Transcendentalism- a system of philosophy, especially that associated with Ralph Waldo Emerson and other New England writers, that emphasizes intuition or the divine.
Romanticism- in the arts, the style and theories of the romantic movement, or the movement itself.
Aphorism- a literary, artistic, and philosophical movement originating in the 18th century.
11. The transcendentalists.
A. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) - American essayist and poet, a leader of the philosophical movement of transcendentalism. Influenced by such schools of thought as English romanticism, Neoplatonism, and Hindu philosophy. Emerson is noted for his skill in presenting his ideas eloquently and in poetic language.
B. Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) - American writer, philosopher, and naturalist who believed in the importance of individualism. Thoreau's best-known work is Walden; or, Life in the Woods (1854), which embodies his philosophy and reflects his independent character. The book records Thoreau's experiences in a hand-built cabin, where he spent two years in partial seclusion, at Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts. .
C. Walt Whitman (1819-1892) - American poet, whose work boldly asserts the worth of the individual and the oneness of all humanity. Whitman's defiant break with traditional poetic concerns and style exerted a major influence on American thought and literature.
D. Lincoln, Abraham (1809-1865), 16th president of the United States (1861-1865) and one of the great leaders in American history. A humane, far-sighted statesman in his lifetime, he became a legend and a folk hero after his death.
III. The nineteenth century romantics-.
A. The fireside poets.
1. John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892), American poet, born near Haverhill, Massachusetts, and largely self-educated. The young poet's earliest work attracted the attention of the abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, editor of the Free Press newspaper in Newburyport, Massachusetts, who asked him to contribute articles.
