AGENDA:
Read over some quotes by Whitman. Go to:
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/w/walt_whitman.html
"Always do what you are afraid to do."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson2. READ:
"Re-examine All You Have Been Told": Emerson, Whitman and Thoreau
"This is what you shall do: Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul; and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body… . The poet shall not spend his time in unneeded work. He shall know that the ground is always ready ploughed and manured … others may not know it but he shall. He shall go directly to the creation. His trust shall master the trust of everything he touches … and shall master all attachment."
from Whitman's Preface to Leaves of Grass (1855)
3. Open a WORD DOCUMENT. Describe the tone of the passage above in a brief paragraph.
WHAT IS WHITMAN URGING AS A WAY OF LIVING ONE'S LIFE POETICALLY?
4. What is Transcendentalism?
Go to this website and read:
http://www.transcendentalists.com/what.htm
"This is what you shall do: Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul; and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body… . The poet shall not spend his time in unneeded work. He shall know that the ground is always ready ploughed and manured … others may not know it but he shall. He shall go directly to the creation. His trust shall master the trust of everything he touches … and shall master all attachment."
from Whitman's Preface to Leaves of Grass (1855)
3. Open a WORD DOCUMENT. Describe the tone of the passage above in a brief paragraph.
WHAT IS WHITMAN URGING AS A WAY OF LIVING ONE'S LIFE POETICALLY?
4. What is Transcendentalism?
Go to this website and read:
http://www.transcendentalists.com/what.htm
5. Here is the assignment for your Transcendentalism paper which will be due at the end of May.
TASK PROMPT (Final Unit Assessment): What are the central themes of American Transcendentalism? After reading the writings of Emerson, Whitman, and Thoreau, write a synthesis essay 5-7 pages that defines and explains the central themes of American Transcendentalism. Support your discussion with evidence from the texts you have read. What implications can you draw from these readings that pertain to contemporary society?
TASK PROMPT (Final Unit Assessment): What are the central themes of American Transcendentalism? After reading the writings of Emerson, Whitman, and Thoreau, write a synthesis essay 5-7 pages that defines and explains the central themes of American Transcendentalism. Support your discussion with evidence from the texts you have read. What implications can you draw from these readings that pertain to contemporary society?
WRITING:
On the same WORD DOCUMENT you wrote the paragraph about the tone of Whitman's quote, write your first reactions to the task prompt. Add some notes of things you already know about these writers and Transcendentalism. Search the web if you need more information about these writers.
At the end of the period, print and turn in your papers. Be sure to put your name on the paper with MLA heading.
