Throughout the early Romantic period certain fireside poets imparted many messages in their works of literature. Fireside poets such as William Cullen Bryant and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow used many messages to describe things such as nature, individual freedom, and imagination in their poems. The works of literature created by William Cullen Bryant and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow create messages that teach moral lessons and express opinions of real life situations.

By the age on nine, William Cullen Bryant, was already writing poetry and had earned a reputation as a prodigy. Bryant was tutored for a career as a lawyer, but at age 16 with the publication of "Thanatopsis" his literary future was assured. His poem "Thanatopsis" describes many characteristics of nature but created a certain message within. The poem draws moral lessons from nature, which was typical of the popular poetry of his time. The moral lesson from nature that...