The Transcendental Movement

1. The Transcendental Movement A guide to Transcendentalism and the lives and works of six of America’s most celebrated transcendental Writers. For grades 9-12 By: Cassidy Samuelson Click to Begin!

2. Welcome! Hello and welcome! If you are reading this, you have just begun quite the journey. It is a journey that will teach you about one of the most important literary movements of all time and about the people who were involved with that movement. By the end of this presentation you will, hopefully, have a greater understanding and appreciation for Transcendentalism. To insure this heightened knowledge, you will be required to complete a short quiz on information from the presentation… Next!

3. …A Quiz?! But don’t worry! As long as you take the time to read the provided information, you will have no problems! All the information needed to get a perfect score on the quiz will be given to you. This quiz will be ten questions long. When you get to that part of the presentation, you will begin with question one. The next question will become available for viewing once you have correctly answered the previous one. If you find yourself stumped by a particular question, we will help you find the answers! Next!

4. What the buttons mean… Next! “Title of Work” Back! “Poet’s Name” Select another poet! QUIZ! Next! If you see the following button, it will take you to the next information page. If you see the following button, it will take you to the previous information page. If you see the following button, it will take you back to the poet selection page. If you see the following button, it will take you to a work written by the selected poet. If you see the following button, it will take you to information about that poet. If you see the following button, it will allow you to begin the short quiz.

5. Let’s Get Started! Next!

6. So What is Transcendentalism? Next! http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa303/wileyproductions/treegccolor.jpg American transcendentalism began as a group of new ideas in the fields of literature, philosophy, culture, and religion. The movement was born in New England near Concord, Mass., between 1830 to 1855 as a way to protest the way society lived. The young leaders of the movement were unsatisfied with the ‘state of intellectualism’ of their older, more conservative peers. Among the core beliefs of transcendentalists was that an individual’s full potential was reached only when they allowed their spiritual self to ‘transcend’ above the physical. The writings of the Transcendentalists represent the first of the American artistic genius and introduced the American Renaissance in literature.

7. Now, you will be able to read about six of the most influential and celebrated Transcendentalists. Make sure to read all the provided information as well as the provided poem or excerpt of a short essay written by each author. Transcendentalism grew through the works and efforts of many famous writers and poets, including… Ralph Waldo Emerson Nathaniel Hawthorne Henry David Thoreau Herman Melville Walt Whitman Emily Dickinson Back! Next! http://web.uccs.edu/english338/transweb.jpg

8. The Poet Selection Page Ralph Waldo Emerson Henry David Thoreau Nathaniel Hawthorne QUIZ! Herman Melville Walt Whitman Emily Dickinson

9. Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the fifth of eight children born of William and Ruth Emerson. At the age of fourteen he began attending Harvard. Upon graduating, he became a teacher and then a schoolmaster, before becoming a Unitarian minister. At the age of twenty-six he married his first wife, Ellen Louisa Tucker. She died just two years later from tuberculosis. Four years later, in 1835, he married Lydia Jackson. They had four children: Waldo, Ellen (named for Emerson’s first wife), Edith, and Edward Waldo. The Personal Life http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=24563&rendTypeId=4 • “Every natural fact is a symbol of some spiritual fact. • Every appearance in nature corresponds to some • state of the mind, and that state of the mind can • only be described by presenting that natural • appearance as its picture.” • -Ralph Waldo Emerson- Ralph Waldo Emerson(1803-1882) Next!

10. Ralph Waldo Emerson is know best for his published collection of essays entitled “Nature.” Other famous essays include, “Self-Reliance,” “The Poet,” “The American Scholar,” and “The Over-Soul.” • Emerson also started a Transcendental journal called The Dial. • He is also known for his poetry, including the poem, “The Rhodora,” which you can now enjoy… But What Made Him Famous? Select another poet! Back! “The Rhodora” http://static.flickr.com/106/299799847_ee6e471b36.jpg

11. “The Rhodora” In May, when sea-winds pierced our solitudes,I found the fresh Rhodora in the woods,Spreading its leafless blooms in a damp nook,To please the desert and the sluggish brook.The purple petals fallen in the poolMade the black water with their beauty gay;Here might the red-bird come his plumes to cool,And court the flower that cheapens his array.Rhodora! if the sages ask thee whyThis charm is wasted on the earth and sky,Tell them, dear, that, if eyes were made for seeing,Then beauty is its own excuse for Being;Why thou wert there, O rival of the rose!I never thought to ask; I never knew;But in my simple ignorance supposeThe self-same power that brought me there, brought you. Back! http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/emerson/nature-emerson-a.html#Chapter%20I

12. Originally born Nathaniel Hathorne, in Salem, Massachusetts, he changed his name to Hawthorne after college in 1928. Fourteen years later he married Sophia Peabody. Together they had three children; Una, the first who died at a young age, Julian, and Rose. Julian became a writer like his father, and Rose, after losing a husband at a young age, joined the convent and became a nun, later founding the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne. It was between the births of his two younger children, in 1950, that Hawthorne published his most well known novel, The Scarlet Letter. The Personal Life • “Nobody, I think, ought to read poetry, or look at pictures or statues, who cannot find a great deal more in them Than the poet or artist has actually expressed. Their highest merit • is suggestiveness.” • -Nathaniel Hawthorne- http://www.grimshaworigin.org/images/NorthAmerica/hawthorne1870-2.jpg Nathaniel Hawthorne(1804-1864) Next!

13. Nathaniel Hawthorne is most celebrated for his novel, The Scarlet Letter, written in 1850. This novel is still read in literature classes today. • He is also known for many short stories, including “Twice-Told Tales.” • Less known, but still interesting, are Hawthorne’s many poems, which include, “Go To the Grave,” “The Ocean,” and “Forms of Heroes,” which is available for reading below… What Made Him Famous? Select another poet! Back! “Forms of Heroes” http://static.flickr.com/106/299799847_ee6e471b36.jpg

14. “Forms of Heroes” Ye Forms of Heroes slumb'ring here, Beneath these tombstones cold and drear, On which the moss of age has slept, Since one fond heart has o'er you wept, Oh tell me, if a Mortal's prayer, Can ever wake your spirits, where They sleep the dark dread sleep of death. Tell me if now the laurel wreath, Which Glory twin'd around your head, Can wake amid the silent dead, One glance of that proud martial blaze Which led your feet in slaughter's ways. Back! http://www.poetry-archive.com/h/forms_of_heroes.html

15. Like Emerson and Hawthorne before him, Henry David Thoreau was also born in Massachusetts. The third of four children born to John and Cynthia Thoreau, he grew up in Concord. He began studying at Harvard at the age of sixteen but never received a diploma because he refused to pay the five dollar fee. After Harvard he began teaching and in 1938, with the help of his older brother, opened his own grammar school. Thoreau never married, but did live for many years in the home of his close friend, Ralph Waldo Emerson, acting as a tutor for his children and writing. He died of tuberculosis at the age of 45. The Personal Life http://www.ecopanneaux.com/Henry_David_Thoreau.jpg • "I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one • Advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, • and endeavors to live the life which he had • imagined, he will meet with a success • unexpected in common hours.“ • -Henry David Thoreau- Henry David Thoreau(1817-1862) Next!

16. Thoreau is well known for many of his published books, including titles such as Cape Cod, Journal, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, and his most celebrated, Walden. • His essay, Civil Disobedience, is also popular amongst transcendentalist fans. • Thoreau is also known for his poetry with titles including, “The Moon,” “Smoke,” “Indeed, Indeed, I Can Not Tell,” and the included, “Prayer.” What Made Him Famous? Select another poet! Back! “Prayer” http://static.flickr.com/106/299799847_ee6e471b36.jpg

17. “Prayer” Great God, I ask for no meaner pelf Than that I may not disappoint myself, That in my action I may soar as high As I can now discern with this clear eye. And next in value, which thy kindness lends, That I may greatly disappoint my friends, Howe'er they think or hope that it may be, They may not dream how thou'st distinguished me. That my weak hand may equal my firm faith And my life practice what my tongue saithThat my low conduct may not show Nor my relenting lines That I thy purpose did not know Or overrated thy designs. Back! http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/authors/thoreau/thoreaupoems.html#prayer

18. Herman Melville was born in New York City, the third child of Allan and Maria Melville. His family moved to Albany when he was eleven, and two years later, his father died. After his father’s death, Herman found work on a ship voyaging to Liverpool as a cabin boy. He returned three years later and took on work as a teacher. Missing the sea, he signed up for another voyage. It was his many years spent on the sea that lead him to write Moby Dick. After he settled his sea legs in 1847 he married Elizabeth Shaw. Together they had four children. For the rest of his life, he lived with his wife on a small farm, writing many essays and novels with the help of his friend Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Personal Life http://people.brandeis.edu/~teuber/melv.jpg • “To produce a mighty book, you must choose a • mighty theme. No great and enduring volume can • ever be written on the flea, though many there be that • have tried it.” • -Herman Melville- Herman Melville(1819-1891) Next!

19. Herman Melville is best known for his adventure novel, Moby Dick, the quest of Captain Ahab for the Great White Whale. • Melville also published many short stories during his career including titles such as “The Bell-Tower,” “Bartleby the Scrivener,” and “The Two Temples.” • He also published a few books of collected poetry, including Timoleon, which included the poem “The Enthusiast,” available below… What Made Him Famous? Select another poet! Back! “The Enthusiast” http://static.flickr.com/106/299799847_ee6e471b36.jpg

20. “The Enthusiast” from Timoleon Shall hearts that beat no base retreatIn youth's magnanimous years --Ignoble hold it, if discreetWhen interest tames to fears;Shall spirits that worship lightPerfidious deem its sacred glow,Recant, and trudge where wordlings go,Conform and own them right? Shall Time with creeping influence coldUnnerve and cow? the heartPine for the heartless ones enrolledWith palterers of the mart?Shall faith abjure her skies,Or pale probation blench her downTo shrink from Truth so still, so lone,Mid loud gregarious lies? Each burning boat in Caesar's rear,Flames -- No return through me!So put the torch to ties though dear,If ties but tempters be.Nor cringe if come the night:Walk through the cloud to meet the pall,Though light forsake thee, never fallFrom fealty to light. Back! http://www.melville.org/hmtimo.htm

21. Walt Whitman was the second of nine children born to Walther and Louisa Whitman in Long Island, New York. He finished school by the age of eleven and then found a job working at numerous newspaper print shops to help his family financially. It was at one of these jobs that Whitman anonymously published his first poems. After working in the printing business, Whitman tried his hand at teaching, but found it unsatisfying. This lead him to begin his own paper, The Long-Islander. For most of his life he continued to bounce between teaching and newspaper publishing. He printed many poems, the most famous being his published collection, Leaves of Grass. Never satisfied, Whitman continued to edit and change Leaves of Grass until the year he died. The Personal Life http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/Walt_Whitman_edit_2.jpg/485px-Walt_Whitman_edit_2.jpg • “After you have exhausted what there is in business, • politics, conviviality, and so on - have found that none • of these finally satisfy, or permanently • wear–what remains? Nature remains.” • -Walt Whitman- Walt Whitman(1819-1892) Next!

22. Walt Whitman began his career by anonymously publishing his poems in local newspapers. • Whitman’s most well known work is his published book of poetry entitled Leaves of Grass. Even after its publication Whitman continued to edit and make changes to these poems. • Leaves of Grass contained poems such as “Out of the Cradle Endlessly Crawling,” “Song of Myself,” and “O Captain! My Captain!” which is included for you below… What Made Him Famous? Select another poet! Back! “O Captain! My Captain!” http://static.flickr.com/106/299799847_ee6e471b36.jpg

23. “O Captain! My Captain!” from Leaves of Grass O CAPTAIN! my Captain, our fearful trip is done, The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won, The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring; But O heart! heart! heart! O the bleeding drops of red, Where on the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead. O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells; Rise up--for you the flag is flung--for you the bugle trills, For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths--for you the shores a-crowding, For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning; Here Captain! dear father! The arm beneath your head! It is some dream that on the deck, You've fallen cold and dead. My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still, My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will, The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done, From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won; Exult O shores and ring O bells! But I with mournful tread, Walk the deck my Captain lies, Fallen Cold and Dead. Back! http://www.internal.org/view_poem.phtml?poemID=221

24. Emily Dickinson was the middle of three children of Edward and Emily Dickinson. She attended Amherst Academy, studying English and many other subjects. After attending Academy, she spent ten months in the Mary Lyon’s Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. Dickinson never married. She became depressed and obsessed with subjects such as death, always dreading and expecting the deaths of her loved ones. Scared by these possibilities, she secluded herself in her home, corresponding with her friends and loved ones through letters. It was in theses letters that she included poems, the pomes that would later make her famous. The Personal Life http://www.imsa.edu/learning/acprograms/english/images/EmilyDickinson.jpg • “Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, • but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression • of personality but an escape from personality. But, of • course, only those who have personality and emotion • know what it means to want to escape from these” • -Emily Dickinson- Emily Dickinson(1830-1886) Next!

25. The most unique feature of all of Emily Dickinson’s poetry is that none of her poems were published while she was alive. Only after her death did her family begin publishing her writing, poems that she included in letters written to family members and close friends. • Another interesting feature obout Dickinson’s poetry is that most of her pieces did not have formal titles, but are rather known by their first line. Because she was not writing to publish, she did not feel titles were important. One example of this is “I Died For Beauty,” provided for you to read… What Made Her Famous? Select another poet! Back! “I Died For Beauty” http://static.flickr.com/106/299799847_ee6e471b36.jpg

26. “I Died For Beauty” I died for beauty but was scarce Adjusted in the tomb, When one who died for truth was lain In an adjoining room. He questioned softly why I failed? "For beauty," I replied. "And I for truth,--the two are one; We brethren are," he said. And so, as kinsmen met a night, We talked between the rooms, Until the moss had reached our lips, And covered up our names. Back! http://quotations.about.com/cs/poemlyrics/a/I_DiedForBeauty.htm

27. Quiz Time! Now that you have completed the necessary readings, you are ready to take the Quiz! Don’t worry, it is not that hard, only six simple questions to test your knowledge! Good Luck! Question One

28. A Her Grandmother, Emerson’s mother. Question One B Her mother Ralph Waldo Emerson had four children, two sons and two daughters. His oldest daughter was named Ellen. Who was she named after? Another author, one of Emerson’s colleagues. C D Emerson’s first wife. E No one, Emerson’s wife just liked the name.

29. Correct!! Question Two!

30. Wrong! Help!

31. Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the fifth of eight children born of William and Ruth Emerson. At the age of fourteen he began attending Harvard. Upon graduating, he became a teacher and then a schoolmaster, before becoming a Unitarian minister. At the age of twenty-six he married his first wife, Ellen Louisa Tucker. She died just two years later from tuberculosis. Four years later, in 1835, he married Lydia Jackson. They had four children: Waldo, Ellen (named for Emerson’s first wife), Edith, and Edward Waldo. The Personal Life http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=24563&rendTypeId=4 • “Every natural fact is a symbol of some spiritual fact. • Every appearance in nature corresponds to some • state of the mind, and that state of the mind can • only be described by presenting that natural • appearance as its picture.” • -Ralph Waldo Emerson- Ralph Waldo Emerson(1803-1882) Ok, I’m ready to try again!

32. A • She did not give her poems titles. • All of her poems had six lines. They were all published after her death. Question Two B What made the poems of Emily Dickinson unique from all other poets? C D Both A and B E Both A and C

33. Correct!! Question Three!

34. Wrong! Help!

35. The most unique feature of all of Emily Dickinson’s poetry is that none of her poems were published while she was alive. Only after her death did her family begin publishing her writing, poems that she included in letters written to family members and close friends. • Another interesting feature about Dickinson’s poetry is that most of her pieces did not have formal titles, but are rather known by their first line. Because she was not writing to publish, she did not feel titles were important. One example of this is “I Died For Beauty,” provided for you to read… What Made Her Famous? Ok, I’m ready to try again! http://static.flickr.com/106/299799847_ee6e471b36.jpg

36. A Walt Whitman Question Three B • Ralph Waldo Emerson Henry David Thoreau lived for many years with __________, acting as a tutor for his children. C • Herman Melville D • Nathaniel Hawthorne E • None of the Above

37. Correct!! Question Four!

38. Wrong! Help!

39. Like Emerson and Hawthorne before him, Henry David Thoreau was also born in Massachusetts. The third of four children born to John and Cynthia Thoreau, he grew up in Concord. He began studying at Harvard at the age of sixteen but never received a diploma because he refused to pay the five dollar fee. After Harvard he began teaching and in 1938, with the help of his older brother, opened his own grammar school. Thoreau never married, but did live for many years in the home of his close friend, Ralph Waldo Emerson, acting as a tutor for his children and writing. He died of tuberculosis at the age of 45. The Personal Life http://www.ecopanneaux.com/Henry_David_Thoreau.jpg • "I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one • Advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, • and endeavors to live the life which he had • imagined, he will meet with a success • unexpected in common hours.“ • -Henry David Thoreau- Henry David Thoreau(1817-1862) Ok, I’m ready to try again!

40. A Leaves of Green Question Four B Songs of Summer Walt Whitman was best known for Leaves of Grass, a published book of poems that he continuously _______ until he died. C Leaves of Grass D Springtime Poems E Leaves of Spring

41. Correct!! Question Five!

42. Wrong! Help!

43. Walt Whitman began his career by anonymously publishing his poems in local newspapers. • Whitman’s most well known work is his published book of poetry entitled Leaves of Grass. Even after its publication Whitman continued to edit and make changes to these poems. • Leaves of Grass contained poems such as “Out of the Cradle Endlessly Crawling,” “Song of Myself,” and “O Captain! My Captain!” which is included for you below… What Made Him Famous? Ok, I’m ready to try again! http://static.flickr.com/106/299799847_ee6e471b36.jpg

44. A Nurse Nun Question Five B Nathaniel Hawthorne had three children. His younger daughter, Rose, became a _______ after the death of her young husband. C Writer D Schoolteacher E She died at the same time as her husband.

45. Correct!! Question Six!

46. Wrong! Help!

47. Originally born Nathaniel Hathorne, in Salem, Massachusetts, he changed his name to Hawthorne after college in 1928. Fourteen years later he married Sophia Peabody. Together they had three children; Una, the first who died at a young age, Julian, and Rose. Julian became a writer like his father, and Rose, after losing a husband at a young age, joined the convent and became a nun, later founding the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne. It was between the births of his two younger children, in 1950, that Hawthorne published his most well known novel, The Scarlet Letter. The Personal Life • “Nobody, I think, ought to read poetry, or look at pictures or statues, who cannot find a great deal more in them Than the poet or artist has actually expressed. Their highest merit • is suggestiveness.” • -Nathaniel Hawthorne- http://www.grimshaworigin.org/images/NorthAmerica/hawthorne1870-2.jpg Nathaniel Hawthorne(1804-1864) Ok, I’m ready to try again!

48. A London Question Six B Spain At a young age, Herman Melville got hired as a cabin boy on a ship that was voyaging to ________. C Australia D Liverpool E Paris

49. Correct!! Question Seven!

50. Wrong! Help!