The American Renaissance

American Romanticism & Transcendentalism

The American Renaissance

(1828-1865)

Romanticism� Began in Germany during the second half of the

18th century

� Had a strong influence on literature, music, and art in Europe and England well into the 19th

centurycentury

Tenets of Romanticism� Romantics believed that imagination,

spontaneity, individual feelings, and nature were of greater value than reason, logic, planning, and cultivation.

� Romantics believed that the imagination was able � Romantics believed that the imagination was able to discover truths that reason could not reach. These truths were usually accompanied by powerful emotion and associated with beauty.

Romantic Literature� Sought to rise above “dull realities” to a realm

of higher truth by:

�Exploring exotic settings in the more “natural” past—a world far away from the industrial citiesindustrial cities

�Contemplating the natural world until dull reality falls away to reveal underlying beauty and truth

� Common theme-- in NATURE and CHILDHOOD we see universal, spiritual truths

Themes in Romantic Literature

� City= moral corruption and death

� Countryside= independence, straightforward moral certainty, and health

� Development of self/self-awareness

� The individual had a moral duty to reform social inequalities and relieve human suffering

TranscendentalismTranscendentalismTranscendentalismTranscendentalism

“ It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, always do what you are afraid to do.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

What is Transcendentalism?What is Transcendentalism?What is Transcendentalism?What is Transcendentalism?• A literary movement in the 1830’s that established a

clear “American voice”.

• Idealistic philosophy, spiritual position, and literary movement that advocates reliance on romantic intuition and moral human conscienceand moral human conscience

• A movement that focused primarily on the individual arriving at his own beliefs about the world.

� Transcendentalism had different meanings for each person involved in the movement.

Where did it come from?Where did it come from?Where did it come from?Where did it come from?� Ralph Waldo Emerson gave German philosopher

Immanuel Kant credit for popularizing the term “transcendentalism.”

� It began as a reform movement in the Unitarian church.

� It is not a religion—more accurately, it is a philosophy or form of spirituality.

� It centered around Boston and Concord, MA. in the mid-1800’s.

� Emerson first expressed his philosophy of transcendentalism in his essay Nature

What did Transcendentalists What did Transcendentalists What did Transcendentalists What did Transcendentalists believe?believe?believe?believe?• A belief in a higher reality than that achieved by human

reasoning.

• Suggests that every individual is capable of discovering this higher truth through intuition.

• There is an ideal spiritual state which “transcends” the • There is an ideal spiritual state which “transcends” the physical and empirical.• Opposed the strict ritualism and dogma of established

religion and the objectivity of science.

� A loose collection of eclectic ideas about literature, philosophy, religion, social reform, and the general state of American culture.

Transcendentalist Beliefs, cont’dTranscendentalist Beliefs, cont’dTranscendentalist Beliefs, cont’dTranscendentalist Beliefs, cont’d

• Unlike Puritans, they saw humans and nature as possessing an innate goodness.

“In the faces of men and women, I see God”

-Walt Whitman

• Believed in living close to nature/importance of • Believed in living close to nature/importance of nature. Nature is the source of truth and inspiration.

• Taught the dignity of manual labor

• Advocated self-trust/ confidence

• Valued individuality/non-conformity/free thought

• Advocated self-reliance/ simplicity

Who were the Transcendentalists?Who were the Transcendentalists?Who were the Transcendentalists?Who were the Transcendentalists?

� Ralph Waldo Emerson

� Henry David Thoreau

� Amos Bronson Alcott

� Margaret Fuller

Ellery Channing� Ellery Channing

Ralph Waldo Emerson� 1803-1882� Unitarian minister� Poet and essayist� Founded the

Transcendental Club� Popular lecturer� Popular lecturer� Banned from Harvard

for 40 years following his Divinity School address

� Supporter of abolitionism

Henry David Thoreau� 1817-1862

� Schoolteacher, essayist, poet

� Most famous for Walden and Civil DisobedienceDisobedience

� Influenced environmental movement

� Supporter of abolitionism