What is Henry David Thoreau known for? American essayist, poet, and practical philosopher Henry David Thoreau is renowned for having lived the doctrines of Transcendentalism
What are 3 ideas Henry David Thoreau values?
Transcendentalists believed in numerous values, however they can all be condensed into three basic, essential values:
individualism, idealism, and the divinity of nature
.
What did David Thoreau write about?
He spent a night in jail after refusing to pay a poll tax. This experience led him to write one of his best-known and most influential essays, “Civil Disobedience” (also known as “Resistance to Civil Government”). Thoreau held deeply felt
political views, opposing slavery and the Mexican-American War
.
What is Henry David Thoreau primarily known for?
Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) was an American philosopher, poet, and environmental scientist whose major work,
Walden
, draws upon each of these identities in meditating on the concrete problems of living in the world as a human being.
What was Henry David Thoreau writing style?
Thoreau’s writing style is
dense with metaphor
, and filled with sentences that pile on observation after observation, and reflection upon reflection, until, before you know it, you’ve gotten to the end of the paragraph without crossing nary a period.
What did Thoreau believe?
Thoreau’s attitude toward reform involved his
transcendental
efforts to live a spiritually meaningful life in nature. As a transcendentalist, Thoreau believed that reality existed only in the spiritual world, and the solution to people’s problems was the free development of emotions (“Transcendentalism”).
What makes Thoreau a transcendentalist?
The transcendentalists were heavily influenced by
the European Romantic movement and Eastern religious texts and rituals
. They also firmly believed in the power of intuition over logic, and were fierce advocates of independence and self-sufficiency. These are the foundational characteristics of transcendentalism.
What is Thoreau’s philosophy of life?
Thoreau’s philosophy says that
value is not inherently monetary and can be found anywhere
, especially in the beauty of the natural world. One who adopts Thoreau’s philosophies for beauty and value will inherently stand at odds with some of the ideals of society, pushing luxury and money.
What does Thoreau think of most people’s lives?
In Thoreau’s view, what kind of lives do most people live? They
lead lives of quiet desperation
. The first sentence of this excerpt from Walden is a well-known aphorism, or statement commenting on life. “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.
What was Henry David Thoreau philosophy of life?
American essayist, poet, and practical philosopher Henry David Thoreau is renowned for having lived the
doctrines of Transcendentalism
as recorded in his masterwork, Walden (1854). He was also an advocate of civil liberties, as evidenced in the essay “Civil Disobedience” (1849).
What are Thoreau’s most important writings?
- Walden, or, Life in the Woods. Published in 1854, Walden is Thoreau’s most famous book and many would argue is his best. …
- Civil Disobedience. …
- Walking. …
- The Maine Woods. …
- Cape Cod. …
- A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers. …
- Life Without Principle. …
- Wild Apples.
How does David Thoreau use nature in his writing?
Seeking experience, Thoreau uses
nature as a tool for learning
, making the wilderness his role model and reference point. The language Thoreau chooses creates a comparison between apples and the divine, appealing simultaneously to transcendentalist and religious beliefs.
What is Thoreau’s most famous poem?
Thoreau’s importance as a philosophical writer was little appreciated during his lifetime, but his two most noted works,
Walden; or, Life in the Woods (1854)
and “Civil Disobedience” (1849), gradually developed a following, and by the latter half of the 20th century, had become classic texts in American thought.
What did Transcendentalists oppose?
Transcendentalists advocated the idea of a personal knowledge of God, believing that no intermediary was needed for spiritual insight. They embraced idealism, focusing on nature and opposing
materialism
.
What are 3 characteristics of transcendentalism?
The transcendentalist movement encompassed many beliefs, but these all fit into their three main values of
individualism, idealism, and the divinity of nature
.
Who were the most famous Transcendentalists?
Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau
were two of the most famous and influential transcendentalists. Some influential transcendentalists, such as Margaret Fuller, were early pioneers of feminism.
