Emerson-Thoreau原创.ppt

Ralph Waldo Emerson 拉尔夫·沃尔多·爱默生（1803-1882） Poet Essayist Popular lecturer Father of Transcendentalism Life A. born in a clergyman’s family in New EnglandB. graduated from HarvardC. a Unitarian ministerD. abandoned Unitarianism and went to Europe searching for truthE. founded a Transcendentalists Club and published a journalF. traveled and gave lectures; quite influential Ralph Waldo Emerson: major works Nature 自然 (1836) ：“the manifesto of American transcendentalism” and “the Bible of New England Transcendentalism.” The American Scholar 美国学者(1837)： Americas Declaration of Intellectual Independence Self-Reliance 论自助: the importance of cultivating oneself Aesthetics a. In Emersons opinion, poets should function as preachers who gave directions to the mass.b. True poetry should serve as a moral purificationc. The argument (or his thought or experience) should decide the form of the poem instead of traditional techniques. Aesthetics d. The poets should express his thought in symbols.e. Poets should use words for their pictorial and imaginative meaning.f. As to theme, Emerson called upon American authors to write about peculiar American matters. Evaluation to him He was the first American to call for an independent culture in both Nature and The American Scholar. He called on American writers to write about America in a way peculiarly American. Emerson’s aesthetics places emphasis on ideas, symbol, and imaginative words, which brought about a revolution in American literature in general and in American poetry in particular. Evaluation to him He embodied a new nation’s desire and struggle to assert its own identity in its formative period. In modern times he is sometimes dismissed as having no sense of evil, and his optimistic philosophy as so much Transcendentalist folly. Limitation His reputation fell in the 20th century because he firmly believed human and human society could be better. It seemed that he had no sense of evil and too o