Nthis excerpt from the poem "thanatopsis" by william cullen bryant, what is the meaning of the word swain?

thine individual being, shalt thou go
to mix forever with the elements,
to be a brother to the insensible rock
and to the sluggish clod, which the rude swain
turns with his share, and treads upon. the oak
shall send his roots abroad, and pierce thy mold.

In this excerpt from the poem "Thanatopsis" by William Cullen Bryant, the word swain:

This refers to an undesirable young man that could contaminate the person whom the writer wrote the poem for.

Explanation:

To understand this answer we need to analyze the poem very hard. First, the first line mentions an individual that has to go. So we are talking about an undesired person. In the second line, it says that the person we are talking about has to mix forever with the elements, so we are talking about death. The third line says that if the individual goes to mix with the elements that person will become a brother. So we are talking about a male, that will become a brother of the insensible rock. Establishing an association. So our character is perceived as an insensible person. then. We read that the male will also become a brother of the sluggish clod. So he might be very cautious or slow to react. Then we find out he is a rude swain. So he is rude. But furthermore, we read that this person will turn to his side and walk in that direction. So he is also considered a loner or an egoist. But in the end, we read that he will send his roots abroad and pierce your mold. So he is young because a young person lays roots. While an older person has already laid them. So we are talking about a young undesirable person. But that can contaminate with his undesirable ideas the person that the writer has written the poem for.

- "the die is cast; i have consented to return if we are not destroyed. thus are my hopes blasted by cowardice and indecision; i come back ignorant and disappointed. it requires more philosophy than i possess to bear this injustice with patience. i have lost my hopes of utility and glory; i have lost my friend."