同济大学英语系美国文学史 American Romanticism-Transcendentalism.ppt

New England Transcendentalism Importance: the summit of American Romanticism. Representatives: A group of New Englanders, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and Margaret Fuller, about 30 people, mostly teachers and clergymen, formed a Transcendentalist Club and met regularly to discuss matters of interest and published a journal, The Dial （《日晷》） to express their opinions. Transcendentalism The term is derived from the Latin verb “transcendere” meaning, to rise above, or pass beyond the limits. Transcendentalism has been defined as the recognition in man of the capability of acquiring knowledge or of knowing truth intuitively, or of reaching the divine without the need of an intercessor. 人人心中都有一个可以通过直觉的内省来认识的上帝，……要敢于不通过任何中介或掩饰去爱上帝，包括牧师，教会等…… What does “transcendentalism” mean? The word Transcendentalism, meaning that knowledge can be obtained through mental process apart from experiences, was a Kantian term, denoting, as Emerson put it, “whatever belongs to the class of intuitive thought.” Emerson also said, Transcendentalism means idealism. Men possess the gift of intuition Men possess the gift of insight Men possess the gift of inspiration What did Transcendentalists believe? The most important thing in the universe is spirit, or the Oversoul. The Transcendentalists stress the importance of the individual. The Transcendentalists have a fresh perception of nature as symbolic of God. the Oversoul The Oversoul (God) is an all-pervading power, omnipotent and omnipresent, existing in nature and man alike.(similar concept of Neo-Platonism) 人人心中都存在一种能使其心灵认知自然之美得东西，这种抽象，无形，存在于心灵之中的东西即为超灵。 one can reconcile body and soul (which is part of “Universal Soul” or “Oversoul,” source of all life This offers a new way of looking at the world instead of the Newtonian concept of the universe (18th-century, the world made up of matter). Pantheism Pantheism: A doctrine identifying the Deity with the universe and its phenomena. God is not a personality as in Chr