Post by allil02 on May 19, 2008 22:13:46 GMT -5
In the words of the father of transcendentalism, Ralph Waldo Emerson, “insist on yourself, never imitate.” Discovery and awakening are at the heart of transcendentalism; however, certain barriers are created by mankind which prevent itself from stirring the dormant over-soul. Instead, man must transcend these obstructions and attain an affinity with nature, and all other beings. In “Walden,” Henry David Thoreau, Emerson’s disciple, stressed the necessity for people to work through the “mud and slush of opinion, and prejudice, and tradition, and delusion (Thoreau 90).” Societal measures and expectations only impede the potential of man, by suffocating the awakening of the over-soul, and placing a useless consensus of repetition based on tradition.
However, by exceeding the alluvium deposited by man’s pettiness, man is then able to connect with nature, and tap into the over-soul. In transcendentalism, an original relationship with the universe is essential, as over-influence is dangerous and dawns conformity. Man is “but a mass of thawing clay,” and subjected to conventional society he is very apt to lose all individuality (Thoreau 204). Meanwhile, the over-soul connects all things, so complete detachment from society is neither plausible nor optimum. In fact, the transcendentalists urged constant reform. This reform emulates the cyclical pattern of nature, as man must enter solitude to “escape sophistication and second thought, and suffer nature to intrance us” (Emerson 2). For each eye discerns the virtues which are latent in the depths of the earth differently, and is able to contribute a varied perspective to society. The “thinking man” as presented by Emerson has an active soul, and is able to consider others thoughts, but allows the soul to “circumscribe all things.” The thinking man speaks from within, and is boundless; spiritually he stays awake by “infinite expectation of dawn.”
Sanford Robinson Grifford of the denomination of the Hudson River School of art, painted mostly landscapes, which seem to dig deep into the brush and the life of the subject. In Grifford’s “A Gorge in the Mountains,” a body of water nestles between the mountains and a dense forest and overhead hangs a celestial sky. In the foreground, mossy rocks host young luminous trees. They seem to be peering into the deep abyss, searching for meaning and the hidden wonders of Nature. While the trees search for Nature, they are yet a part of It, symbolizing the eternal profundity of the both discovery and the over-soul. Normally in a painting, human figures and life are the first things that the brain jumps to, but in “A Gorge in the Mountains,” the singular cabin is hardly noticeable. Here, man and nature have forged an affinity, where they may work in harmony with the other. In Emerson’s “Nature,” he states that “the difference between landscape and landscape is small, but there is great difference in the beholders.” Grifford amplified this difference by painting not only what was before him, but more importantly, capturing the atmosphere. Grifford’s artwork transcends the status quo of the landscape painting, as it is greater than simply a replication of the ground before him.
However, by exceeding the alluvium deposited by man’s pettiness, man is then able to connect with nature, and tap into the over-soul. In transcendentalism, an original relationship with the universe is essential, as over-influence is dangerous and dawns conformity. Man is “but a mass of thawing clay,” and subjected to conventional society he is very apt to lose all individuality (Thoreau 204). Meanwhile, the over-soul connects all things, so complete detachment from society is neither plausible nor optimum. In fact, the transcendentalists urged constant reform. This reform emulates the cyclical pattern of nature, as man must enter solitude to “escape sophistication and second thought, and suffer nature to intrance us” (Emerson 2). For each eye discerns the virtues which are latent in the depths of the earth differently, and is able to contribute a varied perspective to society. The “thinking man” as presented by Emerson has an active soul, and is able to consider others thoughts, but allows the soul to “circumscribe all things.” The thinking man speaks from within, and is boundless; spiritually he stays awake by “infinite expectation of dawn.”
Sanford Robinson Grifford of the denomination of the Hudson River School of art, painted mostly landscapes, which seem to dig deep into the brush and the life of the subject. In Grifford’s “A Gorge in the Mountains,” a body of water nestles between the mountains and a dense forest and overhead hangs a celestial sky. In the foreground, mossy rocks host young luminous trees. They seem to be peering into the deep abyss, searching for meaning and the hidden wonders of Nature. While the trees search for Nature, they are yet a part of It, symbolizing the eternal profundity of the both discovery and the over-soul. Normally in a painting, human figures and life are the first things that the brain jumps to, but in “A Gorge in the Mountains,” the singular cabin is hardly noticeable. Here, man and nature have forged an affinity, where they may work in harmony with the other. In Emerson’s “Nature,” he states that “the difference between landscape and landscape is small, but there is great difference in the beholders.” Grifford amplified this difference by painting not only what was before him, but more importantly, capturing the atmosphere. Grifford’s artwork transcends the status quo of the landscape painting, as it is greater than simply a replication of the ground before him.