ENGL 2132 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Henry David Thoreau, American Literature
Document Summary
American lit unit 2: american romanticism and realism: The romantics were writing in reaction to the age of reason, the period before, with its emphasis on reason, science, and pragmatic thinking. The romantics preferred the imagination, emotions, and instinctual feelings over scientific deduction. American romantic authors include poe, hawthorne, thoreau, whitman, and dickinson. Considers nature as a place of refuge, spiritual and creative renewal, and a source of knowledge. Shuns the artificiality of civilization and seeks unspoiled nature; characters and settings often set apart society. Uses individualized, subjective form of writing; champions individual freedom, wroth of the individual over that of society at large. Considers the universe as mysterious, irrational, and incomprehensible; therefore, the supernatural, dreams and visions are common motifs. On a metaphor level: this poem is representative of whitman as a democratic poet or a poet of the people.
