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Emerson, Thoreau and Whitman
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Ralph Waldo Emerson was the founder and the leader of the Transcendentalist movement. It is "an American mutation of romanticism". He greatly influenced
Henry David Thoreau and Walt Whitman.
Why did Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau distant themselves from Walt Whitman?
Transcendentalism
Romanticism
Romanticist believed in expressing their own emotions. They had a child's sense of wonder. They did not think God was the center of the universe.
Transcendentalist believed in the power of knowledge because it lead to intellectual growth and spirituality. They had strong God beliefs. They valued nature. They also believed in the good vs. evil.
So eventually, Emerson and Thoreau distanced themselves from Whitman. It took a decade before Emerson had any contact with Whitman.
Works Cited
Levine, Robert S. and Arnold Krupat. "Songs of Myself". The Norton
Anthology of American Literature. 8th Ed. Vol. B.:1820-1865. New
York: W.W.Norton & Co., 2017. 1330-74. Print.
Moreland, Clark. "A Wilderness Prophet". The University of Texas of
the Permian Basin. 21 March 2015. Web. 16 June 2015.
--- "Striking Out On Our Own". The University of Texas of the
Permian Basin. 24 February 2015. Web. 16 June 2015.
--- "Walt Whitman, An American". The University of Texas of the
Permian Basin. 23 March 2015. Web. 16 June 2015.
Did Whitman fit with the Transcendental movement?
Henry David Thoreau
Walt Whitman
Whitman expressed both Romanticism and transcendentalism in his literature.
Romanticism was expressed when he wrote, "A child said What is the grass? fetching it to me with full hands; How could I answer the child? I do not know what it is anymore than he" (1333).
Transcendentalism was expressed when he wrote, "You shall posses the good of the earth and sun. (there are millions of sun left,) (1331).
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Whitman combined both styles, so it made it hard for people to label him one or the other. His unique style made him an "idiosyncratic poet". His unique style also then lead to obscene literature in "Leaves of Grass" which was not appreciated by either Emerson nor Thoreau.
Transcendentalism