Transcendentalism is a romantic trend of thought born in the United States in the 1930s and 1940s. Its founder is Ralph Waldo Emerson, a thinker, essayist and poet. His thoughts embody the core idea of Transcendentalism.
The core view of Transcendentalism is that people can transcend feeling and reason, directly know the truth, emphasize the importance of intuition, and think that everything in the human world is the epitome of the universe. "The world reduces itself to a drop of dew" (Emerson's words) has faded with the birth of practical philosophy.
Transcendentalists emphasize the essential unity of all things, all things are restricted by "oversoul", and the human soul is consistent with "oversoul" This affirmation of the sanctity of human beings makes transcendentalists despise external authority and tradition and rely on their own direct experience. Emerson's famous saying "Believe in yourself" became the motto of the transcendentalists.
This transcendentalist view emphasizes people's subjective initiative, which is helpful to break the shackles of Calvinism's dogmas such as "human nature is evil" and "the final verdict of fate" and lay the ideological foundation for passionate and expressive romantic literature.
Transcendentalism is not a complete and rigorous philosophical system, but a collection of similar or identical ideas. Up to now, domestic scholars have summarized Transcendentalism mostly for its external characteristics or some internal characteristics, such as the belief in "oversoul", the promotion of self-reliance and democratic spirit, and the significance of realizing American cultural independence.
2. The Lost Generation
The lost generation, also known as the lost generation, is a general term for a class of American writers who appeared during World War I and World War II, which was put forward by American literary critic Gertrude Stein. Both show disappointment and dissatisfaction with the development of American society.
They are confused because the traditional values of this generation are no longer suitable for the post-war world, but they can't find a new standard of living. They believe that only reality is truth, but reality is cruel. So they can only act according to their instincts and senses, try their best to rebel against their previous ideals and values, and express their dissatisfaction with reality with rebellious thoughts and behaviors.
3. Free verse
Free verse is a kind of poem with irregular syllables, rhythms and other forms of design. It pursues "organic form" and relies on the natural rhythm of speech. This kind of speech is "natural" to the theme and feelings of the poem. Free verse is not a modern invention, but with the arrival of modernism, it occupies an important position and constitutes a rebellion against the fixed form of19th century poetry.
Free verse has no external form to use, and it may be the most difficult to write well compared with previous poems. T.S. Eliot1917 pointed out in "Views on Free Poetry" that "no poem is free for those who want to do a good job".
It is generally believed that Whitman, an American poet in the19th century, is the founder of free verse, and his masterpiece Leaves of Grass.
Before and after the May 4th Movement, free verse became popular in China, such as Goddess by Guo Moruo and Crescent School by Hu Shi, Liu Bannong and Xu Zhimo.
4. Classicism
/kloc-classicism, which was formed in the 0/7th century and flourished in France, absorbed artistic forms and themes from ancient Greek and Roman literature, advocated supporting centralization, respecting kingship and praising wise monarchs; Advocate rationality, restrain personal lust, and have strict artistic norms and standards. Representative figures and works include Gao Naiyi's Sid and Racine's Ender Laumark.
5. Impressionism
Impressionism in the history of western art, the word impressionism has two meanings: one refers to the impressionism school that originated in France; On the other hand, it refers to the impressionist artistic trend of thought, including technological innovation, which has a wide influence and has worldwide significance. [ 1]
Impressionism, also known as Impressionism and Externalism, is an important art school in the history of western painting, which originated in France from 65438 to 1960. 1874, Monet's oil painting Impression Sunrise was attacked by academics. Critics nicknamed these painters "Impressionists", hence the name Impressionism.
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