Romanticism Vs Transcendentalism

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Who was correct about what is means to be “human:” the Transcendentalists or the Dark Romantics? Ralph Waldo, Walt Whitman, Nathanial Hawthorne, and Edgar Allen Poe are some of the many famous authors that have written the Transcendentalism and Dark Romanticism books that many people know today. In the late 18th Centuries and in the early 19th Centuries, is when Romanticism became recognized as a type of literature. I believe that the Transcendentalists are correct about what it means to be a human because they emphasize individualism, self-reliance, and independence, they strongly believe in living closer to nature, and they believe in finding the inner light in God To start off, Transcendentalists have a strong belief in individualism,…show more content…
To them, nature is nothing but a beautiful sight to look at because it’s natural. For example, “In the tranquil landscape, and especially in the distant line of the horizon, man beholds somewhat as beautiful as his own nature”(Nature). The man in this piece of work sees the nature as something peaceful yet beautiful as he looks at the horizon. The speaker shows that he is living closer to nature because he mentions details about what he sees far out in the distance. In some of the transcendentalism pieces of work it shows a lot clarity coming from nature. For instance, “…for there I could best see the moonlight amid mountains I do not wish to go below now”( Thoreau's Walden, Chapter 2). In this reading, the man goes to the woods to get away from his problems. He then realizes as the story goes on how beautiful nature truly is as he reaches the top of the mountain. Once he makes it to the mountain, he doesn’t want leave because he is enjoying the beauty of nature he sees as he looks down. The beauty of nature isn’t just trees, grass, and flowers, once you truly look at it, it can be completely…show more content…
For example, “…glorify God and enjoy him forever”( Thoreau's Walden, Chapter 2). In the reading, the speaker shows that he believes in God and will for the rest of his life. On the other hand, Dark Romanticism pieces of work have a good point of including supernatural elements. Having supernatural elements draws a reader’s attention and creates a mood. For example, “The old stories add, moreover that the devil presided at the hiding of the money, and took it under his guardianship; but this, it is well known, he always does with buried treasure…”(The Devil and Tom Walker). The fact that the devil always hides the money and the reading leaves a question about what he does with the buried treasures draws a reader. A reader would want to know where he keeps the buried treat and why he does it. Supernatural elements are interesting because they aren’t just one specific thing, there can be a variety of supernatural elements in a

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