Transcendentalism is an idea that came about in roughly 1836 in the middle of the Romantic Era. Transcendentalism is a philosophy that centers itself around one’s own intuitions rather than later teachings. Since Transcendentalism is a subset of American Romanticism, it encouraged people to think on their own and individualize themselves. Transcendentalists believed in experiencing the world for what it was and learning through experience. They also believed that society interfered with one’s true understanding of the world and they encouraged people to think independently because that was when they were at their best. This philosophy did not only apply to thinking, but to literature as well.
Although there were many transcendentalists …show more content…
In this free verse poem, the narrator is observing the astronomer give a lecture about outer space and the mathematics and science behind it. While the other’s in the lecture hall are enjoying this second-hand learning experience being offered to them, the narrator seems extremely disinterested. We know that the narrator is a transcendentalist because when everyone starts clapping for the presenter, he gets up and leaves to seek his own knowledge. The poem ends with the narrator outside the building, enjoying the “mystical moist night-air” and the “perfect silence” of the stars (Lines 7-8). This poem is the epitome of Transcendentalism. The narrator takes out the middle-man and goes to learn things unmediated. This is a prime example of how transcendentalists thought people were wasting their time by understanding instead of experiencing. Whitman uses many textual clues to point out the contrast in how the narrator feels about the lecture and the outdoors. For example, in Line 7 of the poem, the narrator describes the air outside was “mystical moist,” which seems to be contrasting the dull lecture he was just in. Also, the way the narrator reacts to the mathematical figures presented to him during the lecture shows how much he does not care to learn in this way. If this had been Whitman himself in this situation, rather than just him writing about it, I think he would have done the same thing as the narrator. Based on how he viewed the world, Walt Whitman did not want nor need any knowledge from anything other than his own
Although there were many transcendentalists …show more content…
In this free verse poem, the narrator is observing the astronomer give a lecture about outer space and the mathematics and science behind it. While the other’s in the lecture hall are enjoying this second-hand learning experience being offered to them, the narrator seems extremely disinterested. We know that the narrator is a transcendentalist because when everyone starts clapping for the presenter, he gets up and leaves to seek his own knowledge. The poem ends with the narrator outside the building, enjoying the “mystical moist night-air” and the “perfect silence” of the stars (Lines 7-8). This poem is the epitome of Transcendentalism. The narrator takes out the middle-man and goes to learn things unmediated. This is a prime example of how transcendentalists thought people were wasting their time by understanding instead of experiencing. Whitman uses many textual clues to point out the contrast in how the narrator feels about the lecture and the outdoors. For example, in Line 7 of the poem, the narrator describes the air outside was “mystical moist,” which seems to be contrasting the dull lecture he was just in. Also, the way the narrator reacts to the mathematical figures presented to him during the lecture shows how much he does not care to learn in this way. If this had been Whitman himself in this situation, rather than just him writing about it, I think he would have done the same thing as the narrator. Based on how he viewed the world, Walt Whitman did not want nor need any knowledge from anything other than his own