Transcendentalism

1. Transcendentalism By: Bianca Farley Ashlyn Hadley

2. Characteristics in American Lit. • Thoreau was known for writing essays promoting progressive education • Emphasized/glorified imagination • Idealistic • Spiritual doctrine • Incorporated many lessons of transcendentalism • Big on philosophy • Influenced by German philosophy and English romanticism • “bold, expressive, and a bit wild” • Limitless potential/growing confidence • Equality for all • Basis for future American literature

3. The Soul unto Itself • The Soul unto itself • Is an imperial friend – • Or the most agonizing Spy – • An Enemy – could send – • Secure against its own – • No treason it can fear – • Itself – its Sovereign – of itself • The Soul should stand in Awe –

4. TPCASTT T: Obviously something spiritual, a reflection of oneself, life, etc. P: The soul is its own friend or its own enemy – The soul is safe within itself and remains free of corruption. C: Juxtaposition between “imperial friend,” and “agonizing Spy,” There are small breaks/shifts after each line. Soul, Spy, Enemy, Sovereign, were all capitalized. It emphasizes the importance in each object, specifically the Soul since in transcendentalism the soul is the most important thing. First stanza follows an: ABCB rhyming scheme, and the second stanza follows: ABCD rhyming scheme. Dickinson personifies the Soul by comparing it as one’s friend or enemy, and also how it “stands in awe.” A: She speaks knowingly as if from experience/wisdom. She speaks simply and goes straight to the point. S: There is a shift between lines two and three, and between each hyphen there is a small breath/pause to punctuate each line she is trying to emphasize. T: As human beings we are the embodiment of our souls and it goes “unto itself.” T: You can never escape your soul, it is the only thing that will stay with you. You are your soul and your soul is you.

5. Transcendental Characteristics • Self reliance and individualism is greater than any other tradition you could go by. • You can’t escape yourself, in order to live freely you must trust yourself and embrace your soul. • Human beings and nature are beautiful in and of themselves. This is emphasized in the constant reference and importance of the soul in her work. • Our intuition and natural instincts guide us to do the right things. In nature, we are uncorrupted. • “If we are all to follow our own free will and listen to our hearts, we would be much better off.” • Conformity is wrong. • Everyone has a moral understanding of right/wrong. • Reflects the “here and now” aspect of transcendentalism.

6. Make the connection • Nothing is better than being yourself, yet today’s society has corrupted that idea. • People rely on other people and objects of materialistic value. They let other people and materialism define them instead of striving to be oneself. • People tend to look past the beauty of things such as oneself and nature. • “Society is the root of corruption.” • Everyone is materialistic now and they focus more on the monetary aspect of life rather than pursuing whatever makes them happy. • Even if one was to think that, we all conform in our own ways. Waking up for school, following the bells, etc. • This is true in the sense of moral understanding, but with today’s society but no one actually follows through with it. • People today don’t often think of “here and now,” instead they think of the future. They constantly focus on what’s ahead instead of what’s right in front of them.

7. Citations • http://www.online-literature.com/periods/transcendentalism.php • http://english.sxu.edu/~kolich/transcendentalism.html • http://csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap4/4intro.html