Romanticism and Transcendentalism

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Romanticism and Transcendentalism
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Where Weve Been

• First American Literature (2000 B.C. A.D. 1620)
• Native American Literature
• Historical Narratives
• Becoming a Country (1620-1800)
• Puritanism
• Revolutionary Writing (persuasive rhetoric)

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Individualism (1800-1855)

• Romanticism and Transcendentalism
• Longfellow, Irving, Emerson, Fuller, Thoreau,
  Whitman
• American Gothic
• Poe and Hawthorne

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Definitions

• Romanticism sprang up in both Europe and America
  as a reaction to everything that had come before
  it the rationalism of the 18th century Age of
  Reason and, especially, Puritanism.
• Romantic artists, philosophers, and writers saw
  the limitations of reason and celebrated instead
  the glories of the individual spirit, the
  emotions, and the imagination as basic elements
  of human nature.

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• Transcendentalism was based on a fundamental
  belief in the unity of the world and God.
• They believed that the macrocosm (the universe)
  and the microcosm (the indivdual) were directly
  connected.
• Emerson said that every individual is capable of
  discovering higher truth (and identification with
  God) on his or her own, through intuition.
• Transcendentalists sought to have individuals
  transcend to a higher spiritual level.
• To achieve this goal, the individual had to seek
  spiritual, not material, greatness and the
  essential truths of life through intuition.

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• Intuition, or common sense, functioned above and
  beyond the five senses. The faculty of intuition
  provided every person with their own ability to
  know what is absolutely true.
• Transcendentalists saw nature not only as
  beautiful, but as a reflection of
  divinityliterally, the face of God.
• They believed that the purpose of human life was
  union with the so-called over-soul which
  embraced, and was reflected in, everything in the
  world.
• People could develop their potential by immersing
  themselves in the beauty of the natural world.

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• Beauty and truth could be experienced only
  through intuition, though careful observation of
  nature might help to uncover its laws and provide
  a glimpse into the divine.
• Tended to be anti-religious.
• They felt that the authority of organized
  religion needed to be rejected and that people
  needed to find God within themselves.
• In pursuit of divine knowledge, seekers needed to
  be prepared to resist accepted social codes and
  customs.
• Truth could be found in nature and within ones
  self.
• Self-reliance and individuality, not obedience to
  outside authority, were the pathways to
  self-understanding and to the divine.

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Characteristics of Romanticism
Classicism Normality The group, the masses Balance, order Control, constraint Reality Order Facts and reason Tradition Urban Crowds Even temperament Balance Formal language Practicality The present Romanticism Abnormality The individual The grotesque Spontaneity Mystery, imagination Reverence for nature Intuition and feeling New ideas Rustic Solitude Melancholy Disorder Vernacular language Whimsy Distant in time or place
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Romanticism Idealizes . . .

• Natural scenery
• Natural man
• Rustic and primitive life
• The past, especially the medieval period

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Romanticism Emotionalizes

• Indulges the emotions
• Appeals to the senses, imagination, emotion
• Encourages awareness of the supernatural

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Romanticism Individualizes

• Values the eccentric
• Celebrates the abnormal
• Revels in differences and uniqueness

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Romanticism Escapes

• In time (past or future)
• In distant, rural places
• Into the emotions
• Into the subconscious
• Into the abnormal
• Into the imagination, the supernatural
• Into the senses

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Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

• Possessed a religious sense of mission
• Emerson was the philosopher and teacher
• Left the Unitarian church because he felt that
  to be a good minister, it was necessary to leave
  the church.
• He avoided building a logical intellectual
  system.
• Called for the birth of American individualism
  inspired by nature
• Most famous essay is Nature
• Major Ideas
• Need for new national vision
• Use of personal experience
• Notion of the cosmic Over-Soul

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Emerson Quotes

• Trust thyself, every heart vibrates to that iron
  string.
• Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the
  manhood of every one of its members.
• Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist.
• A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little
  minds.
• To be great is to be misunderstood.

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Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

• From a poor family, like Emerson
• Thoreau was the student and the practitioner.
• Worked his way through Harvard
• Reduced his needs to the simplest level and lived
  on very little money
• A nonconformist, he attempted to live his life at
  all times according to his rigourous principles
• Walden the result of two years, two months, and
  two days he spent living in a cabin he built at
  Walden Pond

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Thoreau, continued

• He also wrote Civil Disobedience, which
  contains his theory of passive resistance based
  on the moral necessity for the just individual to
  disobey unjust laws (inspired Gandhi and King)
• Main Ideas
• Ecological consciousness
• Do-it-yourself independence
• Ethical commitment to abolitionism
• Political theory of civil disobedience and
  peaceful resistance

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Questions to Consider

• In small groups (four or less), discuss the
  following questions. These will help you fully
  understand transcendentalism. One person per
  group should take notes.
• How are you affected by nature? Do you find
  comfort in it? Do you reflect the moods of
  nature?
• What is the role of nature in your life?
• What is meant by an individuals spiritual side?
  How do you define it?
• Is there a connection between the individuals
  spirit and nature? If so, what is that
  connection?
• What does it mean to know something intuitively?
  For example, has a parent or a sibling ever known
  something was wrong with you without having
  talked with or seen you? What do we mean when we
  say I just know it?
• How do you demonstrate that you are an
  individual? Do you think independently or others
  or do you follow the crowd?

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Other Questions

• 1. How can one find truth and, specifically, the
  meaning of life? Can you find it by reasoning?
  How would you define "reason"?
• 2. What is the relationship between these two
  words "religion" and "spirituality"? Are they
  the same?
• 3. If you believe in God, how do you understand
  the problem of salvation? How does one find God?
  How is one to be "saved"? How does one find a
  place in Heaven?
• 4. Have you ever had a "religious experience"?
  Where and when?
• 5. How would you describe your own personal
  relationship to nature?
• 6. Do you support the current environment
  movement? If so, why?