english 3 – mr. mcgowan emerson thoreau whitman
TRANSCRIPT
English 3 – Mr. McGowan
Emerson
Thoreau
Whitman
TRANSCENDENT (definition)“Exceeding usual limits”“Going beyond the known universe”“Beyond the limits of ordinary experience”
TRANSCENDENTALISM =Philosophy of life (started 1800’s)
The BASIC TRUTHS of the universe lie BEYOND what we can experience with our SENSES
The INDIVIDUAL (the SELF) is the most important entity in the universe
Senses – sight, hearing, touch, smell, tasteDirect instruction – Parents, teachers, peersBooks, mediaExperience
Transcendentalists believed we need INTUITION
Can’t use RELIGION to figure this out. Why?“The highest power of the Soul” -Emerson“never reasons, never proves, it simply
perceives…” -Emerson
Mostly from New England - early to mid 1800’s
Led by Ralph Waldo Emerson (from Concord, MA)
Henry David Thoreau (also from Concord)
Walt Whitman (from Long Island)
Margaret Fuller (from Cambridge)
EMERSON=Man of PHILOSOPHY
THOREAU=Man of ACTION
WHITMAN=Man of LITERATURE
Emerson’s greatest belief: the power of the INDIVIDUAL. (Especially your own MIND.)
YOU are the ultimate judge of your own life and actions
Only by TRUSTING in yourself can you experience the true nature of the world
How is this a very American idea? How does this fit with American culture and values?
Maroon textbook Page 222
APHORISM = Short, catchy statement of truth
Read through the aphorisms. Choose THREE that strike you as particularly interesting and true.
Then, copy each one down on your paper and write a BRIEF analysis on what you think each one means. (3-4 sentences max)
ANALYSISWhat you think it means INTELLECTUALLYIn your BRAINApply to EVERYONE
REFLECTIONWhat does it mean to you EMOTIONALLYIn your HEARTApply to YOURSELF
Now, choose ONE of your Emersonian aphorisms.
On a blank sheet of white paper, copy your favorite aphorism, and illustrate it with visuals and/or color to be displayed in the classroom.
"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment."
Do you agree with Emerson’s idea that a man must be a noncomformist? Why or why not?Are there times when conformity is important
or necessary? Why?
Do you think Emerson’s idea of friendship is realistic? Why or why not?Do you have friendships which fit this
description? If not, could you see yourself someday having them?
Man of ACTION
Takes Emerson’s ideas and LIVES THEM
Most famous for: spending two years living alone at WALDEN POND
Wanted to put Transcendentalism into practice
“I wished to live deliberately.” SIMPLIFY, SIMPLIFY, SIMPLIFY
He was the SELF-RELIANT NONCONFORMIST that Emerson wanted people to be
“marched to the beat of a different drummer”
Most famous literary work: Walden
Walden is about his experiences in the woods of Concord at Walden Pond
Uses seasons as metaphors
Maroon book, page 232
Read the excerpts from “Walden” and answer the appropriate questions
From Long Island, NY
Became inspired by Emerson’s essays
1855 – publishes Leaves of Grass (book of poems)
Groundbreaking work of American literature
New kind of poetry: Distinct AMERICAN VOICE
Broke old rules of poetry (nonconformist): FREE VERSE
“democratic poetry” = the voice of the common man, the individual
METAPHOR
Sea of grass = HUMANITYOne individual grass = _________________
Relate to: Emerson’s transparent eyeball
The individual dissolves into the larger group but becomes greater that way
First poem in Leaves of Grass
First-person POV – describes the world through his eyes
The poet “speaks for everyone”