Transcendentalism, A Powerful Intellectual And...

Transcendentalism, a powerful intellectual and philosophical movement founded by Ralph Waldo Emerson in the early nineteenth century, was guided by the principle that individuals are inherently good and function at their best when they are independent and self-reliant. Striving to produce a philosophy that would serve a new nation, transcendentalists believed that religious institutions and political parties would eventually corrupt the natural pure goodness of man. Transcendentalist ideology further asserts that by conforming to the standards set by society, man would not only lose the ability to follow his own instincts, but also become incapable of freely expressing himself. In his essay Self Reliance, Emerson writes, â€Å"Be yourself; no base imitator of another, but your best self. There is something, which you can do better than another. Listen to the inward voice and bravely obey that. Do the things at which you are great, not what you were never made for† (Emerson). O ther writers and intellectuals such as Frederick Douglass, Walt Whitman, and Emily Dickinson have adopted Emerson’s views on individuality and have expressed these ideals through their work. The spirit of individuality and self-reliance, key principles of Transcendentalism, are noted in Frederick Douglass’ Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Walt Whitman’s poem â€Å"Song of Myself† and Emily Dickinson’s poem â€Å"Nature (790).† Through their literary work, Douglass, Whitman, and Dickinson shareShow MoreRelatedDifference Between Romanticism And Transendinlalism In American And British Writers1584 Words   |  7 Pages The expression Romantic gained currency during its own time, roughly 1780-1850. However, the Romantic era is to identify a period in which certain ideas and attitudes arose, gained the idea of intellectual achievement and became dominant. This is why , they became the dominant mode of expression. Which tells us something else about the Romantic era which expression was perhaps everything to do with them -- expression in art, music, poetry, drama, literature and philosophy. Romantic ideasRead MoreDifference Between Romanticism and Transendinlalism in American and British Writers1616 Words   |  7 PagesTransendinlalism in American and British Writers The expression Romantic gained currency during its own time, roughly 1780-1850. However, the Romantic era is to identify a period in which certain ideas and attitudes arose, gained the idea of intellectual achievement and became dominant. This is why , they became the dominant mode of expression. Which tells us something else about the Romantic era which expression was perhaps everything to do with them -- expression in art, music, poetry, dramaRead MoreThe American Renaissance Essay1648 Words   |  7 Pagesdivine. 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The central idea is the optimistic viewpoint of humanity. People, men and women equally, have knowledgeRead MoreSelf Reliance Essay1678 Words   |  7 PagesThe Transcendentalist movement flourished in New England, and proposed a revolutionarily new philosophy of life. This new philosophy drew upon old ideas of Romanticism, Unitarianism, and German Idealism. Some of these ideas pertained closely to the values of America at the time. These values included nature, individualism, and reform, and can be noted in the essay â€Å"Self Reliance,† by Ralph Waldo Emerson. In this essay, Emerson states his value s and incorporates them into his philosophy of self-relianceRead MoreOn Wordsworth and Emerson ¡Ã‚ ¯S Conceptions of Nature3696 Words   |  15 PagesKey Words: conception of nature £Ã‚ »NATURE £Ã‚ »philosophical conception of nature £Ã‚ »common conception of nature £Ã‚ »passiveness £Ã‚ »individualism Outline I. Introduction II. Wordsworth ¡Ã‚ ¯s conception of nature III. 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