Transcendentalism And The American Renaissance - 1693 Words

The American Renaissance was a revolution for literature and writers in America itself that emphasized cultural authority. The American Renaissance took place throughout the nineteenth century, primarily in the early segment of this era. According to, The Norton Anthology of American Literature, â€Å"the idea of American Renaissance has been so influential in part of the literature of this time period, and was crucial to the development of American literary traditions† (4). This created a diverse movement apart of the American Renaissance reform called, Transcendentalism. The Transcendentalism period which outlined majority of the Renaissance, was led by writer, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Transcendentalism is largely defined by the ideals of, religion, self reliance, civil disobedience, individualism, idealism, nonconformity, and nature. Emerson outlined the reform and countless parts of these Transcendentalism ideals, for writers soon to follow this movement. The Norton Antho logy of American Literature, presents Emerson’s language as, â€Å"†¦no American writer who placed greater importance on the reader’s active interpretive role in generating new meanings and new ways of seeing the world† (214). Ralph Waldo Emerson’s language was a formation composed of idealism and a philosophical literary movement. Founding father Ralph Emerson, contributed to Transcendentalism by the primary ideals of Nature, and Individualism. These ideals are all exhibited in Emerson’s essays, â€Å"Nature†,Show MoreRelatedAmerican Renaissance Writers Essays1409 Words   |  6 PagesAmerican Renaissance Writers ENG/491 December 19, 2011 Peggy Walls American Renaissance Writers The American Renaissance, in literary circles occurred during the middle to late 1800s. â€Å"One of the most important influences of the period was that of the transcendentalists† (Britannica, 2011). Major writers during this perid had a common bond. Their platform was ‘an idealic system of thought based on a belief in the essential unity of all creation, the innate goodness of man, and the supremacyRead MoreThe American Renaissance Essay1648 Words   |  7 PagesIn America, the American Renaissance was the period in 1835-1880 in which United States literature came of age as an expression of a national spirit. Literature became one of the most historically significant effects that occurred throughout the time period of the American Renaissance. The American Renaissance is also characterized by renewed national self-confidence new ideas and technologies. Politically and economically, this era coincides with the Gilded Age and the New Imperialism. By the endRead More Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau as Fathers of Transcendentalism730 Words   |  3 Pagesas Fathers of Transcendentalism Transcendentalism was a movement in writing that took place in the mid-nineteenth century. It formed in the early to mid nineteenth century and reached it climax around 1850 during an era commonly referred to as the American Renaissance, America’s Golden Day, or the Flowering of New England. The basic tenets of Transcendentalism involve the relationships between one’s self and the world at large. First, the search for truth in Transcendentalism begins withRead MoreSocial Anxiety : America s National Identity991 Words   |  4 Pagesthought is responsible for generating an American ideology of individualism, civil disobedience, and an emphasis on Man s individual affiliation with God. Within a generation of the revolution, American authors were initiating an exploration of an emergent American sensibility with a neoteric literary conviction. This new authorship of philosophical thought is characterized as â€Å"literary nationalism† and is furthermore expressed as an American Renaissance, yielding intellectually influential compositionsRead More The American Renaissance Essay1168 Words   |  5 PagesThe American Renaissance period, circa 1876-1917, heralded a new sense of nationalism with a pride linking to a spirit akin to Greek democracy, the rule of Roman law, and a cultural and educational reform movement often referred to as Renaissance humanism. This American nationalism focused on the expression of modernism, technology, and academic classicism. Renaissance technological advancements include wire cables supporting the Brooklyn Bridge in the State of New York, along with cultural advancementsRead MoreEssay about Transcendentalism in Literature1019 W ords   |  5 Pages The New England Renaissance brought out two distinct, yet influential movements known as transcendentalism and anti-transcendentalism. The two concentrated on intuition and human nature and formed a revolt against previously accepted ideas such as Calvinist orthodoxy, strict Puritan attitudes, ritualism, and the dogmatic theology of religious institutions. Transcendentalism is a term rooted back to Plato, a Greek philosopher who first affirmed the existence of absolute goodness, which he characterizedRead MoreRomanticism Is Essential to the American Culture954 Words   |  4 PagesRomanticism is essential to the American culture. It was sought out to be the central movement of the American Renaissance, being most mediated through transcendentalism and it continues to influence on American thought and writing. â€Å"Romanticism has very little to do with things popularly thought of as romantic, although love may occasionally be the subject of Romantic art. Rather, it is an international artistic and philosophical movement that redefined the fundamental ways in which people inRead MoreThe Effect Of Transcendentalism : Henry David Thoreau1654 Words   |  7 PagesThe Effect of Transcendentalism: Henry David Thoreau Transcendentalism is the American literary, political, and philosophical movement of the early nineteenth century that was rooted in the pure Romanticism of the English and the German (Goodman). Ralph Waldo Emerson is considered the father of Transcendentalism because his literature is the first to praise the notable spirituality of nature. The basic belief of the movement is to live authentically; being true to oneself (Day). The movement itselfRead MoreThe Dream of the American Renaissance1016 Words   |  4 PagesThe Dream of the American Renaissance The American Renaissance is a tangent of the heavy Romanticism that influenced America prior, and expands upon the growing interest of the common man. The Period had writers of the Transcendentalist belief, who aspired to become larger than life itself; to ascend onto the level of a deity, and to break free from a dangerous world full of adversary. Their Dream of Ascendance, their goal of becoming independent, is the one thought that was fully realized throughoutRead More`` Contemplations `` By Anne Bradstreet Essay1462 Words   |  6 Pagesequally complex, dynamic, and developing trajectory. However, unlike how history is typically divided into centuries, literature finds itself separated into periods of genres. For example, there was the epoch of Native American tales, the Realism eon, and the span of the Harlem Renaissance. Furthermore, the borders between these periods are not always definite. The stylistic characteristics and themes from one, often may bleed into another. This is particularly visible between the Colonial Period, specifically