Transcendental Poetry
Today, you will write a poem in the style of Transcedentalists like Walt Whitman, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David
Thoreau.
As we have read, for Whitman, nature inspires and reflects individualism. He contemplates the natural world deeply; even a
simple blade of grass provokes deep meditation about human origins and the meaning of life.
Whitman believed that even when we try to alienate ourselves from the natural world, we cannot escape our connection to it;
we were born of dust, and to dust we will return, becoming one with nature. He suggests that the laws by which man can and
should live are plainly visible in the natural world.
Transcendental poetry does the following:
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


Stresses individualism, intuition, nature, self-reliance
Rejects conventional themes, forms, subjects
Uses long lines to capture rhythm of natural speech
Uses free verse, everyday vocabulary
Your task is to write your own poem like those we have read. You will use one of the natural items or photos provided to
inspire your poetry. Your poem should be at least 15 lines, and your goal is to relate some aspect of your existence to nature.
From: “The Role of Nature in Transcendental Poetry: Emerson, Thoreau, & Whitman” by Nicole Smith
Transcendental Poetry
Today, you will write a poem in the style of Transcedentalists like Walt Whitman, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David
Thoreau.
As we have read, for Whitman, nature inspires and reflects individualism. He contemplates the natural world deeply; even a
simple blade of grass provokes deep meditation about human origins and the meaning of life.
Whitman believed that even when we try to alienate ourselves from the natural world, we cannot escape our connection to it;
we were born of dust, and to dust we will return, becoming one with nature. He suggests that the laws by which man can and
should live are plainly visible in the natural world.
Transcendental poetry does the following:




Stresses individualism, intuition, nature, self-reliance
Rejects conventional themes, forms, subjects
Uses long lines to capture rhythm of natural speech
Uses free verse, everyday vocabulary
Your task is to write your own poem like those we have read. You will use one of the natural items or photos provided to
inspire your poetry. Your poem should be at least 15 lines, and your goal is to relate some aspect of your existence to nature.
From: “The Role of Nature in Transcendental Poetry: Emerson, Thoreau, & Whitman” by Nicole Smith