Literary Transcendentalism: Style and Vision in the American Renaissance

Description

Broader in scope than any previous literary study of the transcendentalists, this rewarding book analyzes the theories and forms characteristic of a vital group of American writers, as well as the principles and vision underlying transcendentalism. All the movement's major literary figures and forms are considered in detail. Lawrence Buell combines intellectual history and critical explication, giving equal attention to general trends and to particular works and individuals. His chapters on conversation, religious discourse, catalog rhetoric, and literary travelogue treat intensively topics that have been relatively neglected. His analyses of Ellery Channing's poetry and the use of persona in Emerson and Very are also innovative. In the final section, he offers the first systematic account of the autobiographical tradition in transcendentalist writing.This incisive and sympathetic overview of transcendentalist writing and thought will attract readers interested in American culture, and it will suggest new critical approaches to nonfiction. LITERARY TRANSCENDENTALISM Contents Abbreviations Introduction PART I. BACKGROUND AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES 1 The Emergence of the Transcendentalist Aesthetic from American Unitarianism 2 Transcendentalist Literary Method: Inspiration versus Craftsmanship PART II. THE LIVING WORD 3 From Conversation to Essay 4 From Sermon to Scripture PART III. WORD AND WORLD: NATURE AS A MODEL FOR LITERARY FORM 5 Emerson and the Idea of Microcosmic Form 6 Catalogue Rhetoric 7 Thoreau and the Literary Excursion 8 Thoreau's A Week 9 Ellery Channing: The Major Phase of a Minor Poet PART IV. THE FIRST PERSON 10. Transcendentalist Self-Examination and Autobiographical Tradition 11. Emerson and Thoreau: Soul versus Self 12. Transcendental Egoism in Very and Whitman Index