Chapter 3
Romanticism (2)
New England
Transcendentalism
Emerson·Thoreau
Contents
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New England Transcendentalism
Brief introduction
What is Transcendentalism (A literary term)
Major features of Transcendentalism
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
His ideas
His influence on American literature and culture
His literary features
Simple analysis and appreciation of Self-reliance
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
Appreciation of his work Walden (Excerpt: Chapter 2)
New England Transcendentalism
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Brief introduction
In 1836 a little book came out which made a
tremendous impact on the intellectual life of
America. It was entitled Nature by Ralph Waldo
Emerson, which pushed American Romanticism
into a new phase, the phase of New England
Transcendentalism, the summit of American
Romanticism.
Transcendentalism (A literary term)?
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As a moral philosophy, it exalted feeling over reason,
individual expression over the restraints of law and
custom. It appealed to those who disdained the harsh
God of their Puritan ancestors, and it appealed to those
who scorned the pale deity of New England
Unitarianism. Transcendentalists took their ideas from
the romantic literatures of European, from neoPlatonism, from German idealistic philosophy and
from the revelation of Oriental mysticism. They spoke
for cultural rejuvenation and against the materialism of
American society.
Major features of Transcendentalism
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The Transcendentalists placed emphasis on spirit, or
the Oversoul, as the most important thing in the
universe. This represented a new way of looking at the
world. (a reaction to the 18th century Newtonian
concept of the universe; a reaction against people
neglecting spiritual welfare)
The transcendentalists stressed the importance of
individual (depending on oneself for spiritual
perfection). This new notion of the individual and his
importance represented a new way of looking at man.
(a reaction against Calvinist concept; a reaction against
the process of dehumanization in the development of
capitalism)
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Transcendentalists offered a fresh perception of
nature as symbolic of the Spirit or God. The
natural implication was that things in nature
tended to become symbolic, and the physical
world was a symbol of the spiritual
Thus, New England Transcendentalism was a
product of a combination of foreign influences
and the American Puritan Influence. It was
Romanticism on the Puritan soul.
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
IMAGES
Ralph Waldo Emerson was responsible for
bringing Transcendentalism to New England,
and he was recognized throughout his life as
the leader of the movement.
 His ideas
Transcendentalist doctrine is just his ideas. He
believed above all in individualism,
independence of mind and self-reliance.
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His influence on American literature and culture
He called for an independent culture in both Nature
and The American Scholar.
The American Scholar has been regarded as “American
Declaration of Intellectual Independence.”
He advocated that American writers should write about
America itself instead of imitating and importing from
other lands. I
Emerson’s importance in the intellectual history lies in
the fact that he embodies a new nation’s desire and
struggle to assert its own identity in its formative period.
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His literary features
His poetry is uneven in quality, but always
highly individual. In his days, his poems were
criticized for their lack of form and polish. His
rhythms are harsh and his images are striking,
which appeal to many modern readers as artful
techniques.
His prose style is also highly individual, but
often disorganized.
His skill in polishing each sentence into a
striking thought makes his writing memorable.
Simple analysis and appreciation of
Self-reliance
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Background
Self-Reliance, published in 1841, is an essay that
urges readers to trust in their own intuition and
common sense–rather than automatically
following popular opinion and conforming to
the will of the majority–when making a decision.
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Theme Be yourself. Trust your own inner voice.
Emerson repeats that theme throughout the essay in
different ways. For example, he urges his readers to retain
the outspokenness of a small child who freely speaks his
mind–because he has not yet been corrupted by adults
who tell him to do otherwise. He also urges readers to
avoid envying or imitating others viewed as models of
perfection; instead, he says, readers should take pride in
their own unique individuality and never be afraid to
express their own original ideas. In addition, he says, they
should refuse to conform to the ways of the popular
culture and its shallow ideals; rather they should live up to
their own ideals–even if doing so reaps them criticism
and denunciation.
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Point of View
Emerson uses first-, second-, and third-person point of
view. In the opening paragraph of the essay, he first
writes in the first person, telling the readers about an
experience of his. Then, after only three sentences, he
switches to second person, as if he is advising a listener
sitting across the table from him. Later, in the paragraph,
he switches to third person as he presents an
exhortation about humankind in general. In the
following excerpt, Emerson uses all three points of
view–first person, second person, and third person.
(Read Selected Reading P20)
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Style
Among the most notable characteristics of Emerson’s
writing style are these:
Thorough development of his thesis through examples,
repetition, and reinforcement;
Coinage of memorable statements of principle, or
aphorisms;
Frequent use of figurative language to make a point,
such as “An institution is the lengthened shadow of one
man” (metaphor) and “They who made England, Italy,
or Greece venerable in the imagination did so by
sticking fast where they were, like an axis of the earth”
(simile).
Emerson's Moral Philosophy as an
Expression of Transcendentalism
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Emerson believed every human being has inborn
knowledge that enables him to recognize and
understand moral truth without benefit of
knowledge obtained through the physical senses.
Using this inborn knowledge, a gift of God, an
individual can make a moral decision without relying on
information gained through everyday living, education,
and experimentation. One may liken this inborn
knowledge to conscience or intuition.
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Emerson and others who believed that this
inborn knowledge served as a moral guiding
force were known as transcendentalists–that
is, they believed that this inner knowledge
was a higher, transcendent form of
knowledge than that which came through the
senses. Because Emerson and his fellow
transcendentalists trusted their own inner light as
a moral guiding force, they were possessed of a
fierce spirit of self-reliance. They were
individualists; they liked to make decisions for
themselves.
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If the government adopted a policy or a law
that offended their consciences, they generally
reacted strongly. Transcendentalism, as
Emerson’s moral philosophy was called, did not
originate with him or his fellow
transcendentalists in New England but with the
German philosopher Emanuel Kant. He used
the German word for transcendental to refer to
intuitive or innate knowledge–knowledge which
is a priori rather than a posteriori.
Summary
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A man should believe in himself. When he has an
original thought, he should embrace it and make it
known to others rather than reject it simply because it is
his own and therefore unworthy.
It is better to exercise the power within yourself than to
envy and imitate others. When you are young, you are
bold and independent; you assert yourself. You listen to
the voice within and express yourself without bias and
fear. But as you grow older, you surrender your liberty
to society. You want to be like others, act like others.
And so you suppress yourself.
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
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He was a close follower of Emerson .He was
the man who put into practice many of
Emerson’s theories.
Appreciation of his work Walden
(Excerpt: Chapter 2)
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Editons and Walden Pond
Synopsis of Chapter 2
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In the second chapter, "Where I Lived, and What I
Lived For," talks about how he once considered buying
the Hollowell farm for himself but the purchase fell
through. Instead, he created a new existence for
himself at Walden, where he found joy and fulfillment
in nature, truly awakening in his mornings there, while
most of society remains perpetually asleep, living mean
lives when the possibility of a much better life is
possible. The key to achieving such a life, he says, is
simplicity.
Analysis of this chapter
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Thoreau reaches deep into the Transcendentalist
philosophy in this chapter. In making such bold
pronouncements, he is wise to shy from being deadly
serious. He emphasizes he is not writing "an ode to
dejection" but instead crowing like a rooster to wake his
neighbors up. In doing so, and in criticizing their
accepted and unquestioned ways of living, he
employees a dry humor, characterized by
understatement, as when he says, "nothing new ever
does happen in foreign parts, a French revolution not
excepted."
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The juxtaposition presented in the title of the chapter,
"Where I Lived, and What I Lived For," provides an
excellent clue as to Thoreau's philosophy. For him, the
physical circumstances of life an intrinsically and
inescapably tied to a person's spiritual life. The
appearance of his cabin, its size and furniture, even its
placement on the shore of the pond all contribute to his
spiritual awakening. Because of this connection between
one's physical and spiritual life, Thoreau's retreat to the
shore of Walden Pond is necessary; and it is because of
this that he urges his townsmen to likewise reconsider
their physical circumstances.
Themes of this chapter
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The theme of rebirth
Thoreau's emphasis on the dawn in this chapter
continues the theme of rebirth established in the first
chapter. In that chapter, he described a snake, left
"torpid" by the cold of the winter and only gradually
awakening as the weather thawed. That snake was a
symbol for the "sleeping" men who are likewise
unaware of their surroundings and immobile in
combating the chains of routine and tradition.
It is noteworthy that Thoreau begins building his
house, the physical counterpart to his spiritual
awakening, in the winter, and does not move
into until summer, when nature and his spiritual
self is in full life. Both here and in the first
chapter, Thoreau appeals to Aurora,
goddess of the dawn. The dawning of the
day comes to be a metaphor for the dawning
of spiritual enlightenment and selfknowledge.
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Sight
Sight is also another theme in this chapter. Thoreau
compares the views from the lakeside hill and from
the front of his cabin. From the hill, he can see all the
way to the mountains in the northwest. From his
cabin, his only physical vista is a pasture but with his
imagination, he can see to the furthest reaches of
history and the universe. Thus, it is important to
emphasize that Thoreau's "reality" is not a historical or
factual concept. The illusions of which he speaks are not
creations of his imagination. Rather, he considers things
like religion and philosophy to be illusory because they
limit and distort a person's immediate experience of
himself in the world.
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Sleep
The theme of sleep plays an important role here.
Thoreau elevates the word sleeper to a symbol,
comparing men who labor without thinking to the pieces
of iron that gird a railroad. This use of sleep and
awakeness as a spiritual metaphor has a long history,
especially in the writings of New England. The Great
Awakening, of course, was the name given to the Puritan
religious resurgence of the late seventeenth century.
Thoreau here attempts to rewrite and undo that
awakening, to free New Englanders from the shackles of
thought forged by traditional religion and to awaken them
to a more spiritually fulfilling reality.
Assignment
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Define the term: Transcendentalism
Tell the major features of Transcendentalism.
Who is the leader of transcendentalism? State his ideas
about it.
What is the theme of Self-reliance? Why is the point of
view in it special?
Describe the major characteristics of Emerson’s writing
style.
In the second chapter of Walden by Henry David Thoreau,
There are several themes reflected. What are they?
Thoreau appeals to Aurora in both the first and second
chapters in Walden. This is just a figure of speech, what is
it? Who is Aurora? What does this figure of speech mean?