1 / 16

American Transcendentalist Literature 1840-1855

American Transcendentalist Literature 1840-1855. A new philosophy: Transcendentalism. Began in the 1840’s Literary Movement influenced by the German philosopher, Immanuel Kant Concentrated in New England – called the New England Renaissance

Solomon
Download Presentation

American Transcendentalist Literature 1840-1855

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. American Transcendentalist Literature 1840-1855

  2. A new philosophy: Transcendentalism • Began in the 1840’s • Literary Movement influenced by the German philosopher, Immanuel Kant • Concentrated in New England – called the New England Renaissance • Reaction against intellectual and rational belief of the Unitarian Church.

  3. Transcendentalism – A definition • Human senses can know only the physical reality. • The fundamental truths of existence lay outside the reach of the senses and can only be grasped through intuition. • Attention is focused on the human spirit • Attention is also focused on the natural world and its relationship to humanity. • All forms of being God, nature, and humanity are spiritually united.

  4. Elements of Transcendentalism • Mysticism and emotional intensity • Emphasis on the Individual • Respect for Nature • Great faith in higher forms of knowledge • Live simply • Transcendental is the understanding a person gains intuitively

  5. Major Beliefs • Over-Soul: omnipresent power of goodness and truth • Basic truth of the universe lies beyond the knowledge we obtain from ourselves.

  6. Major Beliefs: • We obtain knowledge through: • Physical world - science and technology • Intuition - soul

  7. Influences on Transcendentalism • Religion - “New Puritanism” • We can experience God first hand • Everyone can experience God • Inner spiritual life is confirmed by nature • Spiritual unity of all forms of being - God/humanity/nature share universal soul.

  8. Influences • B. Literature (Romanticism) • Belief in the good of humanity. • Value of the individual • Nature demands reverence of the writer. It is a symbol. • Nature is a means to self-knowledge.

  9. Achievements of Transcendentalism • Relates all individuals to both the natural world and their own inner worlds. • New self-awareness • Long-term influence on American poetry -- development of individualism.

  10. American Transcendentalists • Ralph Waldo Emerson • Henry David Thoreau • Walt Whitman • Emily Dickinson

  11. Ralph Waldo Emerson1803 - 1882 • Father of Transcendentalism. • Told Americans they should develop their own distinctive art forms, rather than to continue to imitate European models. • Major Work: Nature

  12. Henry David Thoreau1817 - 1862 • Follower of Emerson who put the transcen-dental philosophy into practice. • Bought land near Walden Pond and lived there for two years.

  13. Henry David Thoreau • Major Works: Walden and “Civil Disobedience.” • “Civil Disobedience” profoundly influenced leaders throughout the world, including Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.

  14. Walt Whitman1819 - 1892 • Co-founder of modern American poetry. • Style characterized by frank subject matter, long, rambling style. • His mission was to bring ranks, races, and civilizations together. • Major Work: Leaves of Grass.

  15. Emily Dickinson1830-1886 • Wrote nearly 1,800 poems. • Cofounder of Modern American Poetry. • The majority of her poetry was published after she died. • In 1955, she finally gained the recognition she deserved.

  16. Emily Dickinson I'm Nobody! Who Are You I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too? Then there's a pair of us--don't tell! They'd banish us, you know. How dreary to be somebody! How public, like a frog To tell your name the livelong day To an admiring bog!

More Related