What is transcendentalism? Transcendentalism, as the Merriam-Webster dictionary states, is “a philosophy which says that thought and spiritual things are more real than ordinary human experience and material things.” Ralph Waldo Emerson exemplifies transcendentalism the strongest than Henry David Thoreau and Walt Whitman. His essays have more detail and go more into the meaning of transcendentalism. He also gives better examples and in his essays he seems more connected with nature and spiritual things. He’s also learned from experience.
In one of Emerson’s essays “Nature” he uses various examples of transcendentalism. One of these examples being “In the woods is perpetual youth” he states that the woods and nature are like an endless amount
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In his essay it quotes “Envy is ignorance…imitation is suicide.” It is ignorant to be envious of others when everything you could ever have is all around you. When you live on a planet like this and live within nature. “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.” Emerson is saying when you do your absolute best on your work and give it all you’ve got, no matter the outcome you’re still proud of yourself for giving it your all and doing it on your own. This quote shows independence and self-experience because he’s relying on himself and is proud of himself for getting the work done on his own and putting his heart into it.
Transcendentalism…Ralph Waldo Emerson exemplified it the strongest. He gave more detail and examples and wrote about it the best. Emerson has also learned from experience and because of that he’s more connected with nature and spiritual things. “There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction, that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to