Transcendentalism

Nature, much alike the Christian impression of God, is dynamic, eternal and omnipresent, glorified by romanticists for it’s ability to inspire, nurture and destroy. As the cornerstone of romantic idealism, nature was a “power at the heart of the romanticist's imagination,” epitomised in their art and literature. It had the potential to “render one small and insignificant” yet it could also connect one with eternity, a spiritual concept which corresponds to the notion of eternal life presented…

The arts can serve as a microscopic picture into culture. This image is frozen in the time that it was done and should be critiqued from that standpoint. However, some writers seem to be before their times and their writing remains a touchstone throughout the ages. This is true, in America, perhaps none more so than for Walt Whitman. Whitman’s writing can be seen as a love affair with America, itself, as he celebrated its nature, mourned its losses and had a vision for the future. The love…

Throughout the book “Walden and Other Writings of Henry David Thoreau,” Thoreau argues that nature brings freedom to the soul, mind, and spirit. Thoreau emphasizes the fact that nature allows humanity to get back to the basics by empowering living instead of merely existing. In order to argue his point, went to live in the woods, provide for himself, saunter, and write daily in his journal. His project was then compiled into short essays to make his case. Thoreau set out to prove himself to…

Modern society is no stranger to the idea of self-help books and psychology. With countless bestselling theories hitting the printing presses each year on topics ranging from relationships to sleeping, self-improvement books are available in bookstores, online and even in audio form. Despite the astounding number of existing resources available at the literal fingertips of the world population, there is still a market for new ideas and theories. This would lead one to believe the market is…

arrives the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he "must take himself for better or worse in his portion.” In this passage, Emerson suggests that each person is given an individual gift. If he or she, is trying to be someone else, that person is not being true to themselves, because our portion is unique. In fact, Emerson thinks that we are divine. What deep concerns regarding conformity, he writes: “Society everywhere is in a conspiracy against the…

Being closer to nature and living the way that Thoreau did implies one must survive away from society. By being away from society we are able to have a deeper understanding and increased ability to analyze why society functions and behaves the way it does. Thoreau did not understand why so many people were uncertain about god, or why they felt it is the sole purpose of humanity to glorify him. He believed that we live our lives with little purpose, and have little desire to change this. Our…

Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books-John Lubbock. People in our society are always trying to get back to nature to escape their busy lives and clear their minds. Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” and Emerson’s “Nature” stress the fact that nature not only helps us as humans, but can hold the key to a lot of the questions we have. Firstly, both pieces of text discuss how…

Romantic Period in American Literature The Romantic period in American literature was a very experimental time for writers. Many of the works that I read this unit explored humanity and our natural curiosities and nature. I also found that simple writings of normal life, and love, were popular during the romantic period. Hawthorne and Poe explored life, death, and human nature in their works. They both had similar stories of human curiosity. With “The Pit and the Pendulum” Poe showed how a…

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an avid writer who had many topics to write about. In one of his most famous works, “Self Reliance”, he uses many different tactics to develop his writing to become effective. Ralph Waldo Emerson achieves getting his message through to the audience by using metaphors and pathos. In the stroy Emerson uses metaphors an abundance of times to compare things. Ralph uses metaphors such as, “The eye was placed where one ray should fall, that it might testify of that particular…

Romanticism swept the world of literature with its deep underlying themes of emotion and the importance of individualism. Although many writers took the romantic themes under their quills, only a few were able to perfect it. Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgar Allen Poe were able to utilize their writings to bring a new sense of awareness into the world around them. All three writers used their writings to display and bring about truth within a society of conformity. Henry David…