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Nature Book-length essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson, published anonymously in 1836. In it Emerson reevaluates traditional views of God and Nature,
Nature
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humans can transcend the materialistic world of sense of experience and facts to become conscious of the all-prevading spirit of the universe and the potentialities of human freedom. Though these concepts were not original, Emerson's polished style and breadth of vision lent them a particular vividness. A formulation of Emerson's essential philosophy, asserting that the essay helped initiate Transcendentalism.
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Nature (1836)
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Walden Series of 18 essays by Henry David Thoreau, published in 1854. An important contribution to New England Transcendentalism, the book was Thoreau's
Walden
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record of simple living on the northern shore of Walden Pond in Concord, Mass. (1845-47). It is viewed not only as a philosophical treatise on labor, leisure, self-reliance, and individualism but also as an influential piece of nature writing. Though relatively neglected during Thoreau's lifetime,
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Walden (1854)
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it achieved tremendous popularity in the 20th century, when it came to be regarded as his masterwork.


Web sites about Emerson & Thoreau
Academy of American Poets: Emerson
Thoreau, Walden and the Environment

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