Henry David Thoreau also senses this loss of distinction. His book, Walden, published in 1854 at the height of American Romanticism, celebrates his return to Nature -- a sanctum of non-artificiality -- where Romantic writers sought knowledge and spiritual fulfillment. Walden is a key work of American Romanticism because of its embedded ideas of solitude, individualism, pantheism and intuition. Thematically rich, Walden tackles the importance of self-reliance, solitude, contemplation and closeness to nature -- all of which form the path towards a sort of enlightenment represented by transcendentalism -- the capacity to transcend the realm of mundane existence and society. Aside from providing precious autobiographical material, Walden offers social critique of contemporary Western culture, marked by a materialist perspective and the destruction of nature.
As mentioned before, American Romantics focus on self-reliant individualism. Perhaps the best example of the theme of self-reliance is to be found in Emerson's eponymous essay. Transcendentalism in America, of which Ralph Waldo Emerson was the leading figure, argues that a fundamental continuity exists between man, nature, and God, or the divine. What is beyond nature is revealed through nature; nature is itself a symbol, or an indication of a deeper reality. Self-Reliance, first published in Essays (First Series)...
Essay Topic Examples 1. The Role of Nature in the American Renaissance Romantic Period: Explore how nature is characterized and glorified in the works of American Renaissance Romantic writers. Discuss the symbolic and thematic significance of the natural world in the context of societal progress and the individual's spiritual journey. 2. Transcendentalism and Its Influence on American Romantic Literature: Analyze the philosophical movement of Transcendentalism and its impact on the literature of the American
Romanticism American Romantic poet and author Edgar Allan Poe Poe is one of the early American poets of Romantic literature. In the poem Annabel Lee he uses idealism in Romance language to describe a relationship with a woman in first person. A description of the adult lovers as children most likely represent innocence or naivety. The Romanticism comes in by comparing the couple to elements of nature. The love that the two
Russian writers like Pushkin, Lermontov and Turgenev experienced with the symbols of Romanticism as they inevitably reached the remotest literary fecund corners of the continent. Turgenev lived in Europe for a while, at the very heart of Romanticism and his translated literary works received the acclaim of the critics and were welcomed by the public as well, showing him as an artist who became an integral part of the
Although his wife was really upset, and very mean to him, his patience with her and about the severity of the situation, makes him a model person. Not many people actually have this attribute, and although many would wish to attain it, very few do. This adds on to the mythic American persona. Rip Van Winkle was liked by everyone. His sweet, nice characteristics made him a likeable person,
American Social Thought on Women's Rights This paper compares and contrasts the arguments in favor of women's rights made by three pioneering American feminists: Judith Sargent Murray, Sarah Grimke, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. This analysis reveals the centrality of religious argumentation to the feminism of all three. Murray and Grimke were both converts to varieties of evangelical Protestantism who drew considerable intellectual and emotional nourishment from strands of Christianity, which encouraged,
This gave everyone motivation to let themselves be heard and say whatever it was that was on their mind. This was what American life at the time was all about, and it was through American Literature that they were able to do so. Transcendentalism brought upon a literary era that encouraged the succeeding eras of literature to define American Literature. Realism was a literary period in American history that came
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