美国文学史Emerson.pptVIP

Lecture 4 Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau Ralph Waldo Emerson He was born in in Boston, the son of a Unitarian minister. He attended Harvard, studied theology, and became a Unitarian minister in 1829. He resigned from his post for reasons of conscience in 1832. While in Europe, he met Wordsworth and Coleridge; then he settled down in Concord, and became the leading member of the Transcendental club. Emerson’s Major Works 1836 Nature (“The Bible of Transcendentalism” and “ The Manifesto of American Transcendentalism”) 1837 The American Scholar 1841 Essays “Self-reliance” 1844 Essays: Second Series 1849 Representative Men 1860 The conduct of Life Emerson’s Stylistic Features 1. Epigrammatic in expression of ideas 2. Rich in comparison, especially metaphor. 3. Sometimes incoherent not well organized. Key sentences Line 1, Paragraph 3, p, 23. I hope in these days we have heard the last of conformity and consistency. p. 20 Line 1: Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist. Line10: The only right iswaht is after my constitution. Thy love afar is spite at home. Concrete love is better than abstract love. You goodness must have some edge to it, else it is none. The doctrine of hatred must be preached, as the counteraction of the doctrine of love. Wicked institution p. 21 Virtues are rather the exception than the rule. My life is for itself and not for a spectacle. I can’t consent to pay for a privilege where I have intrinsic right. Do your work and I shall know you. P. 22 For nonconformity, the world whips you with its displeasure. The other terror that scares us from self-trust is our consistency. 过渡句 Why drag about this corpse of your memory? A character is like an acrostic 回文, read it forward, backward, or across, it still spells the same thing. Madam I’m Adam. P. 23 Character teaches above our wills. Greatness appea