Henry David Thoreau
(1817-1862)
(1817-1862)
1. American writer, philosopher, and naturalist
2.American essayist and poet
3.Leader of American Transcendentalism
Thoreau's Transcendentalism
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) is most often mentioned as inspired by Emerson, the most representative of the phi1osophical and literary school which is American Transcendenta1ism. Thoreau embraced his master's ideas as a disciple. In 1845 he built a cabin on some land belonging to Emerson by Walden Pond and moved in to live there in a very simple manner for a litt1e over two years, which gave birth to a great transcendentalist work Walden (1854). The book not only fully demonstrates Emersonian ideas of self-reliance but also develops and tests Thoreau's own transcendental philosophy.
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) is most often mentioned as inspired by Emerson, the most representative of the phi1osophical and literary school which is American Transcendenta1ism. Thoreau embraced his master's ideas as a disciple. In 1845 he built a cabin on some land belonging to Emerson by Walden Pond and moved in to live there in a very simple manner for a litt1e over two years, which gave birth to a great transcendentalist work Walden (1854). The book not only fully demonstrates Emersonian ideas of self-reliance but also develops and tests Thoreau's own transcendental philosophy.
(1)For Thoreau, nature is not merely symbolic, but divine in itself and human beings can receive precise communication from the natural world by way of pure senses. So he was often alone in the woods or by the pond, lost in spiritual communion with nature.
(2)Thoreau strongly believed in se1f-culture and was eager to identify himself with the Transcendental image of the self-reliant man. To achieve personal spiritual perfection, he thinks, the most important thing for men to do with their lives is to be self-sufficient, so he sought to reduce his physical needs and material comforts to a minimum to get spiritual richness.
(3)His positiveness about the importance of individual conscience was so great that he even considered the society as fetters of the freedom of individuals.
(2)Thoreau strongly believed in se1f-culture and was eager to identify himself with the Transcendental image of the self-reliant man. To achieve personal spiritual perfection, he thinks, the most important thing for men to do with their lives is to be self-sufficient, so he sought to reduce his physical needs and material comforts to a minimum to get spiritual richness.
(3)His positiveness about the importance of individual conscience was so great that he even considered the society as fetters of the freedom of individuals.
Works
1. Walden, or Life in the Woods 1854
2. Civil Disobedience 1849
3. Life Without Principle 1863
4. A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers 1849
5. The Maine Woods 1864
6. Cape Cod 1865
7. Slavery in Massachusetts 1854
Evaluation
1.He became one of the three great American authors of the 19th century who had not contemporary readers and yet became great in this century, the other two being Herman Melville and Emily Dickinson.
2.His influence goes beyond America. His statue was placed in the hall of Fame in New York in 1969 alongside those of other great Americans.
3.Thoreau has been regarded as a prophet of individualism in American literature. He was very critical of modern civilization. “Civilized man is the salve of matter.”
Comment on Walden
1. Between the end of March 1845 and July4, Thoreau constructed a cabin on the shore of Walden Pond, near Concord. There he lived alone until September 1847, supplying his needs by his own labor and developing and testing his transcendental philosophy of individualism, self-reliance and material economy for the sake of spiritual wealth.
2. He sought to reduce his physical needs to a minimum, in order to free himself for study, thought, and observation of nature, himself. Therefore his cabin was a simple room and he wore the cheapest essential clothing and restricted his diet to what he found.
3.Walden can be many things and can be read on more than one level. But it is, first and foremost, a book about man, what he is, and what he should be and must be.
4.Thoreau has faith in the inner virtue and inward, spiritual grace of man. He holds that the most important thing for men to do with their lives is to be self-sufficient and strive to achieve person spiritual perfection. Thoreau was very critical of modern civilization. “Civilized man is the slave of matter,” he said on one occasion.
5. Considered one of the all-time great books, Walden is a record of Thoreau's two year experiment of living at Walden Pond. The writer's chief emphasis is on the simplifications and enjoyment of life now. It is regarded as
6.It exhibits his calm trust in the future and his ardent belief in a new generation of men. The book concludes on a clear note of optimism and hope.
7. Regeneration became one of its major thematic concerns and decided its structural framework. The whole book is within the frame of a single year, and progresses through summer and autumn to winter, and finally to a climax in the renascence of spring.
Writing style of Walden
A . Prophetic Voice. The epigraph of Walden in a good example of how Thoreau was trying to be a prophet in this book. “I do not proposes to write an ode to dejection or sorrow but rather to brag as lustily as a chanticleer( rooster) in the morning standing on his roost if only to wake my neighbors up” That is Thoreau’s tone in much of this book.
trap henry 歌词B. Direct Forceful Sentence. The transcendentalists were characterized by their moral earnestness. They were like Puritan preachers interested in conveying an important message. The short clear direct sentences of much concerned to get his message across..
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