A Transcendentalist’s View of the World:
Emerson and Thoreau
1) Everything in the world, including human beings, is a reflection of the
Divine Soul.
2) The physical facts of the natural world are a doorway to the spiritual or
ideal world.
3) People can use their intuition to behold God’s spirit revealed in nature or
their own souls.
4) Self-reliance and individualism must outweigh external authority and
blind conformity to customs and traditions.
5) Spontaneous feelings and intuition are superior to deliberate
intellectualism and rationality.
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An Anti-Transcendentalist’s or Dark Romantic’s View of the World
Poe, Melville, Hawthorne
1) Agree with the Transcendentalists that spiritual facts lie behind the
appearance of Nature- BUT believe these facts are not necessarily
good or even harmless.
2) Original sin prevails; we all have a dark side, and there is an innate
depravity in man.
3) Explores mystical and melancholic
4) Explores conflict B/W Good and Evil
5)
Explores psychology behind guilt AND sin and madness AND
derangement.