I. Transcendentalism Test Review
A. Transcendentalism- the philosophy, of Ralph
Waldo Emerson, in which he proposes there is
a connection of man with nature and all of
humankind.
B. Oversoul- term coined by Emerson to describe
the universal consciousness that all mankind
shares with the natural environment and
universe. According to Emerson, an
individual can access the “oversoul” by
surrounding himself with nature and secluding
himself from society and city life.
C. Individuals associated with Transcendentalism
1. Ralph Waldo Emerson
A. Wrote Essay “Nature” , “Concorde
Hymn” and “The Snowstorm” “Self
Reliance”
2. Henry David Thoreau
A. Wrote “from Walden” and “Civil
Disobedience”
3. Emily Dickinson
A. Wrote over 1000 poems during her
lifetime; most were inwardly focused
on the soul b/c she shunned society
and lived most of her life as a recluse
in her father’s home in Amherst, MA
4. Walt Whitman
A. Born and raised in Long Island, NY
later travelled the country,
experiencing all the different regional
cultures throughout the young
country. Celebrated the
connectedness of mankind and the
soul with nature. Wrote “Leaves of
grass”, “Song of Myself” , “I Hear
America Singing” , A Noisless
Patient Spider” , “By the Bivouac’s
Fitful Flame” , “When I heard the
Learn’d Astronomer.”
D. The Works of Emerson and Thoreau
1. “Nature”, essay about the connection of man
and nature. Influenced by the British
Romantic Poets and his theological studies
as a reverend, this essay purports that the
soul is connected to the natural environment
and to “God” or the “oversoul.” One must
immerse himself in nature and quiet hi mind
to access its influence, felt within the
individual as a sense “sublime” or
“inspiration”, “epiphany” or “poetic genius”
2. “Self-Reliance” is Emerson’s essay about
how an individual should live within a
society. He contends that it is every
person’s responsibility to listen to his inner
self, or conscience, and follow that voice.
He believes that God has made us all as
individuals, so we should carry out his
wishes by expressing our individuality. He
believes that you should never imitate others
actions b/c that is akin to suicide. He
contends that every great person who has
every lived has been “misunderstood” and
that we should follow only those laws that
we deem are just.
3. The SnowStorm- Emerson connects the
landscape after a snowstorm with work of a
master stonemason, making a connection
between the mystical and beautiful world of
nature to the work of mankind.
4. Concord Hymn- Emerson celebrates the
individualistic “spirit” of those that fought
the first battle against the British in
Concord. The bridge has been washed away
over time but the memory of their great
deeds remains within the hearts of a grateful
people.
5. Walden- Thoreau wanted to distance himself
from society and city life and see what
“nature” could teach him. He stayed for
two years in a cottage he built along the
banks of Walden Pond and wrote down
what he learned from living on the land.
Reinforced his belief in the connection of
nature and man.
6. Civil Disobedience- Thoreau’s essay about
government. He believes that it is your duty
as a citizen to speak up against actions your
government takes if they are contrary to
your moral or ethical beliefs. He was
imprisoned for refusing to pay the “war tax”
for the Mexican American War.” He thinks
that “government is best that governs least.”
He also says that the best type of
government is “no government” but that
people will only be able to have that kind of
government when all the people respect all
the rights of its citizens. He also predicts
that the country will split in two if any state
takes up arms against the whole. (A.K.A.
The Civil War)
7. Emily Dickinson- Born in Amherst, MA.
“I Heard a fly Buzz when I died” talks
about her spirit leaving her body as she dies.
The fly’s buzz represents the feeling or
vibration at death.
8. “Because I could not stop for death” A
poem about a personified “Death” that stops
to pick up the speaker. As he rides toward
her new “house,” he passes by the things in
her life: the schoolyard, the town, and
finally her “home” which is really her grave.
She points out that time passes by very
quickly when you are dead and part of
“eternity.”
9. “My life closed twice before its close” the
speaker recalls that she has had a near death
experience, and wonders if she will have a
third death as well.
10. “The soul selects its own society” the
speaker, whom we assume to be Emily,
describes how she has a society of “one.”
She is the only “one” in her “selected”
society. She withdraws from others and
turns inwardly to herself and her soul for
inspiration for her poetry. “Her Mantra”
11. “There is a certain slant of light” the
speaker compares the harsh rays of sun
during a winter afternoon with the sound of
“cathedral tunes.” The understanding is that
although she believes in God and went to
church, she found organized religion
distasteful because it relegated women to a
second-class status. The cathedral tunes are
objectionable to her, because they represent
the oppression of women.
12. “There is a solitude of space” compares
the solitude within the individual vs the
solitude felt by a person alone in the sea, or
in the polar regions, or in death. The
difference is that death, sea and polar
solitude can be shared, but solitude of soul
is felt by only the individual.
13. “The brain is wider than the sky” states
that the human mind is capable of great
imagination and therefore, is greater that the
sky or the oceans and able to understand
and/or be part of God.
14. “Water is taught by thirst” the speaker
purports that nature teaches man. The
instincts within the individual and the
experiences within the natural world, are the
true teachers of mankind.
15. Walt Whitman
“Leaves of Grass” compares the individual
“leaves” or blades of grass in a lawn or field
with the individuals in America or
humanity. We are all individual but we are
also one in the same and connected. He
connects both the natural world,
individuality and interconnectedness of man
with mankind and man with nature.
16. “Song of Myself” is a celebration of the
human experience and the connectedness of
the individual soul to all the others. When
he sings his “Song of Myself”, he is truly
singing the song of all mankind
individually. He also sings of the natural
worlds ability to teach mankind, if we will
listen…
17. “I hear America singing” Whitman
celebrates the American working people.
He attempts to emulate their difficult and
repetitive jobs within his poem’s parallel
structure and recurring themes.
18. “A noiseless Patient Spider” Whitman
connects the spider spinning a web to his
soul searching the universe to make
connects.
19. “By the Bivouac’s Fitful Flame”
Whitman speaks of a “procession” of
images that pass through his mind as he
quietly sits along the battle lines in war.
20. “When I heard the learn’d astronomer”
Whitman compares the knowledge gained
from “academic” and “scientific” learning
versus the from the imagination and the
soul.
Also: Look over Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher”,
Hawthorn’s “The Minister’s Black Veil” and
Irving’s “The Devil and Tom Walker”