Transcendentalism
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Henry David Thoreau
Walt Whitman
Background Information
Transcendentalists were:
Inspired by the rebellious spirit of
American revolutionaries (think
Patrick Henry and Thomas
Jefferson)
Desired to break free from the
strict principles of Puritanism
Believed in the power of nature
and the human spirit, especially
intuition
What is Transcendentalism?
A philosophy that stresses the following:
Individuality, celebrating/being yourself
Appreciating Nature
Nonconformity & Self-Reliance: follow your
heart, not society’s rules
Standing up for what is right
Simplicity, cutting out material goods,
stress
Seizing the day & living life to the fullest!
Key Ideas
Return to Nature
Desire to lead “The Simple Life”
Nonconformity
Celebration of the Individual
Uniqueness of Every Human Being
Key Players
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Henry David Thoreau
Walt Whitman
Ralph Waldo Emerson
1803-1882
The “Father” of the
transcendentalist
movement
Son of a minister, he
became one himself
Like Poe, he suffered
losses of loved ones
Considered the spiritual
voice of his generation
Emerson’s “Self-Reliance”
This famous essay is full of “aphorisms,”
or short statements expressing a general
truth about life
Some memorable aphorisms:
“To be great is to be misunderstood.”
“Envy is ignorance”
“Imitation is suicide.”
“Trust thyself.”
“Good men must not obey the laws
too well.”
Key Themes in “Self Reliance”
Trust yourself/be a nonconformist
Don’t worry too much about
consistency
Literary Terms for Emerson
Aphorism - a short statement of general
truth or wisdom about life
Nonconformist - one who does not follow
generally accepted beliefs, customs or
practices
Essay - brief nonfiction article that
expresses an opinion on a subject
Paradox - statement that seems to be
contradictory or ridiculous but is
nevertheless true
Henry David Thoreau
1817-1862
Student of Emerson’s
Nonconformist who stood
up for his beliefs
Sought the simple life in a
cabin in MA
Influenced many in antislavery movement
Died of TB
Thoreau on Reform
Believed reform starts with the
individual
People should follow their conscience
and not necessarily follow laws,
because laws can be unjust
Recall “Dance Ban” video, if applicable
Thoreau at Walden Pond
Believed in leading a “simple” life, away from the
hustle and bustle of our industrially advancing
society
Believed in living by his own values, not society’s
materialistic values
Conducted an “experiment” in which he lived in a
cabin he built by hand for over 2 years
Kept a journal detailing his thoughts and
experiences, hoping to achieve personal growth
and insight
Left the woods b/c he had more living to do
Thoreau on Walden:
“I went to the woods because I wished to live
deliberately…and not, when I came to die,
discover that I had not lived.”
“I wanted to live deep and suck out all the
marrow of life.”
“Heaven is under our feet as well as over our
heads.”
Thoreau & Voluntary
Simplicity
Influenced people seeking solitude &
desire to get away from stress and live
uncluttered lives
“Our life is frittered away by detail.”
“Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!”
“Do not trouble yourself much to get new
things, whether clothes or friends.”
Thoreau & Nonconformity
Went to jail for refusing to pay a tax which
indirectly supported slavery
Refused to wear Harvard uniform
Refused to punish his students physically
“The surface of the earth is soft and
impressible by the feet of men; and so with
the paths which the mind travels. How worn
and dusty must be the highways of the word,
how deep the ruts of tradition and
conformity!”
Thoreau’s Motivational Words:
“[Advance] confidently in the direction of
[your] dreams…live the life which [you] have
imagined, [and you will meet with success.]
“If you have built castles in the air, your work
need not be lost; that is where they should
be. Now put the foundations under them…”
Thoreau on Living Life to the
Fullest
“I did not wish to take a cabin passage,
but rather to go before the mast and on
the deck of the world, for there I could
best see the moonlight…I do not wish to
go below now.”
Thoreau’s Critics
Some criticize Thoreau because:
He only spent one night in jail, and only
because the warden had already gone
home
He wrote about experiences in the wild,
when in fact he was only 1/2 mile from
town, and he frequently visited & dined
with friends
Thoreau to Know:
Works by Thoreau:
Civil Disobedience
Walden
Words to Know
Conscientious - guided by
conscience; honest
Nature writing - a type of essay in
which the writer uses firsthand
observations to explore the
mysteries of the human relationship
with nature
Walt Whitman
Poetry was revolutionary; didn’t
follow traditional “rules”
Many traditional writers and
audiences found his poetry
offensive because of the form
and the content
He was a patriot who loved to
celebrate America and its people
Works - I Hear America Singing,
Song of Myself, and I Heard the
Learn’d Astronomer, and I Sit
and Look Out
Whitman Toolbox
Words to Know:
Form - (or structure) in poetry is the way a
poem is organized. Conventional form follows
fixed rules, and organic form is irregular and
mimics natural speech
Free verse - Organic form of poetry without
regular patterns of rhyme and meter
Repetition - recurrence of words, phrases or
lines
Catalog - lists of people, things or qualities
Parallelism - related ideas are phrased in
similar ways
Nonfiction Texts
Primary Sources
Offer direct, firsthand knowledge of
something, like a
diary, journal,
memoir,
autobiography,
interview, personal
history, or archival
document (transcript,
official records)
Secondary Sources
Offer indirect,
second-hand
knowledge, like a
summary, textbook,
encyclopedia