what is the Transcendentalist Bible/gospel?
nature
how does one become one with the Oversoul?
by studying nature and transcending the world
what is the Oversoul?
the Universal Being/God; it is everywhere and we return to it at death
is death feared by Transcendentalists?
no
what is the (transcendental) intuitive approach?
union of the individual psyche with the Oversoul; the universe is connected to the individual soul; one becomes one with the world while remaining unique and separate
who wanted to be the American poet?
Emerson, but is poems were not good enough
to Transcendentalists, are all people good?
yes
to Transcendentalists, are churches necessary for truth?
no
who was interested in Eastern philosophies?
Transcendentalists
who emphasized nonconformity?
Transcendentalists
what were Transcendentalist miracles?
life and everyday occurrences
did Transcendentalists emphasize consistency?
no, they preferred inconsistency and change
did Transcendentalists fear the future?
no, not if one trusts him/herself
to Transcendentalists, where does reform come from?
within; the individual is the spiritual center of the universe; all knowledge begins with self-knowledge
can Transcendentalists defy fate/predestination?
yes, through human thinking
was manual labor frowned upon by Transcendentalists?
no
who were famous Transcendentalists?
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Margaret Fuller, Bronson Alcott, Louisa May Alcott
what is the opposite of Transcendentalism?
materialism
what is the same as Transcendentalism?
idealism
are all Transcendentalists Romantics?
yes
are all Romantics Transcendentalists?
no
what caused Transcendentalism?
erosion of Calvinism, resistance to Puritanism, too much focus on science, irrelevance of religion, women’s rights, abolitionism, search for deeper truth
when was the American Renaissance?
1820-1865
what happened in the American Renaissance?
we gained an American voice
which poet gave the American voice to poetry?
Walt Whitman
what are some characteristics of the American hero?
young/youthful, knowledge of people or life based upon intuitive morals and not society’s rules, man into wilderness, loss of innocence, quest to reclaim paradise
what were characteristics of romantic literature?
nature is restorative, nature is good, the city is evil and dirty, nature is a teacher, imagination and feelings trump reason, youthful innocence is valuable, interest in exotic locales, distrust of progress
to romantics, what is the highest expression of imagination?
poetry
were American romantic poems innovative?
no, but American novelists were
what were fireside poems?
family-friendly poems
who was a famous fireside poet?
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
