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1、Chapter Four New England Transcendentalism*Emerson*Thoreau,I.New England Transcendentalism(When?Where?Who?What?How?)II.Ralph Waldo Emerson(his major works,his major ideas)III.Henry David Thoreau(his major works,his major ideas),Chapter Four,I.New England Transcendentalism(1836-1855)1.Time:1836-1855
2、In 1836,a little book came out which made a tremendous impact on the intellectual life of America.It was entitled Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson.The New World was thrilled to hear the new voice uttered.A whole new way of thinking began to exert its influence on the consciousness of man.Natures voice
3、pushed American Romanticism into a new phase,the phase of New England Transcendentalism,the summit of American Romanticism.,2.Essence:“Transcendentalism is idealism”in essence.3.Background:Some New Englanders who were not quite happy about the materialistic-oriented life of their time formed themsel
4、ves into an informal club,the Transcendentalist club,and met to discuss matters of interest to the life of the nation as a whole.They expressed their views,published their journal,the Dial,and made their voice heard.4.Representative figures:some 30 men and a couple of women such as Emerson,Thoreau,B
5、ronson Alcott,and Margaret Fuller,most of them teachers or clergymen,radicals against rigid rationalism of Unitarianism.,I.New England Transcendentalism(1836-1855),5.Major Features:A.Emphasis on spirit,or Oversoul（超灵）Omnipresent（无所不在）,omniscient（无所不知）,omnipotent（无所不能）B.the importance of the individu
6、al as the most important element of society The regeneration of the society could only come about through the regeneration of the individual,through his self-perfection,self-culture,self-improvement,self-reliance.C.Nature as symbolic of the Spirit or God Nature was not purely matter.It was the garme
7、nt of the Oversoul.,I.New England Transcendentalism(1836-1855),6.The product of a combination of foreign influences and the American Puritan tradition.German philosophy:Schelling,Fichte（费希特）,KantFrench Eclecticism（折衷主义）:Cousin（库辛）,Collard,Gerando,JouffroyEnglish critics:Thomas Carlyles Sartor-Resart
8、us Coleridges Aids to ReflectionOriental mysticism:Hindu works Upanishads and Bhagavad-GitaChinese Confucius and Mencius,Chapter Four New England Transcendentalism*Emerson,II.Ralph Waldo Emerson(1803-1882)1.Literary Status:“Father of American Essay”The Concord Sage（圣人）Leader and spokesman of New Eng
9、land TranscendentalismEssayist,poet,philosopher,orator,critic2.Life:Boston,Massachusetts a line of New England clergymen Boston Latin School Harvard College rejecting Calvinist tenets Unitarianism（上帝一位论）run a school for young ladies abandoned a Unitarian minister tour in Europe his return to America
10、 and second marriage(Lydia)promulgating（spread）Transcendentalism,Boston Latin School where Emerson got his early education,Harvard University,Harvard University Freshmens dormitory,Emersons Manse,Chapter Four Ralph Waldo Emerson 3.His philosophical ideas A.firm belief in the transcendence of the Ove
11、rsoul B.the individual is the most important of all.(the infinitude of man)C.Nature is emblematic of God,mediating between man and God,4.Aesthetics:(“The Poet”“The American Scholar”)A.Emersons poet is no ordinary person(a complete man,an eternal man to see into the depth of infinite time comprehend
12、the path of things and the divine unity of universe by intuition poet-philosopher)B.True poetry and true art should ennoble.(moral purification a passage toward organic unity and higher reality)C.The argument of the poet should decide the form of the poem instead of traditional techniques.D.The poet
13、 should express his thought in symbols which are universal things.E.As to theme,Emerson called upon American writers to celebrate America which was to him a long poem itself.,Chapter Four Ralph Waldo Emerson,5.His major works:A.CollectionsPoems(1847);Representative Men(1850);English Traits(1856)The
14、Conduct of Life(1860);May Day and Other Poems(1867)Society and Solitude(1870);Letters and Social Aims(1876)B.EssaysSelf-Reliance Compensation The Over-Soul The Poet Experience Nature(the Bible and manifesto of the New England Transcendentalism)The American Scholar(Intellectual Declaration of Indepen
15、dence)C.PoemsConcord Hymn The Rhodora,Chapter Four Henry David Thoreau,III.Henry David Thoreau(1817-1862)1.Literary Status:The Prophet of Non-Violence MovementAdvocate of New England TranscendentalismAmerican author,naturalist,transcendentalist,tax resister,development critic,sage writer and philoso
16、pher.2.Life:pencil-makers family Harvard a private school friendship with Emerson trip on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers in 1839 a cabin on Walden Pond and moved in on July 4 and lived there for over 2 years since 1845 a night in jail for a poll-tax（人头税）of$2.,Thoreaus Cabin,Chapter Four Henry Davi
17、d Thoreau,3.Major Works:“Civil Disobedience”or“Resistance to Civil Government”(1849)A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers(1849)Walden(1854)4.Walden,Thoreaus MasterpieceA.a great Transcendentalist work and Thoreaus masterpieceB.a faithful record of his reflections when he was in solitary communi
18、on with nature(the pantheistic quality of nature)C.a book on self-culture and human perfectability;a book about man,what he is and what he should be and must be.,D.prophet of individualism in American literature critical of modern civilization which was degrading and enslaving man.“Civilized man is
19、the slave of matter”a panacea for the fatal modern craze for monetary success in the wake of(as a result of)modern mechanization and commercialization.E.he was impatient with the overstress on the external development of human beings such as railroad,telegraph.,Chapter Four Henry David Thoreau,F.Reg
20、eneration became a major thematic concern of Walden and decided the structural framework:Walden unfolds in a single year,and progresses through summer and autumn to winter,and finally to a climax in the renascence of spring.G.Walden exhibits Thoreaus calm trust in the future and his ardent belief in
21、 a new generation of men.The book concludes on a clear note of optimism and hope.5.Men of the like MindThomas Carlyle(1795-1881);John Ruskin(1819-1900)Mathew Arnold(1822-1888);Soren Aabye Kierkegaard(1813-1855),The Original Site of Thoreaus Cabin,他把关于自然的观察与体验详细地记录下来，并赋予通俗的哲学意义，这是梭罗的书的真实可爱之处。梭罗积极倡导一种与现代物质生活日益丰富对立的简朴的生活方式，他堪称超验主义的实践家。瓦尔登湖是一门独特的艺术，它是美国现代文学中散文作品最早的典范之一。与其同时代的伟大作家们相比，此书的风格独特，甚至比霍桑、梅尔维尔和爱默生这些天才作家们更富于20世纪散文的气息。这一特点具体体现于它的句子平铺直叙，简洁和有观点，完全不像维多利亚中期散文那样散漫、用词精细、矫情和具体，也没有朦胧和抽象的气息。通过阅读此书，我们会惊奇地发现这本写于19世纪的作品与海明威、亨利詹姆斯等人的作品风格十分接近，只不过梭罗的风格更显得丰富而已。,
