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Literature in the romantic period
Romanticism English literature
Literature in the romantic period
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In my opinion, Walden, or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau is an excellent example of a Romantic point of view. Thoreau successfully conveys his Romantic ideas through his literature, and makes clear where he stands. When one reads Walden carefully, one can find many of the characteristics of Romanticism in it. In from Where I Lived and What I Lived For the idea that Thoreau shuns the artificiality of civilization and seeks unspoiled nature is evident in that he seeks to live alone in the woods. As he puts it, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” He also appreciated the simplicity of life and wished not to complicate it with thousands of affairs, but rather, two or three. “In the midst of this chopping sea of civilized life, such are the clouds and storms and quicksands and thousand-and-one items to be allowed for, that a man has to live, if he would not founder and go to the bottom...
When he writes, “Let us spend one day as deliberately as Nature,” he follows it up with the rest of the sentence, which serves to clarify how we should live our lives by including what we should not do, such as losing
Thoreau found himself at Walden - and lost himself on Ktaadn. Walden, a mile from town, was a benign experience in which he learned what he could do without, what was essential for life. Ktaadn, high and remote, taught him what he could not do without, what was essential life.
Throughout the Romanticism period, human’s connection with nature was explored as writers strove to find the benefits that humans receive through such interactions. Without such relationships, these authors found that certain aspects of life were missing or completely different. For example, certain authors found death a very frightening idea, but through the incorporation of man’s relationship with the natural world, readers find the immense utility that nature can potentially provide. Whether it’d be as solace, in the case of death, or as a place where one can find oneself in their own truest form, nature will nevertheless be a place where they themselves were derived from. Nature is where all humans originated,
Romanticism is a revolt against rationalism. The poets and authors of this time wrote about God, religion, and Beauty in nature. The romantics held a conviction that imagination and emotion are superior to reason. One such author is William Cullen Bryant, he wrote the poem Inscription for the Entrance to a Wood. This poem uses many literary devices, and has a strong message to portray to the reader.
In chapter two of Henry David Thoreau's Walden, entitled "Where I Lived, and What I Lived for", there are two themes that run throughout the narrative. The key theme that emerges continually is that of simplicity with the additional theme being that of freedom. Thoreau finds himself surrounded by a world that has no true freedom or simplified ways, with people committed to the world that surrounds them rather than being committed to their own true self within nature.
Romantic Literature is a well-known section of American Literature. Each type of literature has its own themes and style that makes it unique. A famous author in romantic literature is Washington Irving. One of Irving’s most popular stories is The Devil and Tom Walker.
Henry David Thoreau wanted to express his thoughts to the world. He did so by writing Walden a book that gives insights on the world from Thoreau’s point of view. “Walden” gives valuable advice in all types of fields. It shows aspects of Thoreau’s personality and how he views the world. To the best of my knowledge, Henry has many characteristics that he expressed in this book. Most of what he wrote was impressive. Honestly, I was extremely enthusiastic about reading this. Initially, I thought it would be a book like Great Expectations. But my expectations were wrong. I did not think I would actually learn things. Surprisingly, it sparked motivation in me. I wanted to be more in touch with nature. It seemed like Henry David Thoreau had everything figured out. He was calm and thoughtful and he seemed to look at life in a different way. Being in solitude in nature must really get you in touch with your inner self. It allows you to look at your flaws and look at your talents. I was greatly intrigued by every page of Walden.
Thoreau, among the most heralded writers of the North American continent, may have lived on his little as possible, but the grandeur of his writing style suggest quite the opposite. This does coincide with a key part of Transcendentalism - putting matters of the mind and spirit far above any materialistic preference. Chapter 5 of Thoreau’s memoir Walden explains his reasonings for isolation through several rhetorical strategies that emphasize the splendor of aloneness and nature.
To conclude, Thoreau believed that people should be ruled by conscience and that people should fight against injustice through non-violence according to “Civil Disobedience.” Besides, he believed that we should simplify our lives and take some time to learn our essence in the nature. Moreover, he deemed that tradition and money were unimportant as he demonstrated in his book, Walden. I suggested that people should learn from Thoreau to live deliberately and spend more time to go to the nature instead of watching television, playing computer games, and among other things, such that we could discover who we were and be endeavored to build foundations on our dreams.
Henry David Thoreau is a naturalist, and enthusiast of simplicity, he expresses his passion for simplicity in his essay “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For.” He wrote this essay after living in the wood, he contrasts simple life in the wood from busy life in the urban area, through this comparison, he attempts to convince his audience that simplicity is better.
Romantic literature is such that an author writes in an attempt to convey his feelings on what the world should be like. It is unrealistic, unreasoning, and imaginative writing. William Cullen Bryant and Edgar Allen Poe are two examples of romantic writers. Though Poe fits the mold of a romantic writer it is obvious that his writings do not mirror those of Bryant or many other known romantic authors. His works share a uniqueness that is not found amongst the other writers, it is this uniqueness that separates Poe’s works from the rest. Bryant’s poem “Thanatopsis” is a good example of romantic literature. This work compared to Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” will show that characteristics of Poe’s work that, both, make him a romantic writer and separate him from other romantic writers.
Walden is a story about a man who lived in the woods for two years in a house he built himself so he could live off the elements in an attempt to live deliberately. To Thoreau the people of his village in Concord, Massachusetts was full of mere ghosts who trudged through life day to day without really living. He wished to escape the conformity. It was written in 1845, which leads to many cultural differences between the world Thoreau lived in and modern society. Walden lacks relevance in its actual contents, but is rather pivotal in its suggestive capacity for the current state of society.
The first important characteristic of the Romantic Period is a person’s connection with nature. People believed that being close to nature made you closer to a man and whole, and the further away you were from nature the further away from life and less whole. Wordsworth quotes, in “The World is
The main element of “Why I Went to the Woods” is nature and to live without distractions. In order for Thoreau to be able to do this, he went into the woods to be one with nature to make sure he was not missing what was really important. Thoreau presents his point by stating, “I wanted to live deep and suck out the marrow of life, to live so sturdily” (Thoreau 579). Thoreau wanted to live deep within nature, to take in all nature has to offer, and to get a deeper understanding of his own life. We all have an opportunity to have the same tranquility as Thoreau. Nature is one of the greatest gifts that is given to us freely. We could all have a deeper fulfillment by consuming the same peacefulness in our own mind and souls that Thoreau had. The society we live in today is complex and very dependent, opposite of the life that Thoreau had wanted to live. You do not need to have material items to have a fulfilled life, but a fulfilled spirit. We as a society have become greedy and selfish
In between those chapters, there are also sub-chapters on the top of each page, such as clothing, shelter, building the house, architecture, and furniture in Economy.