American Romanticism (Transcendentalism)
from Nature, by Ralph Waldo Emerson (205)
1. Imagery is the use of language to evoke
a picture or concrete sensation of a person, thing, place, or an
experience. Often these words will be a
description of how things taste, look, sound, smell, or feel. Copy at least three examples of imagery from
the excerpt.
2. “To speak truly,”
Emerson says, “few adult persons can see nature.” Emerson sees children as having the advantage
over adults when it comes to having a direct experience of nature. Do you agree with Emerson? What do people seem to lose as they grow
older?
3. How have the ideas
of the Transcendentalists (shown in Nature)
carried over into contemporary American culture? Why has nature been such an important theme
of American Literature?
from “Self Reliance”
(209)
4. In the first
paragraph, what does Emerson mean by “that divine idea which each of us
represents”? How does this philosophical
assumption influence the entire essay?
5. Emerson’s work is
full of aphorisms (short statements
that make wise or clever observations about life) such as “Trust thyself: Every heart vibrates to that iron
string.” Pick an aphorism from one of
Emerson’s writings and, on construction paper, make a greeting card. Emerson’s aphorism should be on the front
(along with some sort of visual) and a related aphorism of your own should be
on the inside.
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