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Transcendentalism

Transcendentalism. Embrace Your Transparent Eyeball. What Is The Appeal of Nature?. I. Origin of Movement. Rejection of intellectualism at growing American academic institutions such as Harvard Response to Industrial Revolution wherein men were replaced by machines

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Transcendentalism

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  1. Transcendentalism Embrace Your Transparent Eyeball

  2. What Is The Appeal of Nature?

  3. I. Origin of Movement • Rejection of intellectualism at growing American academic institutions such as Harvard • Response to Industrial Revolution wherein men were replaced by machines • Not an entirely new literary era – merely an extension of Romanticism • Brief in existence: 1836-1850

  4. Timeline of Literary Eras (so far) Puritans 1630-1740 Age of Reason 1740-1810 Romanticism 1810-1861 Transcendentalism 1836-1850 Realism 1861-1930’s

  5. E. Extension of Romanticism (cont.) Romanticism Transcendentalism Exploration of nature’s wonder and awe Imagination helps man to better understand his place in nature Man is good, but can only be good when free from society • Exploration of nature’s wonder and awe • Imagination helps man understand the mysterious and unknown • Man is good, but has an inclination to be perverse

  6. II. Principles of Transcendentalism • Importance of Individuality • It is a great evil to violate your own nature • “Imitation is suicide” – Emerson

  7. II. Principles (cont.) B. Wonder of Nature 1. Nature is a “symbol of spirit.” 2. In nature are found both God and self 3. At death we become just another part of nature. “Nature is made to conspire with spirit to emancipate us.”

  8. II. Principles (cont.) C. Emphasis on Imagination 1. Human imagination helps one transcend his worldly being 2. This is best accomplished in nature

  9. III. Transcendental Literature • Ralph Waldo Emerson • “Nature” essay is often viewed as birth of Transcendentalism • “Self Reliance” essay emphasizes importance of individuality • Henry David Thoreau • Walden considered one of America’s most important literary works. • Lived in woods at Walden Pond in MA for two years in a cabin he built himself to reflect on nature and society

  10. Was Huck a Transcendentalist? Discussion Question

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