Walt Whitman And Transcendentalism Essay

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Is it possible to exist in nature without existing in God’s eyes? With many different views on nature and its relationship with individuals, it always seems to return to the miracle of God. As each era ends and a new one begins’, we are able to see how the views and its relationship with nature change. While the Transcendentalists believed that regular contact with nature was an important part of life, and the Puritans thought it to be a gift from God, the Founding Fathers viewed it as a way to help build their nation. The Transcendentalists are known to believe that nature is a very important part of life that is also influenced spiritually. They view nature as a symbol of God. Walt Whitman, as a Transcendentalist, began his relationship with nature at a young age while his father was a farmer. As he became older and started writing poetry, we see that his poems reflect this relationship that has grown within him between nature and God. As seen in Walt Whitman’s poem Song of Myself in our textbook, he views himself as part of nature when stating “I am mad for it to be in contact with me” (1025). Here he is making himself one with nature and one with God. …show more content…

The Puritan lifestyle was to live in the world without being of the world. As a Puritan, Anne Bradstreet battled with her beliefs in God but seeing nature with her own eyes proved that he existed. In her poem Contemplations, as seen in our textbook, we can see her pondering the beauty of this earth and imagining the beauty in heaven that will be so much greater. While Anne Bradstreet loves nature and its beauty, she really has a desire for eternal life. As she writes her poems, that often display the nature around her, she is always led to think about God. So as we see by the Puritan beliefs and Anne Bradstreet’s poems, the image we get of nature always leads back to

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