1、1Lecture Seven New England TranscendentalismEmerson&Thoreau 21.New England Transcendentalism In 1836,the publication of Emersons Nature(his first important philosophical work)pushed American Romanticism into a new age,the phase of New England Transcendentalism.American Romanticism culminated around
2、the 1840s.3New England Transcendentalism is t h e s u m m i t o f A m e r i c a n Romanticism;it is regarded as the“American Renaissance”(18361855;not only one of the important signs of the independence of American literature but also a significant phase in the history of American culture.41)The For
3、mation of New England Transcendentalism What is Transcendentalism?According to Emerson,Transcendentalism is idealism;idealism as appears in 1842.In the 1830s and 1840s,great religious and ideological changes were taking place in New England;some sensitive New Englanders formed themselves into an inf
4、ormal club,the Transcendentalist Club,and met there to discuss literature,philosophy and matters of interest to the life of the nation.52)The representative writers of New England Transcendentalism The club included some thirty men and a couple of women,most of them teachers or clergymen;of these Ne
5、w England Transcendentalists,Emerson(1803-1882),Thoreau(18171862),Bronson Alcott(1799-1888),and Margaret Fuller(1810-1850)were the more famous.63)The major features of New England Transcendentalism Spirit,or the Oversoul(超灵):most important thing in the universe;an all-pervading power for goodness,om
6、nipresent and omnipotent;from which all things come and of which all are a part;exists in nature and man alike;constitutes the chief element of the universe.7Its a new way of looking at the world,and a reaction to t h e 1 8 t h c e n t u r y Newtonian concept of the universe which holds that the uni
7、verse is made up of matter.8Secondly,the Transcendentalists stressed the importance of the individual.The individual was the most important element of society;his self-culture(修养),self-improvement and self-perfection should become the first concern of his life;the ideal type of man is the self-relia
8、nt individual;people should depend on themselves for spiritual perfection;the individual soul communed with the Oversoul and is therefore divine.9Its a new way of looking at man,and a reaction against the Calvinist concept that man is totally depraved,sinful and remains in sinhood,and can not hope t
9、o be saved except through the grace of God.10 Thirdly,the Transcendentalists offered a fresh perception of nature as symbolic of the Spirit or God.Nature was,to them,not purely matter,but alive and filled with Gods overwhelming presence;the garment of the Oversoul;exercises a healthy and restorative
10、 influence on the human mind;things in nature tend to become symbolic,and the physical world is a symbol of the spiritual.11Its a new way of looking at nature and added to the tradition of literary symbolism in American literature.124)The factors which influenced the ideas of New England Transcenden
11、talism New England Transcendentalism is a kind of idealism and the product of a combination of the foreign influences and the American Puritanism.13Foreign influences:German and French idealistic philosophy;Oriental mysticism;philosophy of the Chinese Confucius and Mencius.14Influence of American Pu
12、ritanism:Jonathan Edwardss notion of inward communication of the soul with God and divine symbolism of n a t u r e a l l f i n d a d e q u a t e expression in Emersonian Transcendentalism;in this Edwards was a forerunner of New England Transcendentalism.15Emerson recaptured the Edwardian vision and
13、stated his ideas in terms of transcendental idealism,and of Oversoul;what Emerson and his fellow Transcendentalists endeavored to do was in fact primarily to reassert the religious idealism of Puritanism.16 The Transcendentalists emphasis on the individual was directly traceable to the Puritan princ
14、iple of self-culture and self-improvement as best exemplified by the success story of Benjamin Franklin.172.Ralph Waldo EmersonHe is an philosopher,poet and prose writer;the most influential among his contemporaries,and the leading figure and most eloquent spokesman of New England Transcendentalism;
15、his Nature is called“the Manifesto”and“the Bible”of New England Transcendentalism.181)Emersons thought:All the things in the universe are the embodiments of the Oversoul;the soul of man is part of the Oversoul;man is divine.19 The individual is the most important of all.man can hope to become better
16、 and even perfect;he believed“the infinitude of man;men should and could be self-reliant;each man should feel the world as his,and the world exists for him alone;in the main optimistic about human perfectibility.20 Nature is emblematic of God.It mediates between man and God;nature is the symbol of s
17、pirit,and the wholesome moral influence on man and his character.212)Emersons position in American literature:His greatest contribution to American literature and culture lies in the fact that he firmly advocated the establishment of an independent national literature and culture.22His“The American
18、Scholar”(a speech made in Harvard College in 1837,published in 1838)has been regarded(first by Oliver Wendell H o l m e s)a s “A m e r i c a s Declaration of Intellectual Independence.”23He called on American writers to w r i t e a b o u t A m e r i c a i n a peculiarly American way.In his view,ever
19、ything in America was worth writing;the Americans were great in their own way.He was regarded as the standard-bearer(旗手旗手)of the independence of American culture.24The American ScholarvStudy Questions:v1.In this excerpt from the oration,Emerson speaks gladly of the lucky signs in literature and art.
20、In your own words,what is the first of these signs?v2.Emerson makes numerous references to foreign literary and academic figures.Does that mean he is a blind worshipper of foreign authorities?What is his purpose in doing so?v3.In what sense is this oration Americas“Intellectual Declaration of Indepe
21、dence”?v4.List the ideas Emerson is trying to get across to his countrymen in this oration.What is the central idea?253.Henry David Thoreau 1)Thoreaus position in American literature a prose writer and poet,and another renowned New England Transcendentalist;for half a century after his death,he rema
22、ined in obscurity,but he became one of the three great American authors of the nineteenth century who had no contemporary readers and yet became great in the 20th century(the other two being Herman Melville and Emily Dickinson).262)Thoreaus thought He took a more than usual interest in the natural w
23、orld.Like Emerson,but more than him,he saw nature as a genuine restorative,healthy influence on mans spiritual well-being;the best way for man to find truth directly is by sinking himself in the wholesome atmosphere of nature.27 He has been regarded as a prophet of individualism in American literatu
24、re.28 He was very critical of modern civilization.In his opinion,modern civilization was degrading and enslaving man;modern life has dehumanized man and placed him in a spiritual quandary(awkward or difficult situation);by trying to amass material possessions,man is not really living;he is digging h
25、is own grave;spiritual wealth is real wealth.29He went to live on Walden Pond just to experiment with a new way of life for himself,and felt that he came out of it a better man,reborn and reinvigorated.And in 1854,he published his masterpiece,Walden,one of the representative Transcendentalist works.
26、30 Thoreau was a man with a strong sense of justice,and desired that everyone should be treated with justice.For him,to respect justice is more important than to abide by the law.31 Thoreau had utopian political ideas,and held that“that government is best which governs not at all”.Thoreau was an active abolitionist and the spokesman of the Abolitionist Movement.
