Lesson 4 New England Transcendentalism Emerson and Thoreau 美国文学超经验主义.ppt

 New England Transcendentalism * Emerson * Thoreau I. New England Transcendentalism 1. Time: In 1836, a little book came out which made a tremendous impact on the intellectual life of America. It was entitled Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson. The New World was thrilled to hear the new voice it uttered. … A whole new way of thinking began to exert its influence on the consciousness of man. Nature’s voice pushed American Romanticism into a new phase, the phase of New England Transcendentalism, the summit of American Romanticism. 1836 年，Ralph Waldo Emerson 出版的书《论自然》震惊了美国文坛，他提出了一种全新的思考方式，强调人的自我觉知。《论自然》的出版诞生了新英格兰超经验主义，讲美国文学的浪漫主义推向高潮。 2. Essence: “Transcendentalism is idealism” in essence. 3. Background: Some New Englanders who were not quite happy about the materialistic-oriented life of their time formed themselves into an informal club, the Transcendentalist club, and met to discuss matters of interest to the life of the nation as a whole. They expressed their views, published their journal, the Dial, and made their voice heard. 1840-1929 4.Representative figures: some 30 men and a couple of women such as Emerson, Thoreau, Bronson Alcott, and Margaret Fuller, most of them teachers or clergymen, radicals against rigid rationalism of Unitarianism. 超经验主义俱乐部的代表人物： Emerson, Thoreau，Bronson Alcott, Margaret Fuller, 包括教师，神职人员，反对僵硬的理性主义一元论 5. Major Features: A. Emphasis on spirit, or Oversoul omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent B. the importance of the individual as the most important element of society The regeneration of the society could only come about through the regeneration of the individual, through his self-perfection, self-culture, self-improvement, self-reliance C. Nature as symbolic of the Spirit or God Nature was not purely matter. It was the garment of the Oversoul. 6. The product of a combination of foreign influences and the American Puritan tradition. German philosophy: S