The Transcendentalists
Transcendentalism emerged in the 30ies. This time witnessed noticeable sharpening of capitalist contradictions. People began their strikes, workers uprising and unions helped the appearance of romanticists, who stood agains mercantalism. There began chasses after dollars. The new literary trend leaked upon the aesthetics of romanticism and it was a new branch of romanticism.
In 1836 there was founded «Transcendentalist Club» at the head of which stood Ralph Waldo Emerson. The members of the Club were Henry David Thorean (1817–1862), Teodore Parker, George Reeply, Amos Alcolt, Elizabeth Pibody, Margaret Fuller (1810–1850) and others.
Transcendentalism is a specific American philosophical and literary trend.
To transcend something is to rise above it, to pass beyond its limits.
Transcendentalism is based on the belief that the most fundamental truths about life and death can be reached only by senses. The transcendentalism believed that each and every man and woman living as a true individual, free from restrain dogma and dull habits of thought, could know something spiritual reality but could not know it through logic or the data of the senses.
Transcendentalists did not have a strict doctrine or code. This trend is more a tendency, an attitude, than it is a philosophy.
Nature played an impotant role in the trenscendentalist view. Nature was divine, alive with spirit, the human mind could read nature, find truths in it. To live in harmony with nature, to allow one^s deepest intaitive being to communicate with nature, was a source of goodness and inspiration.
The trnscendentalists believed that deep intaition of a stiritual reality is available to us only if we allow ourselves to be individuals, and Transcentalist writing places a strong emphasis on individualism.
Trenscendentalists assert that the powers of the individual mind and soul are equally available to all people. These powers are not dependent upon wealth or background or education. We all have a potential equality as spiritual beings, and the divinity within each of us can be realized by the learned minister and the scholar. For Emerson every person can be a kind of poet, realising individual imaginative power.
Society, with its emphasis on material succes, is often seen as a source of corruption.
The tone of transcendentalism writing is often optimistic and aspiring. It frequently suggests that the individual, in hormony with the divine universe, can transform the world. The New England movement, as represented by Emerson and others, has characterized by the absence of a forcual system of thought, the exeltation of the spiritual in a general sense over the material, and the immanence of the divine all the creation, especially as set forth in Emerson’s «Oversoul». Transcendentalists state that only practice, experience, the surrounding world form a person. They thought that a man is by birth inherent in undestending truth and errors, good and evil and that these ideas transcendental, i.e. they come to a man without experience. But the transcendentalists condemned the moral and the practice of bourgeois America, its ideals. Transcendentalism became a kind of a protest form of American intellegentia against aethetically pushing sides of capitalist progress in the USA.
Transcendentalists thought that the society would develop homoniously, if evry person did his best. At the same time the transcendentalists were anxious about the corruption of the American society, wallowed in mercenary calculations, which ignored spiritual interestes.
Rejecting Calvinism and the materialism of society, Emerson and Thoreau asserted their beliefs in deism, in individualism and self-reliance, and in the for national literature. These ideas, most clearly expressed in Emerson’s «Nature» (1836) or «Self-Reliance» (1841) and in Thoreau’s «Walden» (1854) or «Civil Disobedience» (1848), directly influenced three groups of writers:
The writers of the «American Renaissance», Hawthorne, Poe and Melvill, whose symbolic and imaginative works are however more pessimistic, dealing with the individual caught between his own values and those of society, (cf. Edgar Allan Poe’s «Tales»; Nathaniel Hawthrone’s «The Scarlet Letter» (1850) or «The House of the Seven Gables» (1851); Herman Melville’s «Moby Dick» (1851).
Walt Whitman, the prophet and seer, the believer in democracy, in the vitality of man and in the necessary emergency of an American poetry («Leaves of Grass», 1855).
The Schoolroom or Household Poets, Longfellow, Lowell and Whittier, so called because of the tremendous popularity of their works which were read at home and in school. They often used historical themes, folk materials, and traditional forms such as the ballad (e.g. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s «Evangeline», 1847, or «The Song of Hiawatha», 1855); John Greenleaf Whitter’s «Snow-Bound: A Winter Idyll» (1866); James Russell Lowell’s «The Biglow Papers» (1846–1848), and «A Fable for Critics» (1848).
Ralph Waldo Emerson’s life was rather quiet and well ordered, but it was full of ideas. Emerson was born in Boston. He attended Harvard University, studied theology. In 1829 he became a Unitarian minster. He made a trip to Europe after the trip he settled in the village of Concord, Massachusetts. At Concord he became a member of the Transcendental Club. It was at Concord that Emerson composed his first book, treatise «Nature» (1836). His address called «The American Sholar» (1837) has been an inspiration to generations of young Americans. Emerson achieved national fame after his «Essays» in 1841. Then came «Essays: Second Series» (1844), «Representative Men» (1849) and «The Conduct of Live» (1860).
When he was a young man, Emerson began writing what he called his «Savings Bank» the remarkable journals and notebooks that were not published in full until almost a centure after his death. We read in those writings his daily thoughts and observations. He traveled widely throughout the coutry, delivering lectures in a rich and beautiful voice. His optimism, his believe in the vast possibilities of mind and spirit suited the American nation.
He wanted us to live in harmony with nature. He said that the universal spirit is the sorce of all unity and growth. Emerson was sure that if we «see truly»… we will «live truly».
«Nature» is a lyrical expression of the harmony Emerson felt between himself and nature. «Self – Reliance» (a treatise) is also at the core of Emerson’s ideas.
Whenever the romantic mind turns to philosophical speculation, it is quick emphasize that which is innate or intuitiul in preference to that which is rational or intellectual. In America during the first half of the nineteenth century there grew up a coterie of such thinkers who came to be known as Transcendentalists, although the name was used very loosely and vaguely to define almost any writer of mistical indinations. There was general agreement, however, that a «transcendalist» believed for the most part that man’s ideas, ideals, and beliefs were not to be based on experience alone, but rather should transcend exp. The whole tendency of these thinkers was to revolt against the empirical, «take-the-world-as-you-find-it» philosophy of the seventeenth and eighteenth century deists.
Among these American transcendentalists Emerson was by far the greatest and most influential. He was born in Boston, the son of a minister, and prepared himself to follow in his father’s path. He graduated from Harvard in 1821, an average student with, however, some unusual promise in the writing of poetry and in oratory as well as general intellectual aliveness. He proceeded at once to divinity school and in 1829 became pastor of the Second Church in Boston.
But his inquisitive mind had already outgrown the limitations of creed and dogma. He found himself unable to administer with conviction the Sacrament of the Last Supper, proposing to omit it from his ministerial service: and when his congregation failed to support him on this issue, he resigned from the ministry (1882). After a trip to Europe, in the course of which he met Wordworth, Coleridge, and Carlyle, he returned to settle in the quiet village of Coneord, Massachusetts (1834), where he became known as the great secular preacher of his age. His full recognition asa a major American writer had been achieved by the tince if the American Civil War.
Emerson wrote essays and distinguished verse. The long line of useful essays was inaugurated by «Nature» (1836), which is an admirable statement, not only of the romantic veneration and warship of Nature, expressed it in verse, but also of the majority of Emerson’s favourite moral ideas. «The American Scholar» (1837) is in most respects the true Declaration of Independence for American thought and American literature;» The Divinity Shcool Address» (1838) caused a sensation and alienated Emerson from Harvard for some thirty years. His essays and lectures were gathered into three collections: one in 1841, another in 1844, a third in 1849.
«Representative Men» (1850) consists of a group of biographical essays suggested by his friend Carlyle’s «Heraes and Hero-Worship»; these two works are classic statements of the importance to 19th century thought of the lonely but mighty individual genius, are idea which reaches a logical conclusion in Nietzsche and his concept of the Superman.
«English Traits» (1856) recounts his pleasant experiences on a trip to England» The Conflict of Life «(1860) is in reality a fourth book of essays. His poems were collected in 1847. No consederation of Emerson’s work, moreover, canomit the Journals, not published for the first time as a whole until1909–1914.
Emerson is not a systematic philosopher; rather he gives the impression of one thinking about in comptete freedom. It is useless to attempt to outlinein brief a typical Emerson essay. His style is aphoristic; his paragraphs are often strings of pithy sayings, and his sentences are more often terse than periodic. His gift of utterance is always arresting, however and his felicity of phrase is often memorable. Moreover, always there lies a fundamental unity down underneath all his superticial formlessness. This unity comprehends and is altrehed to one or more of the following tenets of his thought, most of them obviously Platonic; reality is of spiritual nature: to rely on oneself rather than on others is of supreme significance: man is born to hope and fight toward some chosen goal. With such valiant weapons in his arsenal, Emerson fully deserves the encomium of Matthew Arnold, who called him «the friend and aider of those who would live in the spirit».
In America during the first half of the XIX century there grew up a coterie of such thinkers who came to be known as Trauceudentalists, although the name was used very loosely and vaguely to define almost any writer of mistical inclinations. There was general agreement, however that a «transendentalist» believed for the most part that man’s ideas, and were not to be fasel on experrience alone but rather should transcend experience. The whole tendence of these thinkers was to revolt against the emprical «take-the-world-as-you-find-it» philosophy of the 1718 century deists. Among these transcendentalists Emerson was by for the greatest and most influental. He was born in Boston the son of a Uniterian minister and prepared himself to follow in his fathers path. He graduated from Harvard in 1821 an avarage student with however some unsual promise writing of poetry and in the writing as well as in general intellectual aliveness. He proceeded at once to divinity 1829 became of the Second Church in Boston.
But in his inquisitive mind had already outgrown the limitations of creed and dogma. He found himself unable to a minister with conviction the Sacrement of the Last supper proposing to omit it from his ministerial service and when his congregation failed to support him on this issue he resigned from the ministry (1832).After a trip to Europe in the course of which he met Wordsworth Coleridge, and Carlyle he returned to settle in the quite village of Concord Massachusetts (1834), which was to be his home for the remaining half-century of his life. Here he became known as the great secular preacher of his age his sermons were delivered chiefly from the lecture platform where he proved himself an ideal man to fill the part demanded by the Cravings of XIX century Americans for culture and «uplift» by way of the lyceum and later the Chantauqua circuits. his full recognition as a major American writer had been achieved by the time of the American Civil War.
The recognition was based in chief measure upon Emerson s essays, although he wrote some often distinguished verse. The long line of useful essays was inaugurated by «Nature» (1836), which is an admirable statement, not only of the romantic veneration and warship of Nature expressed in prose where Worsworth expressed it in verse but also of the Emerson s favourite moral ideas. «The American Sendar» (1837» is in most respects the true declaration of independence for American thought and literature it is the first notable plea for America to stand on her own culturally speaking.» The Divinity School Adress» (1838), in which Emerson sought to justify his unorthodox beliefs before graduating class of the Harvard divinity school caused a sensation and alienated Emerson from Harvard for some thirty years. Subsequently his essays and lectures were gathered into three collections: one in 1841, another in 1844, a third in 1849.» Representative men» (1850) consists of a group of biographical essays suggested by his friend Carlyle s ‘Heroes and Hero – Worship». These two works are classic statements of the importance to XIX century thought of the lonely but mighty individual genius an idea which reaches a logical conclusion in Neitzsche and his concept of the Supermen. «Entglish Traits» (1856) recounts his pleasant experiences on trip to England «The conduct of life» (1860) is in reality a fourth book of essays. No consideration of Emerson s work, moreover can omit the «Journals», not published for the first time as a whole until 1909–1914.
It is a manifest impertience to attempt to compress a men such intellectual range as Emerson s work certain ideas keep recurring these are helpful in making just opinion concerning the man s mind and personality. He is not a systematic philosopher rather he gives the impression of one thinking aloud in complete freedom. It is useless to attempt to outline in brief a typical Emerson essay. His style is suprisingly aphoristic his paragraphs are often only strings of pithy sayings and his sentences are more often terse than pariodic. His gift of utterance is always arresting however, and his felicity of phrase is often memorable. Moreover, always there lies a fundamental unity down underneath all his superficial farmlessness. This unity comprehends and is attached to one or more of the following tenets of his thought most of them obviously platonic reality is of spiritual nature; to relay on oneself rather than on others is of supreme importance; God is to be refeved to as spiritual «Over-Soul» which permeates all existences and harmonies all things to form the Universe; character is of supreme significance out weighing all material considerations; man is born to hope and fight toward some chosen goal. With such valiant weapons in his arseual Emerson fully deserves the encomium of Matthew Arnold who called him «the friend and aider of those who would live in the spirit» (1).
Concord Hymn by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Sung at the complition of the Battle monument, July the 4,1837.
By the rude (roughly made) brige that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood
And fired the shot heard round the world.
The foe long since in silence slept;
Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;
And Time the ruind bridge has swept
Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.
On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set today a votive (dedicated to fulfill a vow) stone;
That memory may their deed redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.
Philip Freneau(1752–1832)
Philip Freneau wrote a college poem in 1772 entitled «The Rising Glory of America». The future of his country was always a subject of interest for poet and citizen Freneau.
During the Revolutionary War Freneau became an ardent supporter of the American cause. While on sea duty he was captured by the British and placed aboard prison ship, an experience which inspired a long poem entitled «The British Prison Ship». He wrote a number of other long poems, but he was at his best in his short lyrics, such as «The Wild Honey Suckle». Many of these short works, including «On the Emigration to America», «The Indian Burying ground», and «To the Memory of the Brave Americans», deal with American subjects, and it is for these poems that Freneau is best remembered today.