Transcendentalism
What is it? A 19 th century literary and philosophical movement, based in New England, claiming that the individual conscience and intuition are key to finding truth, rather than the basic senses and logical reason.
conscience the inner sense of what is right or wrong in one's conduct or motives, impelling one toward right action.
intuition The act of knowing or sensing without the use of rational processes; immediate cognition (awareness).
Transcendentalism A generation of well- educated people They lived decades after America won independence from Britain
Transcendentalism They lived decades before the Civil War (and the division it created) Mostly New Englanders around Boston
Transcendentalism They believed it was time for literary independence So, they deliberately created essays, novels, philosophy, poetry, and other writing different from anything seen in any European nation.
Transcendentalism During the Enlightenment, conclusions came about based on experimentation and logical thinking. Now there was a return to the less rational, more intuitive, more in touch with the senses way of thinking – the more ROMANTIC way of thinking.
Transcendentalism God gave humankind the gift of intuition, the gift of insight, the gift of inspiration. Why waste such a gift?
Transcendentalism The individual is the spiritual center of the universe. Wisdom and virtue are derived primarily from the individual’s self-realization.
Romanticism and transcendentalism are very closely related, because Romanticism influenced the ideas of transcendentalism.
Overall, the major differences between romanticism and transcendentalism are their views of nature and the individual.
Romanticism viewed nature as perfect and man as flawed, whereas transcendentalist ideas regard nature as symbolic, providing answers about virtue and wisdom.
Romantics focused on the self more, but not to the extent of the transcendentalists, for whom the individual was the ultimate spiritual being and something you could derive all truth and knowledge from.
Transcendentalism And so, Transcendentalism was born! In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson: "We will walk on our own feet; we will work with our own hands; we will speak our own minds...A nation of men will for the first time exist, because each believes himself inspired by the Divine Soul which also inspires all men.
Transcendentalism- names to remember! Henry David Thoreau Ralph Waldo Emerson Margaret Fuller
This group met regularly at Emerson’s house to discuss their ideas related to nature, individuality and the human spirit…what fun!!! Transcendentalism
Ralph Waldo Emerson Born in Boston, Mass. in 1803 Came from a poor family but graduated from Harvard Became a minister.
Ralph Waldo Emerson An independent thinker, he felt uncomfortable as a church leader and left the ministry.
Ralph Waldo Emerson Talented writer and speaker; Encouraged people to feel a sense of worth and to think for themselves; Believed in the goodness of people.
Self-Reliance Theme: to know, trust, and believe in yourself.
Self-Reliance Page 366 Page 391 OPEN YOUR BOOK! 1 st Paragraph: Here the author is stating his belief that people should do what they do best and not copy others.
Self-Reliance 4 th Paragraph: Here Emerson refers to several important people in history who were often misunderstood. Pythagoras: Greek philosopher and mathematician
Self-Reliance Socrates: Greek philosopher Martin Luther: German Reformation Leader Copernicus: Polish astronomer
Self-Reliance Galileo: Italian astronomer and physicist Newton: English mathematician and physicist
Henry David Thoreau Concord, Massachusetts Considered eccentric as a child: * Did not follow rules * Independent * Strong-willed * Not dedicated to his studies
Henry David Thoreau His mother loved nature and was driven; Thoreau eventually ended up at Harvard; But he always questioned authority; Quit his first teaching job after objecting to corporal punishment; He and his brother opened their own successful school.
Henry David Thoreau The school closed after his brother became ill; Thoreau then was a boarder at Emerson’s house, doing odd jobs to pay the rent; Fascinated by Emerson’s transcendentalist beliefs; Decided to spend his life promoting the Transcendentalist philosophy.
Henry David Thoreau He spent the rest of his life exploring and writing about the spiritual relationship between humanity and nature and supporting his political and social beliefs.
Henry David Thoreau For two years he lived alone in a cabin he built for himself at Walden Pond. Walden is now considered the supreme work of Transcendentalist literature. When he died of tuberculosis at 44, his work was not recognized. However, his reputation has steadily grown since his death.
Henry David Thoreau “Civil Disobedience,” page 380. What does is mean to be civil ?
Henry David Thoreau Civil : Courteous and polite; Can also describe things related to a community of people and their government, or a civilization.
Henry David Thoreau So what does “Civil Disobedience” mean?
Poetry Terms Free Verse: lacks a regular rhythmical pattern or meter. Meter: rhythmical pattern of a poem, determined by the number and types of stresses, orbeats, in each line.
Poetry Terms Foot: two or more syllables that together make up the smallest unit of rhythm in a poem an iamb is a foot that has two syllables, one unstressed followed by one stressed
Poetry Terms Iambic Tetrameter: Verse written in four foot lines, each line containing one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. Iambic Pentameter: Verse written in five foot lines, each line containing one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.
Poetry Terms Stanza: group of lines in a poem, separated by spaces. Couplet: two line stanza Quatrain: four line stanza Cinquain: Five line stanza Rhyme Scheme: Pattern of rhyming words in a poem.