Many literary scholars are currently handling the issue of the influence of British Romanticism on American Transcendentalism, and have found many clear connections which the two nations’ philosophies have in common. In this respect, they regard Carlyle’s influence upon Emerson’s writings as noteworthy. Both writers became significant representatives of the Victorian Age due to their numerous achievements in literature at the time. While Carlyle attained great success in New England and became “the leader and spokesman of New England Transcendentalists” (Thompson 452), Emerson was “America’s great philosopher-psychologist-poet of the Self” (Mott 61). Both of them came to hold a dominant presence in the still developing culture of a new age and gained significant notoriety within literary circles.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Replacing the Book of God
- Approaching Nature
- Nature and Man
- Nature and Spirit
- Nature and Mind
- Appealing to the Reader
- Conclusion
Objectives and Key Themes
This paper examines the thematic parallels and contrasts between Ralph Waldo Emerson's Nature and Thomas Carlyle's Signs of the Times, exploring how both writers express Anglo-American Transcendentalism through their respective styles and approaches to spirituality and nature. The paper analyzes how these writers present their shared vision of religion and their unique perspectives on the relationship between the individual and the divine.
- The rejection of traditional Calvinistic notions of religion in favor of a more spiritual approach rooted in nature and the individual self.
- The exploration of nature as a source of religious experience and the divine, contrasting with the traditional focus on supernatural elements.
- The emphasis on the coalescence of spirit and human mind, and the quest for a balanced inner self.
- The examination of the stylistic differences between Emerson and Carlyle, reflecting their distinct approaches to expressing transcendentalism.
- The influence of German idealism and British Romanticism on both writers' philosophical and literary endeavors.
Chapter Summaries
The introduction discusses the influence of British Romanticism on American Transcendentalism, highlighting the significant connection between Emerson and Carlyle. It also emphasizes the shared vision of religion and a similar approach to nature that unites these two writers. The second chapter delves into the shared rejection of traditional Calvinistic religious views, contrasting them with the philosophies of Edwards and Wesley. Both Emerson and Carlyle emphasize a focus on the natural world and the individual self as sources of spirituality, rejecting external religious institutions and the supernatural elements associated with traditional religion. This chapter also explores the influence of Arminianism on both writers' thought, emphasizing the pursuit of spiritual perfection and the balance between the spirit and the human mind.
Keywords
This paper focuses on key themes and concepts such as Anglo-American Transcendentalism, spiritualism, nature, religion, individualism, Calvinism, Arminianism, German idealism, British Romanticism, and the stylistic differences between Emerson and Carlyle. It investigates the influence of these themes and concepts on the development of Transcendentalist thought in the United States and the broader context of intellectual and philosophical developments in the 19th century.
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- Alina Müller (Autor:in), 2013, Parallels, Comparisons, and Contrasts of Emerson's "Nature" and Carlyle's "Signs of the Times", München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/213204
