II. Henry David Thoreau(1817-1862).ppt

II. Henry David Thoreau(1817-1862) a great prose stylist A nature writer A New England mystic A powerful social philosopher An enviornmentalist A botanist An economist The man of Concord A Harvard man without an occupation A man of one book Echoer of Emerson A wasted talent A country rebel A wild man A natural ascetic(苦行者) Henry David Thoreau I am a mystic, a Transcendentalist, and a natural philosopher. What I was learning in college was chiefly, I think, to express myself. The order of things should be somewhat reversed: the 7th should be man’s day of toil, wherein to earn his living by the sweat of his brow; and the other six his Sabbath of the affections and the soul---in which to range this widespread garden, and drink in the soft influences and sublime revelations of Nature. ----- The Commercial Spirit debate Lowell The prose work is done consciously and neatly. The style is compact and the language has an antique purity like wine grown colorless with age. Thoreau’s life He was born in Concord in 1817 His mother Cynthia Thoreau: “You can buckle on your knapsack, and roam abroad to seek your fortune.” educated at Harvard, graduating in 1837 His brother Henry died and his stay in Emerson’s home lived around Walden Pond from 1845 -04 to 1847 -09 by growing crops and vegetables. published Walden, or Life in the Woods in 1854 To My Brother Brother, where dost thou dwell ?What sun shines for thee now ?Dost thou indeed fare well,As we wished thee here below ?What season didst thou find ?Twas winter here.Are not the Fates more kindThan they appear?Is thy brow clear againAs in thy youthful years ? And was that ugly painThe summit of thy fears ?Yet thou wast cheery still;They could not quench thy fire;Thou didst abide their will,And then retire.Where chiefly shall I lookTo feel thy presence near?Along the neighboring brookMay I thy voice still hear ? Dost thou still haunt the brinkOf yonder rivers tide ?And may I ever