are but the solemn decorations all of the great tomb of man. the golden sun, the planets, all the infinite host of heaven, are shining on the sad abodes of death, through the still lapse of ages. all that tread the globe are but a handful to the tribes that slumber in its bosom.--take the wings of morning, pierce the barcan wilderness, or lose thyself in the continuous woods where rolls the oregon, and hears no sound save his own dashings--yet the dead are there: and millions in those solitudes, since first the flight of years began, have laid them down in their last sleep--the dead reign there alone. so shalt thou rest, and what if thou withdraw in silence from the living, and no friend take note of thy departure? all that breathe will share thy destiny. the gay will laugh when thou art gone, the solemn brood of care plod on, and each one as before will chase his favorite phantom; yet all these shall leave their mirth and their employments, and shall come and make their bed with thee. as the long train of ages glide away, the sons of men, the youth in lifes green spring, and he who goes in the full strength of years, matron and maid, the speechless babe, and the gray-headed man,-- shall one by one be gathered to thy side, by those, who in their turn shall follow them. so live, that when thy summons comes to join the innumerable caravan, which moves to that mysterious realm, where each shall take his chamber in the silent halls of death, thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night, scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed by an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave, like one who wraps the drapery of his couch about him, and lies down to pleasant dreams. o a. a young graveyard worker o b. a young boy who hunts wild animals o c. a young shepherd or country boy o d. a very unpleasant person

Explanation:

:
C. a young shepherd or country boy

In the poem context, "wild swain" relates to rural/natural imagery. Historically, "swain" commonly means a young shepherd or country boy, fitting the pastoral setting described.

Answer:

In the poem context, "wild swain" relates to rural/natural imagery. Historically, "swain" commonly means a young shepherd or country boy, fitting the pastoral setting described.