Description
Book SynopsisVisibility beyond the Visible. The Poetic Discourse of American Transcendentalism is the first study to entirely deal with the poetics of American Transcendentalism. The author takes it for granted that the major New England transcendentalists were writers of utmost literary significance and so focuses thoroughly on their extremely rich and many-sided poetic discourse. The book’s inevitable European perspective only enhances its preoccupation with the Americanness of the New England Transcendentalists, thus making it emphasize, in all the aspects of its concern, the uniqueness of the interrelation between place-sense and artistry which the transcendentalists’ writings offer. Because most of these writings hold iconic stature as American masterpieces, both scholars and lay readers will welcome Visibility beyond the Visible. The Poetic Discourse of American Transcendentalism as opening novel horizons for greater insights, deeper understandings, and further exploration of the poetic complexities of Emerson’s, Thoreau’s, M. Fuller’s, and their co-thinkers’ work.
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Preface Core Tenets of American Transcendentalism The New England Identity of the Term Puritanism and Eighteenth-Century Rationalism Unitarianism and Transcendentalism The Emphasis on Inspiration in Transcendental Aesthetics Transcendentalism: Poetic-Religious Practice and Way of Life Transcendentalism and Romanticism The New England Horizons of Post-Kantianism: Emerson The Vision of the New England Transcendentalist: Thoreau The Enchantment of the Voyage Back: Margaret Fuller Transcendentalism: A Creed of Self and Nature Traditions and Individual Talent: Emerson and Thoreau Life as Vocation Homocentrism and Ecocentrism Bibliography Index
