Summary

更新时间：2004.4.19 21：00

Ralph Waldo Emerson's main attitude

Emerson regarded religion as an emotional communication between an individual soul and the universal “Over-soul” of which it was a part. He held that intuition was a more certain way of knowing than reason and that the mind could intuitively perceive the existence of the Over-Soul and of certain absolutes. Having this certain knowledge, a man should trust himself to decide what was right and to act accordingly.

Self-reliance: His basic philosophical faith is that the ultimate source of truth is within ourselves. We recognize truth outside ourselves, in nature or in others, and so must often depend on others, books, etc. to express it for us, but it is somehow within us. But we must assume that other people have the same potential as we do. Presumably, trusting oneself means much more than that; it means trusting that somehow or other we have an innate wisdom, and that every person has that wisdom, although few have much access to it. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson's main attitude (Another Version)

　　I. Emerson’s transcendentalism and his attitude toward nature:
　　1.Transcendentalism—it is a philosophic and literary movement that flourish in New England, as a reaction against rationalism and Calvinism. It stressed intuitive understanding of god without the help of the church, and advocated independence of the mind.
　　2. Emerson’s transcendentalism:
　　The over-soul—it is an all-pervading power goodness, from which all things come and of which all are a part. It is a supreme reality of mind, a spiritual unity of all beings and a religion. It is a communication between an individual soul and the universal over-soul. And he strongly believe in the divinity and infinity of man as an individual, so man can totally rely on himself.
　　3.His attitude toward nature:
　　Emerson loves nature. His nature is the garment of the over-soul, symbolic and moral bound. Nature is not something purely of the matter, but alive with God’s presence. It exercise a healthy and restorative influence on human beings. Children can see nature better than adult.

Thoreau's main attitude

   Both Thoreau's Transcendental philosophy and his scientific knowledge contributed to his love of nature.

   Thoreau illustrated through his writing that the pursuit of material things had no value. He desired a life of contemplation, of being in harmony with nature, and of acting on his own principles.

   Thoreau advocated thrift and hard work.

   Thoreau thought physical labor and a minimum of material goods made men more sensitive and kept them closer to nature.

   He was also strongly opposed to slavery. Thoreau was very much an individualist, distrusting group action and preferring to depend on individual reform for the improvement of society.

Whitman Versus Dickinson

Similarity:

1. They were both great writers in American literary, behind whom stood Emerson.

2. They were exploring individual identity in nineteenth-century America. They are both innovators in poetry because they chose to change common things in writing poetry.

3. Both Whitman and Dickinson portray death in their poetry as a positive yet indefinite.

4. They received little formal education. One similarity, on the other hand, is their use of modern ideas and concepts in their poetry. They both used modern but different concepts in their poems such as enumeration and startling imagery.

Difference:

1. The way they structured their poems. Basically, the structures of Whitman's poem is the lack of any structure. Dickinson, on the other hand, wrote poems with a definite structure.

2. Another difference between their poetry is the use of rhyme. Dickinson's poems, unlike Whitman's, made use of slant rhyme.

3. Whitman often wrote about the Civil War. Dickinson often wrote about death and nature.

4. The punctuation is drastically different as well.

5. The life style: Whitman tried his best to be a democratic and popular poet, but Dickinson had no notion like this and illustrated the fact that one could take a single household and inactive life and make enchanting poetry out of it.

6. Whitman wrote for audiences while Dickinson had no audience.

7. Whitman published his masterpiece during his life while Dickinson did not care for that.

8. Dickinson’s short poetic lines, condensed by using intense metaphors and by extensive use of ellipsis (the omission of words understood to be there), contrasted sharply with Whitman, who used long lines, little rhyme, and irregular rhythm in his poetry.

With similar differences and dissimilar similarities, both contributed to the American literature of the late middle 1800s. Whitman's prophet versus Emily Dickinson's recluse.