1. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Romanticism

2. What is Romanticism?
Literary movement during the 19th century (1800 – 1860)
Values feeling and intuition over reason
Imagination able to discover truths that rational mind could not

3. Core Beliefs of Romanticism
Affirmation of feeling/intuition over reason
Faith in imagination, inner experience, and youthful innocence rather than educated sophistication
Belief in unspoiled natural world, as opposed to artificial civilization
Individual freedom and the worth of the individual

4. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

5. Teacher and Priest School teacher in Boston.
1823 graduated from seminary school & became a priest to follow in footsteps of father.

6. Introduction to Romantic Thought
1831- first trip to England - meets poets Coleridge and Wordsworth– introduce him to Romantic notions of nature and philosophy.

7. “Nature” pp
1835- writes Nature, where he describes how humans find God within nature:
“In the woods is perpetual youth… In the woods we return to reason and faith.”

8. As we read, find five quotes that stand out to you
As we read, find five quotes that stand out to you. Lightly mark these quotes with pencil, and after we finish reading, you will write the quotations in your notes.
We will discuss the quotations as a group, and work through what points Emerson is making regarding nature and the individual.

9. Personification: A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes.
Examples:
“But every night come out these envoys of beauty, and light the universe with their admonishing smile” (241).
“The greatest delight which the fields and woods minister, is the suggestion of an occult relation between man and the vegetable. I am not alone and unacknowledged. They nod to me and I to them” (242).

10. “Self-Reliance” pp
We will read the excerpt of the essay as a group, and then you will answer a series of questions on the essay, which we will later discuss.

11. Romantic Writers We Will Study
Edgar Allan Poe
“The Pit and the Pendulum” pp
Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Nature” pp
“Self-Reliance” pp
Henry David Thoreau
“Resistance to Civil Government” aka “Civil Disobedience” pp