Thoreau's theory of literarycriticism as reflected in the journals

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Authors Wiley, Patricia Whitcomb, 1923-

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THOREAU * S THEORY OF LITERARY CRITICISM AS REFLECTED IN THE JOURNALS

byPatricia WrWiley

A Thesis submitted to the faculty of the

Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS in the Graduate College, University of Arizona

1950

z m irZ%T®-

;

A p w o m m & m m <

fliis student wishes to express her thanks to D r L o Muir for his unfailing consideration and guidanee' during the development:of this study e

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION • 0 : •o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o. I. THE PLACE9. DEFINITION, AND FUNCTION OF

O O O 0 . 0 o o o o © o

The Relation of Art to Nature and to■ L L f 0 © , o G- *1. o- 'O O O ’! p o o G O o O O © 0 I

Poetry as a Literary Art © © © 0 © © © © 7Poetryss Relation to Philosophy andHrstory © © ,© © © © © © © © © © © © © © ■ Poetry}s Relation to Science © ©• © © © © 11Poetry Ss Function for the Individual and ;

Social Man © ©. © © © © . © .© © . © ©. © © © 1 _3... II© INSPIRATION AND THE POET © © © © © © © © © ;© 22

The ROle of Inspiration © © © © © © © © © " 22A.1 The Qualities of Genius and Talent © © © 24; . ..The Person of Genius, the Poet © © ©: © © 27; • ’ The Poet5s Relatioh to his.Irispiration © ■; 33

The Poet’s Position in Society and his;J i F asie © © © © © © © © © © © © © © ©" © © . • 42

III© THE STYES CXF PCHTRT © © : © © © © © © © © © © 4848O O O O G O O O O O O O O O 0.0

Versification, Sound, and Figures ofO O O O O O 0 0 0 O O G O . O 0 0

O O O O 0 0 o

54-: Principles of' Prose 'WritingThe Poet’s Relation to his Style:Revision, Self-Criticism, and

■; ; : : Puhlishing , o'r*ra. o:-:o'-i-0 ;© . © . e © © © © 61IV© THE CONTENT' OF POETRY © © . © © © © © © © ; ©. © . 86

Forms and Themes, in General © © © © © © © 66The Specific Theme of Mature © © © © © © 73

--The Poet’s Relation to his; Theme . © ©.. © .©■ 78The Judgment of Poetry © © © © :©:■©' © „ © 85

ill

IHTRODUeflCS ' ' ' ■

The' attempt t©. forjaulate a witer6s theory of litera­ture g when that writer never completely expressed a theory himself,5, 1 s: fraught. with dangers0 I am aware of these dif­ficulties In my attempt to determine 9 ■ la. the absence of a :'formal treatise on literary theory by Thoreau himself9.his

- ; ■■■■ . -I-.,/. /'" I : ;eritieal ideas as they are refloated in his - Journals0 I .have •'based my ©on© 1msions a however s on study and interpre­tation of Thoreau^s own words e I have examined the journal entries and abstracted the passages which seem to throw light on my suh jeeto . , ; . ' v.

; Out' of the five hundred odd statements oh literary theorys.at least one-fifth of them are point-blank entries— that :1 ss they do not grow out of an association with another ideav These are simply'entered under one day with, no run- on and run-off entry6 in these9 therefore9 it is not pos­sible to interpret the meaning hy studying the context a. I have - used almost 'eq.ually those passages; whieh are joined to the text and those which are isolated from it, with the idea that, if Thoreau had a definite opinion on some .matter of

lo The only two distinct essays which could he considered- •. - possible exceptions are his, .pieces on Thomas Garlyle.

and Sir Walter Raleigh0: s, : .1;

i2ap©rtaa'ee to h3jQi9 he would be /bound t© repeat it / St least one© more in some form, 1 have been fortunate ... usually 1r finding not only one.repetition.of an idea8 but manya and this faet has enabled me to .weigh and organise '. the/'Wt/erial <, : the other main obstaele - to this procedure and one which is of prime importance to a study of. his theorya is the vagueness with which fhoreau often deals with /literary artt / /Thoreau is heyer- definite about the differ^ . ene® between poetry and other types of literature.». The ma­jority of references in this paper are to poetry spedif1 =:-©ally 9. and this-is because Thor earn imagined poetry to be - ", /■ the most superior of all the literary arts0 In my chapter headings I have used the term ^poetry” in a generie way0 Neverthelesso I have not .confined my work to ■poeti@ art' alone 9- f of to omit Thor earn9 s' ©pinions ©oneerning the other forms of literary art would be to give an iheomplete state- : menf6 .. ■,;■■■.■/ v,.; -M -■ / ,.>.•■• - - '

I cannot flatter myself that if Thoreau had written a formal treatise he would have presented it in this fashions but I can hope that my organization would not be antagonistic to his methods a I did not impose a formal pattern on these thoughts 9 but attempted to let the organization show itself

. naturally as. the . theory began to take shape o. . So that where Thoreau seems to devote a large amount of time and space

idea9 I have done the same 0.1 have classified his; utterances under ifours, main' : i ' v i ' - . : ■ ■■■ ■ - ,

'types t those that deal with the definition and function of literature$ those that deal with the creator and the divine impulse9 those that deal with the style of poetrya and those that deal with the subject matter of'literature» Each is intrinsically related to the others«, and they seem to form the framework.of Thoreau’s theory. After collecting and ar­ranging all the utterances according to their classification9 I have endeavored to analyze their meaning' and interpret them in relation to one another0 The fourth and final section of the paper is devoted to my conclusionss an estimation of Thoreau9s criticism, and a judgment of his importance as a critico " ■ y '''''y''' ^ .

The study will be confined to the fourteen volumes of Thoreau9s Journals. I have tried to be aware of this limita­tion, and of Gilbert Golemah9s truth that we canhot always accept Thoreau9 s statements .literally, for he is a 19con- fessed ezaggerafor.99 • However, the Journals may be assumed to reflect the author9 s thoughts and opinions intimately and ' directly0 They also contain the germ for most of his other • writing, \ \ ;;

1 know of no published work speeifieally on this sub-' :: .2 . - T, tv,.-' ' ' ■ • ■ . ' : • ■ "■ject,; although several scholars have treated Thoreau9s

literary'theories in Varying degrees of fulness. In Henry

To Gilbert Golemah, "Thoreau and His Grltlcs," The Dial9XL ( June, 1906) , 356.2= There is an unpublished doctorate thesis by Raymond Adams

: ; ;.at the tiniversity ■■oTtllorth Carolina 0 ' : v

Seidel daixbyrs biography / Thoreau,, and in Van Wyek Brooks9 s ■The Flowering of Eew Ingland there are scattered references to his theoryo The chapter "Style and the Man” in Joseph Wood Eknteh?s biography9 .Thoreaus is related to my subjects Of more Interest, however, are the penetrating remarks of

Matthiessen in American Renaissance on Thoreau®s prin= oiples, especially as they are related to other Transcen­dental eritieism ?' and' Mtthg-essen^S .. cpnments on the so- . t , called organic theory of poetry which has been assigned to ' ThoreaUo This.theory of Thorean is more extensively analyzedj by torch in his fine article "Therean and the Organic Principle' ' V ■■ ’ ■ ■,lv.-V. ^ t V ' I'/ ' :in. Poetryo" Reference to these and other scholars will be indicated in my discussion=

lo 'Fred' Ro torch, "Thoreau and the Organic Principle in : Poetry," P m i , hill (March, 1933), 286-3020 •

CHAPTER I

- ; THE PLACE 8 DEFINITION; AMD EIMCTIOH GF POETRY

.' / ;. The Relation .of Art t© Nat we. and Llf ©

Mke all thinkersSiThorean was both a reflector and a shaper of his age» Transoendentalism9 a leading spirit of the age'j whelped to form him8 and at the same time he ex= tended and enriehed Transe©ndentalism0 The man who couldsay of himself : ^The fact is I am a mystic 8 a transcen«=

tv: ' : „ ■■■■ - ; ' . 1 • . ' ,tentalistf and a .natural philosopher to boot 9 . is a manin complete sympathy with the . more., spiritual and imaginativeaims of his fellows 0 The.Journals closely reflect Tho=r@iufs' trust im man9s spiritual faculties; they"disclosehis great concern with all that man does to understand theessential unity and reality,of his world 0 The very fre^ ■"quency alone of 'Thoreau8 s remarks hn literary activity tes-tifies to his .confidence in the power of art to bring man "into .'contact with reality through spiritual perfection<»

v In the Transcendental creed s however s there is first ' ;of all, a,"great. emphasis on the power of nature to partake

2

of <5o49 Is nearerof the real a Hatizre 9 ■ as the ''- 1 ■ : . ;God than ssh is; thus „ it 'is nature8 S' task t o make us

sense God in the ovey-soul and’kindle‘ oun awareness of: : 2 v . . . : : \ '' ; ■ : . ■; ;. Uestioh arises of'-whether or mot art, also earn

he a;/medium, of; tftathg; and Thorean is disturbed hy it in, hisindividual effort to determine the relative roles of natureand ;aft and the ' eiraet relationship between, them0 At times»/■when, he thinks the diohotomy between them- eomplete 9 his :words express little or no doubt that the aetivitj of manis infirabely inferior to that of natureQ ■ ■':/ - Art /earn never mat eh; the luxury and superfluity > ••

of nature 0 0„o It eannot afford coneealed. , wealtho 3 V ;The leavess vinesP and aeorns 0 o o. are' perfect

, spe@imens of the art of nature04. .,Sueh statements propose that nature as a whole is a state

and that her parts are archetypal'formsmygtleal oneness and truth0 They •'refle@t ,

3?lato5 s idea that the greater things are done. by nature g

;.li bream , appreciated g, floats in the pond; as the e@n= ter of the system, another image. of God 0 ”■ Z,' 359o'

. -And,' in ll, 472' he says: nMj profession is to be al°../ways. on the alert to find:';God in' nature0to '

20 :iila I0o wHature is stung by God and the seed of man planted.'.In her?1? : ' ; % ./ 1"David .Thoreau, The. Journals, 18 271 o All refer= enees to the Journals wiXC be indieated by volume .and,; page numbero: References to volumes other than the. Journals ■ will, be preceded by their title 0 The text

the basis of this study is the Houghton Mif= a , of I906 based oh the Elver side :Edi.= • ",

tioh of Thoreau® s "Works. published ,in 1893< ,0 IV 38GA . . : . V. / .

3

'•tiae lesser ■ as am art% cam: ■ . ■ ■ .. .■ ■■ ■ ■ : - i . • ■.t© Thoream -wa oarol as - free as Nature0 s s 68 n@r earn "the

: -v; ; ; V: r : ' v tlanguage of the poet' be more expressive than Mature 0" In this light.man s pr©duots would appear t© serve at best as a kind of reflection of the free and abselute nature^ the poet bringing to nature a smooth mirror in whieh she is to be.reflectedo' However8 Thoreau held an absolute faith in* the need of nature for art and finally la the perfectibility of m n through art 0" It was this ,'faet which led him to a trust in the high stature of man^s ereatif© art0

furthermore he considered the diserepaney between art and nature not ©omplete since mature in her phenomenal state :d6es:'h0t define absoluteness 9 but. is characterized by transieheyo There do. seem to lie beneath her rleh but' capricious ereative powers Irrevocable laws which give even

. ; 1 . ' . ' -3 * ; *

to her extravagancies a sense of ©fdef 8' " but an order which is not always in evidence 0 It 'was' this eonelusion whieh brought Thoreau into sympathy with Aristotle°s definitionof artist!© limitation as the expression of this universal

* ' .4 ■ ■ 'tr - : " " I'-* : . ■ • ' " . . ' - * ' •in nature 0. > ': There are several

io- 1 ,-WoV'- . "V-i ^21 Ig 149,3o ."Mature, has her luxurious and florid style as well asV arto"v i8 2 7 1 1 / : ; /v::. '4 , Thoreau makes n© verbal distinetion between Mature and V, Art capitalized and nature and art with a * small lettero : *. Sin©© his indiscriminate use of both spellings suggests

that he did not consider large ©onnotative differences to exist between them9 or that.he did not think them important enough to distinguish;, X have followed his ■

&

jomrzials to indicate that if is art which reveals the per®maneney in a<?taai nature 9 which is then identified with' spiritual, nature 6 ■ ' ■ '

. The true art B»; o ■• is aaet : a vhald ; iiaitatian ©r ■ rival of Mature g hut the restored •original of

. . which she is the reflect ion ^- - Ee Lthe poet] must' he something superior to "her

[Hature3 9 something more "than natural o He must . ■ furnish enuaniaitjo ,: . ; , .. ,Hot only do these remarks tell us that art is as importantas visihle; nature s:hut they tell us how art achieves this "eminence» By the process of selectivity and synthesiss as -the italicized words suggest8 art not only reflects uni=formity already present in nature:hut endows her with new ■permanency0 ^

Then despite Matthiessen8s statement that Thorearn® of ten pmshed t®- a vigorous extreme <, 0.. the .supremacy of ■. •:

" 3 ■ ■ ■ • . . . 1 ■' .nature over art5® art8s role was really equal to nature8s -in rThdreau'!s estimation6 It was hot more important thannature even though Thoreau said that is all: in alla

: . ' ■ v' . • f ■ ■ 4Hature nothing hut as she draws him out and reflects hlm9Mand he went to extremes explaining the. superiority of thepoet, in- turning and bending the laws of nature to adapt

'4o (from :p0 ' 3 s. ©onto F spelling in all quotes and used a small letter in referring t© hoth in the text0

lo X9 16? (italics are mine}6'/ . - ■.20 ¥a 183=184 (italics are zaine) o; . . 'V:y 1 /3.0 Ho 0 o ■ Matthiessen'a American Renaissance (Oxford a 1941),

'•P0 I54o; ■ . .

4 - IXo ■'

. . ■. 1 • ■ . ' . : ■ 'them to his notions9 in breathing on nature to make the ' .. ■ r y ; ' t : ■;■■■■_ 2 V ' ; ; ' ' V ' ■■■■ ;"expression of his,thought a" and in changing the direction. ' . ' ,' . " ; ■ 3of nature' to sake her grow according to his idea0; ■■■ . '; v ' : . ' ' ' . ' ■ ■ 4Because the, peet is the. most perceiving of all artists,it is true that poetry^ of all the arts9 mostthe vUhiTer sal t ext . 'in 'hatmre-o ' But the at his "best,will not.he ahead of nature9 hut alongside herc 'He will he' • , ' . ■' V i v v -5 : ' ' -v - ■■■'■■ V:' " ■"another. Mature g=~8 ature9 s hrother0" fhoream effects a •balance'between them ' ©onelmding that "all nature is - ■- ... . . 5 . ; - -©lassie and akin to art„n and by deciding that each needs' -r . 7 : ,the other for both "publish eaeh other8 s truth0" A furtherequality in power is obtained.,when art fulfills, her fune= tion of expressing our love for nature3 sine® in expressing our love for nature g .must: understand nature8 s meaning and bring us i, man 5, to a point of harmony and identification with thd,s meaning^ . This explanation of art$ s role beside natureiI: the role of abstracting truths and making them known through the' ppeft ds the core of what could be well termed Thoreau9s "theory of the cycle in artt>w He gives it

X X2 * 1 $ 74-756 : . ■ V ' ' ' '3o ¥11§ 10o "The artist changes the direction ©f nature

and makes her grow according to his ideao"ho x, 74a h : \ ' ' - .5 a l9 75 a. .6 . I, 3 8 0?7a 1,: .'75a ' '.f:■... - , 1 . ■8 „ 8®<, , -9a "How indispensable to a correct study of Hature is a per*

.of her true ;:meaBinga;'" :lSe

6

©OBsmMate expression 1m these words; ,The perfeet work of art is received again into the "bosom of nature whence its material pro=-

Perha,ps the highest and most effective .deed may have ho sensible result at all on earth ' but paint itself in the heavens in new stars.

..'.■V and ■constellations02 / 'Both imply that when art is produced the best Of it returns t© nature because the best is nature» The second observe- tion makes no speeifie mention of artj, but 'suggests that 'life may have n© need.for art in its attempt to reach-trutho .. .It brings us to: a, consideration of life’S.,.role as an Inter­mediary between: nature9 s and man5s creation9■and suggests that art must vindicate itself before life Just as it did before nature o Art must offer Its ' services to life ehipeei- alfy when' Thoreau calls for a life which i:s an .art in itself, ''which would make the schools of Greece and Borne to be de-

, ..it'':. - -.."i'■■■■.■' ■ ■sertedo1’ The only way by which art can Justify its exis-fehcb' and :©mihenee is, by expressing lif e- to.; its" hearest ap-

: h , ■ . ' , .

.. proximatioUj . ■ by ordering " lifejust as it ordered nature 0The art of life Was there anything memorable

■ - written upon Itf^ • ..■ , Some life issimply not. expressed^ but a :. ■■

long-winded speech is made with an occasional

;3o Ij, : 283 oi ' . ; ,#«: 1% 236a :The relationship of literature to. life is dis- .. . . cussed, at greater- length in Chapter 111, under the . / Gontent of B©etry0

.:5tvlT9:46fo-/: : '"vv : ' . i/ t ! '

7

attempt to put a little life in it0 -It: eama' td a daman# for an art which was imbued .with life9 so muoh so., that the poet was asked to take time to stand up and live as well as to sit down and write* For onlfthen:will he he'able to pay for his vietuals with poetry9■ : 3 ; . " ' ■■ ■ ■and 8SgiTe •haek life for life 0 58 With the prominent .posi=tion of art in relation to "both nature and life well as­sured^ we ©an next turn to'an analysis of Thoreau9s utter- anees on poetie art :<.alone-oV ■ : ' : ; : -

2o ■. Poetry as a,,.literary Art

Bioreau^s .reMrks on poetry in the Journals lack ©on-elseness g perhaps' 'for the:%ery -ireasdn that he feels poetryto ;he:%md®flnahleo :. i# 0 definition of poetry is adequateunless it is poetry itself o* c 0 It is Indeed -all that we do

- :4 .../:W:: Yr-v W;, ; ■not know *81 This declaration would seem to put There au intaoit agreement with ICeafsas preeept that wheard melodies; are . sweet 9 ; hut those unheard are sweetera w that the.idealonly Is peffeet o But to Thoreaug the idea that the "best

... ' . ■ . 5 ’ :. poetry had,.neter heen, written® • ; may also.mean that the-:finest Inspirations of the poet he©#m@ am ineradicable part

I* X 9 206*. :: ■■ ' I : ■2o 1$, A04» ■ - " • . '3o II# 457« And see Chapter I below.on the Function of 4o Is, 1146 ' ■ - V .5. i, i59» ;. : ■ ■ , ; ,

,s

'of the p@@t9 s self and. he nee earn never be abstracted intoactml.witingo, : I:: v -v. : , •. ■ ■

■ There is always a poem not printed ©a paper: @©in©id@nt: with the produet ion <, d 0 whieh is ■V stereotyped in the poetrs .lifes is what he

has beeojae through his worh0; Joseph Wood Iriateh calls Thoreaiifls early definition of

poetry '' the - discovery of the analogical significance of some: . . .. " ' -, 2 ... . '■ ■ ' ' ' . :

ohserved fact0 w It is "better to say that it was the dis=covery of the funetional significance of some hitherto un= •appreciated fact or truth0 Then, we could recognize Tho= ;' V . . ' . ; ; ’ ■ ■ ' ' . . ' ; 3 ,reauis conception of fungus as hotaaical..poetry9; ■ Linnaeus’s .’■ ' ' . ' ■ ' ■. : .' ' ■ 4 : ' • ■' ' V ; '' " ' '' • .nomenclature as generic poetry and the public-wall versesas mythological poetryo The qualification of poeti©' which/he assigns to -all these, things .discloses his general d©fi«..: ,■ nit ion of the word He assumes, that things which are func­tional and essential are therefore true and p6etieQ■ This'comcluslon, of his'points the way towards his .treatment of /poetry as a/ literary form0 As a type of creative writing3 / poetry was described as the ,5most perfect of the arts as/ - ' f :. -. .: ' . 1 /. ■■■' - / ’ ... '‘ 6 ■ . - ■/' './..-. '■ the expression of the highest moralityj, and finally as the most functional of all the arts 0 , To reach a clearer/. /...; ;.

:io' 13 157o . . •/ , :.2 <, Joseph iTood Hfutchg Henry David Thoreau, (New Torkg 19481- 1 ,P» 265 O '' '' ■ ‘

:3o tXs '.2 0 4 o J’ungus "is a successful poem in its kindo"4o IXI9:257o ■ ' • : ■" - > .•/":' /■, 5 0 .Xll g ;:255 oi "The rhymes which I used to see' on the -walls /

•. of privies' 0 0o are mb doubt.older than Orpheus and have cOme down from an anti(iuity as re#©te as •mythology/

v-- ■ or fable0": :/. : -V.v -'.iv '■ " '.i -60 I, 1 5 1 » ' 4 .

.TOder.stanfiiag df the mature and limltatiom of..poetry, ■'before analyzing Its almg fhoreau oompared It with other branches of'learnimg? with philosophy^ the knowledge of thought; with■historys the knowledge of events; and with seienee 9 the knowledge of physieal laws Q ' ■

; 3o Poetry’s Relation to Philosophy ,' V . . 1 V and History :

It is evident that Thoreau did not give mneh thought to the: formal differences between poetry and philosophy and that, .he was sometimes in a jocular mood when he considered their differenees; for his faxaous''statement that ^Poetry implies the whole- truth g Philosophy empresses, a- part isle of. itw eontains the half-truth eharacteristic of an.eplgramo

.1 He could not disagree with the fact that the, philosophy, did seek, truthi' he says the philosophers' charm him because wIt - is so rare to find a man musingo® However9 he found dis° parity 1 between, -the metaphysical .speculation: which seemed tobe philosophy’s result and the vital exactness which was■ ... / 3 . • ' • ; ■ : : , . ' . . ■ ..poetry’So. And too9 philosophy seemed to embody principle

without timelys vital emamples» The wood thrush is

lg . i5'©o' He goes oh to say that ®any serene thought , is irresistibleo® .

3 o . tsHeither physics nor metaphysics Have touched - i t ,- [the science of human mature]« lg 14©o ®Hht between them [philosophers] and.,their commentators there is

, an endless disputeQn Ibido . . : . . '

described' 8gas a more 0 s o modera philosopher than Flat© and, . ; ' ■■ ■ , ■. % ' •/ ’ ; ■ , " \ " . . , ■ ■ ■ ' '

&ristbtleo^ . But Thoreau8 s' trnst in the worth of amdf man’s ,spi2?i.tmal; biegfaphy, as the .record of his endeavor and progress mde him say in a more serious mood9 "In the last stage of oiviiizafioh Poetry9 Religion, and Philosophy '

_mill: be # n @ y « f .The.possibie antithesis between poetry and history did

mot stimulate him into' lengthy refleetionso His eonsidera= j tiom of'' the diff erenee s . between history and poetry ■ seems. ■ " -' to fall •into two parts, both of whieh are closely relatedo On the one hand he eompares mrf'averably the.writer of his­tory to.-the : writer:- of poetry; because the f irst ^writes the. .,. _ ■ ;V ■. ' ' ' 3history of. their - times., the other.,their biography,59 thelast being, 'superior, for the life in his worki Secondly,•Thorean'deals .with the relative values, of history, and poetryin contributing to the interpretation oflife <>, Thoreau ■eonsistently follows the Tietorian;way of reinterpreting anage by presenting.its spirit rather than the events whieh: eharaeteriz.ed it o: •: Eow out of all. proportion to the value..of an idea, when you come to one, „iv is the historieal faetabout ite” . The. valW‘'Of ■ history lies not in■ the facts

. whieh it records the interpretation possible from

11

v v;:' y y ■■ ■these faets t, ■ toWe- seem to heaE the musi© of-a thought fthenl and ©are not If - our ■ intellect. be not gratif ied0 tf go that ' fables seem to Thoreau to be the■ best; material fof the his­tory of the rise ' and progress" Of ' ' race beeause they empha-... ' 1 . . ■ . ■ ': . , .3 ■ '■ • - " ■size the ideologieal d@yelopm.eht of ■"man o'

r - ... Poetryls Relation . to. Seienoe ; ■ .;

■ If .’history was hindered by an overdose of fact and a . defioieney of- .©orrelation.s, science was obseured; by them , ■botho By and. largep Thoreau will grant to poetry the■ .stand­ard of greater ■progress .and deny 'to' s©lenee. any. ability to further mnfcind 0 ■ It' was with an almost thoroughly ant i- ' ratienal yiew that' he regarded seieneeo': Like Shelley andWordsworthj he thought that the meehanical reproduction ofan object was worth not as much as its. poetical reproduo-■ ' ■' 4- . ■: . .. ;v Z. ;■ ■ ' ■ . ' - . :■■; . ' . " . ■ ' ' ■ ■tiont. None of the; three men were able to approach; sciencewithout the prejudice of their ayowed predilection towards ■ poetry; none seemed to be aware of the theory and hypothet­ical generalization present in science0 Norman Jeerster gives a very acceptable account of what is mow regarded as;. fhoreau® s. personal heresy- against science 0- fVThis curious Bin .ef not., purchasing a spy ■glass early' in his life y 0 o»'

11 165 o:"2. 13 393o 3 o iy 394,4o : 116<

12-

mapardojaabl© in a naturalist 9,_ is to fee explained partly - 0 0 0 ‘ : - - -. / '1 ' : .‘by M s poetic rather than scientific interest in nature0te

flicream: was' not a thorough and precise . scientist d and shallalways be more truly known by Clianning.8s enduring title9 .

Poet Saturalisto f$ :' ■ - "1/ '"8 ■ -fhoreau9® words ©n science8 often crabbed and unisag"

imativeg are nevertheless exceedingly important in illms=trating his theory " Of poetic art 0 Oorapared to the man of• poetry9 he says tothe m n of scienee »<,» studies nature as a

■■ ' ' ' • 2: : .. . ■ . :: ■ ■. ■ ' ' ' ' ■: : ■ . , . 1 . ■ . ./ . dead language® and is opposed t© the woodman "who can re--' • '■ ' y ■ ■ - . • ■ , ■. late, his facts to, human life.e ® > When mem, of sdienee col­

lectively "pause to contemplate 6the powers wisdom andgoodness of God? to o o I they j speak of him as a total, sfran-

‘ 4 ■ ' ■ . " .: J '-s ' : ■ ... gero® The facts ©f science- are seen in a parallel vein0®The facts of science8 in comparison with poetry/ 9 musesThoreati'g ®are wont to. he as vulgar, as looking from the moun®- - ; . v.. : -v;. 5 ': ; ■; - • - ' -tain with a telescopeo® Such component opinions of the, scientist and his materials, receive their final expressionin Thoreau5s idea-that physical scienee does not believe in a--.f 6 1 1 f ; v;,: ' ...

higher lawg that "one sentence of perennial poetry would

:lo. Hofman F©erster9 Mature in American Literature (New York9 - , 192.3P o #9e :■ — — ■ ■ . . ‘ : •2» Y3 135° :3° 111 1386 : ■ -..4s. XII 9 2 8 o '-I: -

•5s. rr 392o : ' ■- 8 " ' ■ ■ ■60 Y 9 4o .He calls this higher law a science also*

13

Make me forget p would atone tox\9 volumes of mere ' science„!f... The experience of science.was not mew9 • perceptive9 trans­forming j, and eloquent; it did not add .to one’s faith0 Op- posing It Wre the stronger logic^ faith and superstition . •which rest .within poetry’s realm0 ",6Men are probably hearer to the.essential truth in their superstitions than in theirseieneeo® ; Ihe s eientist observed 9 analyzed $ and describedhis experience j, but without: real sight g ' while the poet transfprMed;experience and Made it more realo The poet ."poetizes when he takes a -fact out of nature into spirit oM Thorearn SUffimariz@s his final opinion of the poet’s super!= ;ority .over .both’the •scientist,'andth© philosopher in this . 1 ' Jourmai utterances

The collector of facts possesses a perfect '. physical ©rganization9 the philosopher a per-

•. fect; Intellectual bne. 0 = 0 0 But the poet ia.some degree does both and uses and generalizes the results of boths, he generalizes the widest deductions of philosophy^ '- That science. often. confused empirical with mystical

. reality Thoreau was sure s but this, did not convince him thatthe facts .science ■used, had to lie fallow0 Ee admits that

lo il?: 373e ln 7 1 42 he sayss ' "One studies books of sei- ■ .©nee merely to learn the language bf Materialists^—

to be able to communicate with them,," iv. 2 o .IT, .1 5 ®o' : ’ : I .. , : . : . ' •3 0 ZJT, US'o. In %IVg 11? he sayss -"In science,.. 1; should ■.. say, all description is postponed till we know the

whole, but then science itself will be cast asideo"

14

it will be impossible to fore© the division between poetryand se.ienee to the point of Gleavage0; - , ; ■ .

have a eommoHplaee book for faets and another ■ ': v v . for poetryg bnt ^findllt :;difflemlt always t©

. preserve the . vagde''dlstimeMon whieh X had in .o'*-;■ 1 see that if my facts were stiff 1=

.. :; elently: vital .and ‘ gignlfieaat^^perhapg transmuted ' .. More into the substance oF%Ee human mind9==l • -• I1; Should' heed hmt one book of poetry to contain;;i...i::ithoa.,aiioI . ; : ;vlust: as art ./by high endeavor j, could rise to nature? s zenith s .. so ©omld. seience3 by transformation, rise to poetry9s zenith0

; : x ; t'l ; .. : ■ . / ■ ' ' ' ■ '■ ■ 2 • ,The hiatus between the poet^s ’’winged seeds of truth” . and' . - ' : ■ ' ' ■ •: : -; . . •" 3' ' . \ .a soientifie truth was not so great after alls It is onlybeeans© it does not reamire the sensitive faculties neoes=>.

.. ■ ■. ■ - ■' v.;; - ■ >v;- /. ■: :: . 4sary to poetry that seiene.® say be the poet’s seoond love* Despite' the inheritance of a rather parochial and die-hard tview.toward seienee4 Thor©an took a modified stand in realiz= ing that science like history comld interpret facts oor= . -..reetly and provide material for poetry and for the" poets who "oouli ’’always SO' state facts' that they should be significant 0”

lo■III9 311 Citalies are mine}» . : ' : : ',2 6 ,17.9 I60 ' ■ 1Jo v&t the. very.' end of Emerson’s essay on art there occurs the

interesting ©onsiderafion'that;when science, is learned in love g art- will .exists, : '

4o, IIIs, 311° ” 0 0 0 when he has worn: off the. bloom*”5» 111, 99o : . : . A: v:. .

15

5-o ' Poetry9 s Relation to the Individual : a 2 3 : d ; S f O l a . l l a h / '

:. With the definition of poetry now expoimdedg- we can deterialne fhoreauv s eoneeptlon of Its aims and -funetiosio

' Sometimes9 in a playful mood 9 Thoream will pretend that hookshave their greatest value on rainy.days and in front of af : ■ Y v.;: . .. '. merry fire» Aetually he was often serious when he . eontem=-■ plated the possible role words eould play In educating themind and refining the senses0 . Certainly$, “the design of any■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ , ■ 2 ■ • . ;.preaoher was to do good1 for men®| the purpose of writing ; .was to enlighten,, • . • •

A words which may he translated: into. every dialectp and suggests a truth to every mind is the perfect form of human art 6ooo It is the simplest and

'■ purest channel hy which a revelation m y be trans=- ■ rnifted from age, to ag@o3

And- this, word which is so inf©rmatiye Is the .written, .words In speaking of the differences between the written and spoken language f her earn says: '«fh© on©'is. natural and, convenient $, ;the other divine and instructive„ Then the worth of lit­erature is not confined to ■ rainy days and merry, fireSt

Books9 the oldestY and the best stand right­fully ::on the shelves : of every , esttageo .1'Eien the illiterate and scornful rustic earns his imagined leisure and wealthhe; turns inevitably at last— .

1 . 1%9 173 and Is 3©5=2 0: 1 1IS 230 0 3o 1 9 370=4= is. 369 =

16

he ©r his ehildrea='=t© these still higher and ■: ;■ yet inaeeesslble cireles&l; - , ■ , / ■ ''

®f all the types of creative writing^ it is poetry8s honorto bequeath 'the' most preeious" wisdom to a man0

There is no dombt hut the highest morality i& hooks' is rhymed or measmredo^ ' ,

Jdrstotle’s and Coleridge °s precept that the primary fune=- •\ tloa of art is to,give pleasure is never specifically eom=meated ©h by fhorearnp The farthest he might g© would beto agree with JShtthew Araold aad others that a' work of artgave pleasure because of its very moral nature 0 . We -do -aot: ■ : "v" V: -h- :': ■

eajoy poetry n he says ^Unless we know it to be poetryoM /■■'■ilhem literature and poetry contained some lifelike meaning^ '

they should pleaseo Thoreau himself speaks with relish : about settling dOwa with a book 5ft©' last far into the night b 18 Th® desire for entertaimaeat should not supersede the desire for enlightenment but Thoreau found that it

It is to be observed that the best things are generally most abused» and so are not so much enjoyed as the..worstI am sane only when I have risen above my common sens®,: pop when I do not take the foolish view of things which is eommonly taken9 when It©

lo Ij, 371 o For the potential influence of books see also-is 3 2 o ■ . . : : ' . . •2o Ig .lglp ' , ■: '■ . ■ • ■■

3o IZ, 97. ■ : -4o ISg 173o ; .5 o m i s iiio.

. W K live f ei' the low emds f or whiali' : eom^

. monly li^eo1 -fjh.oyeam maintained a stedfast belief in the effectiveness : of.art't© lead us toward a greater good and happiness eventhomgh some . seemingly did not'wish to he led in that dire @-=. ■ ■ 2. ; ' • ■ '. ' ' , ■ ;tioa> He assumed that the inner son! of m n craves the -moral stimulus of art heearns© of his ^insatiable and ques®tioriing s p i r i t H e felt . that' no man was exempted fromthe need of its benign influence or from the need of theimaginative faeulties to raise his prosaie moods toward the

' ■ - . . 4= ■ - ' . ' * -Contemplation 'Of poetry0 v ;:i,ll men are characterized by thespirit of the quest; all are seeking either consciously oruneonseiously^ the final identify of the ??Sphinx?f says Th©= ,ream in his interesting analysis of Emersones.poem by thatnameo All possess the ’’seeds of heroic ardor 9® and are

■ only waiting , wto be stirred ■ «0:o;;hy an inspired voice or pen .■ ' ’■ v ' ’ " ' ' ■■ 6 : '

to bear fruit of a divine flavor in; the presence, of. poetry9 the imagination is:stimulated often to the, extentwhere its sensibilities can- recognise poetic qualities$,

Id XIj, 26f i ■ In X U 9 10 he nays s . .”An audience will draw '.out:.Of a lecture g of .enable.a. lecturer to reddV only such parts of his lecture as they like 0

20 "Goodness is the only Investment that never fails0 .This '"©'is/what . t h r i l l s / - ■

3o 19 229o ' ' ■ '■ -■ ,4 ® XX's, 44f o3o lg, . 2 3 7o yThe whole analysis of this poem is from pages

229-2376 %t reveals in Thoreau?s own words the gist of Emersonts doctrine of literary art 9 and, suggests

. . the. basis' of similarity which obviously exists between• . 'their, doctrines0 . : .

6 o ly.. 52 o

18

even to the point where It-ean produce poetie thoughts

;.Bht for most people $, poetry ean act only as a slow andgradual agent beeause wa m n reoelyes only what he is ready. ■ ; , 1 ' ■ ; ■' ' ' ' ; ■ ... ' ' ' ■ : .

to receive g'®; or as Norman To erst er expressed it8 ??Hature s 'supply depends on yoiar demando® Thoreaus nevertheless 9 in­sists that wby and by we may be ready to reeeive what we

- 3': : ■ ■ :■ ; ' , • -eamiot. reqeive nowo* : The int errelat ion - between . the ::lif e and the thought of a ip,n is so elose in Thoreau9 s estimation that - the only way a man can receive.the full impact from art ■ is to break down, all th©; artificial barriers between himself and truth and put aft into his aft0 In.effect9 this was Thoreau6 s own creed and': practice g. andso firmly was it im­bedded in his over-all view of life that he could says 35Show me a man who feels'bitterly towards John Brown., and then let jme- hear, what 'noble.: .verses he ean repeat d’ ;. : : :-

If poetry plays such a functional and vital part in the .'lif e of individual man3 it would -seem probable that 'it has some . sort of role'in the whole society as . weli o- From Tho­reau’s words on society 9 however a 'we know that he’ did not always .f eel his. compunction - as a social member when a .civil law was contradicting, a moral law0; ’’In obeying laws of

26: 3fofman. F©erster 8 p0 124< 3o XIII, 77o40 XIIls, .15®'. ; ■ - :

: •' ' . ■ ' : . ; ■■■.• ■ ■; . ■ ■: ■ ■ ■ :1 . Boeiety, M b must not vlelate laws of his' owe nature 0 nHe hat curious quirks- of explaining M s relation to societyto'indicate that it was society which isolated him. and not '

■ ' ' ■ :• , ,2 the ©ommonly.descrihed reverse - of thisc Any appraisal of -his concept ion. of poetry3 s relation to the state or societymust ■;,he;:ioonsider;ed^with :these'. Msi© ideas in mind0 -

Critics and scholars are immensely fond of quoting-this very exactly^worded^: (although: possihly misleading) ■ •phrase of fhorearn3s concerning poetry9s relation to society0

The wisdom of some'of these Greek fables^ is remrkahle 0 The god Apollo {Wlsdoma Wit 3 Poetry)

• condemned to servej, keep the . sheep of King ■ AdmetuSo: S©; is poetry allied to the state0 3 . ;

From this ambiquity it would be possible to draw three in­terpretations : that the connectionis betieficlal to one orboth partiesj, that poetry was subject to forced tenure as the Greek myth explains it or.that this is simply a para=' doxical explanation' of the impossibility' of such a union<>The first is immediately rejected because Thoreau had no illusion that the bond between art and the state was eloses workable and evident0 He had proposed too early in his lifethat poetry3 s influence was subtle rather- than obvious g its

- ' ■ . 4 'effect indirect rather than direeto The second

I: S : i l l : ; : :3. I, 391, n • - ■. / 'Ao Ip 386 nA ipoetic] influence must steal upon us when \ we expect it; motoT ' ' :.;vl: ' " -■

2©

consideration skeins to be valid» ,8He [man] is a slave who•. is purchasing his freedom.He is Apollo watching the flocksof Admetus on every Milo” Poetry could never serve as a^.ireet medium of propaganda to reflect any political Me=> :-©logy of the states nor could it serve as an appointed ar=biter of meralSo, ,

©haucer pleads no cause s but speaks for me $, his readers, always&^ - ; \ :Books have not to plead their cause j, but they

- ' enlighten their readers and it is gainedd3I am again forcibly struck with the truth of the fable of Apollo serving King Admetus8 its

. universal applicability^ A fatal coarseness is . , /■, the result of .mixing in the trivial affairs of

men04 . ' .■ fhe .doctrines of 'deipaifs f of.'Spiritual servi^ ■'■ tude» no priestcraft nor tyranny^ was ever [sic] taught by such as drank in the harmony

'A ;■ , o f n a t u r e 0 5 v.;;- / ;

fhe impossibility of any such union proving worthwhile iscertain by the Very infretueney;of Thoreauss remarks on any

. art as a social force»W© seek td- soon ally the preoccupations of the mind to the experience of the hand to prove our : gossamer truths practical ? to , show their eon<= ■ A

- meetion with our every-day life 0 . to relate : , • A

lo XlA 373= . In XT9 114 and in Y l s 185 lie uses this sameA figure of Admetus and Apollo but in context which would be of no use here o . , t. ,

2 d. Xg gild. Thoreau0 s adversion to political context in A . literature is further Illustrated in Ohapter XXX belows page 810 ; ...

3.o: X..a :371o ' A . ■■ : , .4AXXX05d ' i . ; .•■ a a ;- a , . i A': ' A5o I> ,307 a -

' , : _ them te the eider mill and the "banking institu=: . v: ■ . ■tiorio . Aha give me pure Hindi, pure ■thought,, 1 ' ' '

. fhus8 Thoreau was more eoneerned with poetry’s position in relation to the single mno The.possible infImenee of lit­erary art on the individual and not the group man,predomi­nates in his mindo If each man reacts as expected8 of courses .;;there will' he perhaps. a eumulatlve effect on the whole so- eietyv / : : ; ; ' ', : v- , 4 good, hook l et' is so true 8 that it teaches mes

,hotter than to read, it j, I must soon lay it down. . and commence living on its hint; 0 = o'0 iJhat 1■ : ■ began hy reading8 1 must finish by acting02 , , '. . Thoreau did not necessarily wish poetry to be ranked

.superior: to' :;history5, science or philosophy^ in helping us to:, perfect ourselves in the scheme of lifeo He simply hoped for an integration of poetic truth with all other activities of mang If such a completely organic society should materi­alize then Emerson ’ s Utopia would be complete; and ’’everyman would be ,a. poet j, hove would reign s Beauty would take. :: ' f /: ■ , .. " ' 3 ; . ■ . - v<:;vplaces Man and Nature would harmonizeo”

lo The Hole of Inspiration

After ©xaminlng in the first chapter the need which , Batmre. has for ' art 9 we raay now determine from a further sur= fey of Thoreau’s reflections in the Journals the need which .art has for natures and the poet8a relation to the source of his inspiration^ If natmre Is the primary source of creationg and she is for the Transcendental thinkerss then she mast he• iridispensahle to art 0 In Therean8 s theery of literary eritieism9 nature is seen as the incentive of all man’s creation», Out of nature8 s fountain flows the quicken­ing sense of awareness which the poet must have to place him in sympathy with nature’s essence» Thoream acts in complete accord with Platonic thinking when he.designates the source of inspiration as divine».V -■ T hold in my hands a recent volume of essays

and poems oil ands if the gods permitted their•, own inspiration to he breathed in vain 3 this might

/ (^gotten in-the mass9 hut'the accents of : ■truth are as sure to be heard on earth as in .

. heaveBoi ■ 1

23

; .In•keepimg Mtk the Transcendental attitude^ Thereau @x= tolls that part of • .man.6 s nature which was independent of e^perlende0 He accepts completely the romantic view of the

.■ superiority, ©f' inspirational over rational knowledge with the conviction that intuitive thought is nearer to the trueand' the realcj "The unconsciousness of man is the conscious-

: : , ■ ■ . . 1 ■ .. ness•of dod--the end of the world>". Art2 as the medium ofextra-rational senses requires inspirationc la fact/in- splratiom becomes the' prime factor in oreation0 That partof man which receives the inspirationP the imagination* is thus closest to the consciousness of Gedo "It is the mar­riage of the soul with Mature; that makes the- intellect . fruitful* and gives birth.to the imagination«" If knowledgeabsorbed through revelation is more certain than truth gained through" the experiences of the. senses*.''then we. can expect Thoreau t© put his faith in the world created by the imag­ination 0 : '■

I find the actual.to he.far less real to me Shan; the imagined 0 0 e = In .proportion as. that which possesses my thoughts is removed from the actual*

io la llfd; ,■. t. .20 He never enlarged his conception to admit the Platonic theory of knowledge, as a process of remembering9 al­though * in granting the poet omnipresent vision* he proposes the poet8s role as a SeerV And through these men who touch our own.and all other ages* we are .linked with both, the original and uhborm hopes of . maho '. ; ' ■ ' ' ' ' i - . ■ i

3= n» 413o - : - ■ ■ '

24

: ' , : 1% Impresses mea^ . \ ' . .0m the one side of man is the aetual3 and oa

. .tM others the idealo The former is the pr©v=''' Inee of the reason.” it is even a .di'rime light ./ -

when directed upon its hut it cannot reach for<= ward into the. ideal without hlindme ss«the idea .

■ @r impression, of a thing rather than the thing ■itself o'2 i :: , ; , "■ ■ ' - : • ■ .. ■ ..

It is;by flights of the. imagimatiom.that;we see the real;hence the cognizance of trmth1 won through dialectics lagsbehindithe total'apprehension of truth gained through @©~. static experienceo . , . ,

Tiights of imagination 9 Coleridgean thoughts0.So a man is said to soar in his thought 8 eiren to fresh woods: and .pastures . new,:. Rises as in rthought o 3 : \ : ':v /•

fhoreau uses these Transcendental terms s inspiration8 intui=*, t ion a _ umeonse iousness 3, and imaginat ion ; almost synonymously.to'point up his .Transcendental ©©nelusloEU knowledge andunderstanding are not gained through scientific analysisbut through an 'awarenesh of the:;imagination6 • ' •

■ The Qualities of Genius and of Talent.

' . To Thoreaus the person who has most to do With inspiration: and super rational fhbUghts is" Me' person of, genius.o

id I I . 43 o v ' ■ ■ . . . .2d ly 3600 . ■ :3d III, 144d . ' ,4:0; IT^: 3 51 d.. lt. is as ,bad to study stars and clouds as : . . A-f lowers and stones I».. o SSrTyle said that how t© ob<= ■. . . serve., was to looks but I say that it is rather to see 8

and the more you look the less you will observed55

Bmt: in dealing with, the ;genius; in creationfhoreau.first makes a distinction similar to the one he made between some

: Jjoeticai expression and "Poetry’8- Itself. He discriminates, - between any person who refleets a genius for doing some-.thing and that person who^ according to Ben Jonsona "utters

' somewhat above a mortal!1moutho" In the former sense be " seems to have in mind anyone who shows aptitude along some line of endeavor o He makes genius synonymous, with the

: popular definition of .talent that- is s some" kind of faeility;■ or virtuosityo Thoreau applied the word genius in this sense to the following easess to the man who did not have

. a: genius for pretending to. be a Christian; to Mary Emersons .- "That genius 0 c» who is capable of a maseuline appreciation of poetry and philosophy"; ..andto himselfs who seemed in

- some instances to show a genius for' following his natural '

When he uses the word talentj Thoreau seems to meansom ..kind-of natural giftV •

Talent only Indicates a depth of character in '■ some directions^ - . . ;Then it is difficult to know whether or not he is referringto talent rwhen he" describes.'ChaUcer and.. Ealeigho .

lo #11, . Igo ■ . .2=- III, 114.

: . B e ' ' I : - ; ■ ■ . . . ■ . V . ■

4o I, 215o ' '

6Mti.0eptg genius rig . ©mly fop the most part' an ■■ ■:/;';gx&ee.Siag':aat aiiaeg'So': 'r;it:'-ls' perfeet g i B = - ■ • : / :\ etepity0l . • . . ' : y / ■Sir Tfaltep- Balelgh8s 'genius 0,0 0 is a generous'

: vnature0 :; ." ' , ' , " : : /'S®does8 ■ however suggest. ah; essential differenee betweentalent and the real quality of geniusQ: We do not acquire the; ability to do new de@ds9 ^

but a new capacity for all deeds0 My recent -gro rbh does not appear in any visible talent & :' but its deed will enter into my gaze when 1 . : • ;-' look into the sky and vaeaney03 ;

. Here; he., almogt says' that: genius is an all=embraoing qualitygtalent an isolated small one0 One seems to he,a'eentralpivot in a man^s lif ea. the other an 'external ahilityo ,

: How. often one must feels as he looks haok on his 'past lif e 3 "that 'he; has: .gained- a talent hut: lost . ■ a character oi = 0 Society affects to know men hy ;

. their talents a but really feels and knows them ."v " ' - byrtheir eharaeter P4;' ; : ; ■ : - '

% do not judge men by anything they can do<, Their greatest deed is the impresgion- they make ©n me0 5 .’.Ifhaf a man. doess compared with what he is is but

The dissimilarity between genius and talent is basic and they are separate" ih:':the.:!Mh-. who possesses them0 MThe one .is his head s the other his foot; by one he is s by the other

: ,;y . 1 - ' " : ' ./V'' . - •. becomes a way of doingsgenims a ' way of being Q , '

fh©3ream Implies although does not express the idea that . genius is an Infinite quality6 It seems in Thoreauva mind to be bonneeted in some mysterious way with, nature and the con­sciousness of. C|odo' . ;He: meTer directly explains the connection in the Journals but several-, utterahees suggest it0

i Genius has evanescent boundariest^ ' : .. . Men ©ommonly talk as if xgenims 'were something : f- "V proper;to" an, individual 0 : I esteem it but a eom* . i ; 'v ; ' mom privilege»3 v ' : '

Garlyle proposed that the,hero, in;soeiety was eapable of mak=■ing a show of genius, in some direetion8 and that if his genius;was great enough he would be a statesman9 a scientist / i!a painters or a poet8 according to the needs of the time* There is only one choice open for Thoreau9 s hero: he will make the voluntary indiyidualg but inevitable ehoiee of be­coming a poet. .

3o The Person of Genius9 ■ the Poet

v ' The greatest person Of" genius is the poet, who ■ combines . all the outward talents for doing and the inward Ones of

- k i t M i , - ; \ . .• 3 o IV9 . 4 2 2 o . T h e r e a r e s e v e r a l p a s s a g e s i n T h e C o n c o r d a n d

’ .; g e r r l m a e k E l v e r s w h i e h g i v e ; a f u l l e r e x p o s i t i o n o f . v ■ - \' t h i s i d e a V S e e ' p p 0 1 0 5 a n d 3 5 ® *

beingo He is the ^perfect man who has both genius andtalento * 'V -Thoreamg' whe usually, underrated Wordsworthsays

' — V - - ; ■ , . . : : , . 2 . • ■ ; .that-he had a "f eeble • talent® and less genius $, .whereas hedeserihes Carlyle as a person.whose "talent is perhaps quiteequal"to his geniustw ' :

.. Being sueh am ' important element . in Thoreau8 s theory ofliterary art r the poet is very ©oapletely deserihed in theJournals <, Physically he would seem to he a person of greatendurhnc®s, .'for. he is portrayed, as a man of "abundant life orhealthy"/ a "solitary liver and workery" who■"works and : : \ ^ .. • v '':- " '■ :11 W s o o o in spite of heats in spite of cold/ 8 and "growsstrong fey the buffets of fate0M v The physical mannerof thepoet is not really rough; it is his mental fortitude whichgives him superior power and strength0 "i. poet is one en-dowed with a strong imaginations," and/a fine sensibilitye ."The poet sees things clad In beauty% with the spiritual. ■ .9 ; ' ' ' • . ' ■ . . ; . .i ;' 'senseo" Thus! the poet is a man of ascetic tastes andspiritual leaningso ' :

Who. knows.. how.: incessant a- surveillance - a strong. • ' .man may maintain over himself g-^hpw far subject ypassion and appetite to reasons and lead the v

. . life his imagination paints!© / '

IMo' ' ' '

4. 2?^21So : •.51. Is " 93° ' . ' .6,/Tg 170. : , y ; ■' • ■ ■ ' :7« % 269o 9o XIII, 18a.8a ■II, 413'y- . ■ , 10o I, 79,

Because the poet is so sensitive to inspirational truths and so.close to nature9 Thoreau comes to identify him with forms of nature^ naming him perfect and fer-

'■ i ' ' v w v . ; ' .tile'flower01,8 The poet^ being a, man of /both spiritual andphysical resources with the one complementing the other»: couid' not stay/indoors ■ or sit at a leather =■ topped desk penning mannered ■ odes o V fTrue art ;• is mot merely • a sublime consolation and holiday labor ooo to be wrought at in par=i/./s/.':: .1 v.; ,' /- v . ■ / '' " /"% , i'' _lorsow ■Gonsiderimg the vital content which Thoreau wished to see.flow through literature9 there-was only one place / - for the poet and one source..for his- ■materialP Ighile com­muning with nature and natural things 3 he will be experi­encing and inducing' revelation^ It is. this experience which will fora- the . keystone of his • writing^ as/ the• third . chapter of, this. study will reveal„ from daily notatipns which he imde in the JournalsB we know that Thoreau was confident that any.work of art must bear an intrinsic re­lation to. the poet^s life and experience0 . "The poet writes ' /V - ■■' /" ' ; ' ■/: 3 ■':>/' ; ■ ' / /■' : ■ :/the history of his body0” So resolute is the bond betweenthe poet and his work that, we are forced to the ebnelusion that' the "poet is his 'wofke The. idea that a man cannot'- ; - write any better.than he is 9 is not as.popular with the erities of today as it was with .longinns and others who

believed that the sublime work of art can only be produced by a sublime or magnanimous soulo Thoreau substituted the word integrity as his conception of sublime, and then pro-' eeeded to define the man of integrity^

. Integrity is nothing: more than the, whole man, his sin­cerity in living a complete Ilfev If'uaev5 s life lacked „ integrity9 so would one’s work0 Thoreau stated that ThomasGray could never be a peet9 for his life ’’seemed to have

\ 'I . . , ’ ■' ■ '■ " ..1needed, some more sincere and ruder experience’5 than it had 0Thomson.,, the early English romanticist a "seems to, have ,■ •’./; needed only a deeper human experience to have taken a more vigorous flight o’5 .Integrity bears. no relation to the per- sonal ethics. of the poet then9 for Byron is readily, admit­ted into Thoreau9 s list of deserving poets <, , ■: ffiiat was it to lord Byron whether England

owned or disowned him9 whether he smelled sour - -and was' skunk-cabbage to the, English nostril : ': or violet-like 9 the pride of the land and or­nament of every lady’s boudoir? . Bet not the oyster grieve that he has lost the race; he , has gelned as an oystero^ ' / : , v:;

How bold and uncompromising a statement from a man who issupposed to be the soul of Buritanismi It would suggest. that Thoreau had praise for, men who did not live according.-to his own code despite his seeming contradiction in

31

expressing tihanks for Ghaueer 8s- f?sine@re sorrow, in hislatter aa^s for the grossness, of his earlier works»73

■/Within, the pages of the Journals are some ' very revealingstatements on the ethics of the poet and everyman0

Duty belongs to.the understanding, but genius ■ . 3.3 , net dutiful g the highest talent is dut if ml 0 Goodness results from the' wisest use of talent0

■ flhat is morality but - immemorial custom? ' It is. /; hot manner but oharaeter/ and the conservative eonseienee sustaias it»3fhe repentant say never a brave wordo Their re= solves should: be mumbled in silence a Strictly ,

/ speaking $, morality is not healthy0 4So Thor earn excused:' moral' indiscretion by coming to. a new •definition of morality® It is likely that he did not agreewith the aim of physical satisfaction in poets like Byr©n9but was willing to relax his standards in the presence oftheir superior arte ■ / - '/r v ' : 4' /■ ' '-'/

He is not the great writer, who is afraid to let the world' know tE W he ever committed an impro­priety c Does it not know that all men are

Any author who might be accused of grossness could be ae-,quitted if he showed sincerity9 naturalness, and perseverancein fulfilling his own beingo

' /Hothing in nature is sneaking or chapfallen, as somewhat maltreated, and slighted, but

1® i9 31©o 20 1 119. 3 e 1 il 263 64. /I9 '316® 5o Id 412a

32

': ’ eaeli: lias : satisfied Its .ieimg'g and so is 1 •larendar and T3alm03.I am mot offended, "by the odor of the skmnk8- in : passing fey saered plaessE, l am Invigorated'• rather* It Is a remiaisoen#® of immortality ;•

■."borne -on the gale02 v /'■:. .■ /,■ ■": ^ ■ ■.; V.. ,; ■Gertalnly Thoreau8s own inelination was towards an

; afestemioms : life towards the ednvietion that only Jsby eon^ ■ tinenee does he fthe poet] rise to ereation on a higherley el o.® He says himself that there are poets ®who keep- ■ - ‘. . - h- , 'tip their fires fey means unknown to me*® But he likes these poets feecause they have paid for everything, they took from■ life* They have rolled tap; all their energies into their' ; ■■ ' 5art they have given ®feaek life for life*® And it is sin~eerity that finally matters 9 “as if any sincere thought were

" '■ . ' - ' ' ' ' . not:the feast. sort of truth*® , "With Thoreau5s own .words ■ as'■ ■ : Y ■■■■■■ . ■ : : : ■.t; : ■ , ■ . ' ■ ' ' : 7witnessg ®The perception of beauty is a moral tests,® we can.more readily see how he was able to appear so liberal in ad=mitting errant memfeers into the society of poets* .

There are poets of all kinds and degrees, littleknown to each other *■=,* * They love various things* Some love feeautys-: and , some ieve' rtim* . ..Some go t® Rome y and some go a«=f ishing. * * * *I meet these gods of the river and woods with ; sparkling faces.(like Apollos) late from the

' house of correction s' it may fee carrying whatever mystic and forbidding bottles or other vessels .

1» * O ■2* Y8. g*- ::'3o 111, 191o-■kt ZI.J 423 o.i *: H 9 . :457».;6V t9 151o7* IF, 1260

33

■ . eoneealedy while the regular parish priests are/. . steering their parish crafts in. a prose inood.0lWhether or net the emphasis is em the physical or mental side. •©£;■ the peet r er eat ion :a©p ends • on his whole beings ' Sinee the creative preeess is the total effort of the psy­chological g emotional^.or physiological make-up of the poetg .Thoreau describes it eoarsely9 so that we may he shocked into this realization o % poet must not have something pass his bowels

merely| that is women's poetryo He must hat-© something pass his brains and heart and howeis;

' ' - too;' it may be8 all.together0 So he gets de=-; - liveredo2 : . .

; 4= 1 The Poet and His Inspiration • ;'-:i

The potential poet observes a kind of intricate ritual . in giving birth to a work of art>,: Hy practicing the tem= - perateness and self-discipline of the monks the cornerstones of fhoreau8 s own 'lif©=,. the poet - could more readily induce ■ inspirationo Thoreau does not alter Wordsworth's basic con­ception of the animal days of youths when passion and reason war hardest 8 and the prime of maturity when brute passion and profuse creation may be subdued0 fhe change that takes place durlhg this Jmtw Is described by Thoreau in thisway: - "What is enthusiasm in. the .young man must become temperament in the.mature man0 n The development in the

:1. %ll 423-424o ,2. :111:, 165 6Illg ;860: : :

34

poet; • spe@ifieally is' further ezplainedo ' . : ■ ' ' ' ■ :In youth o o o v/e are shown fair seenes in ordersimply tell wMt. we Mve seem<,l ';WitMomt.'ex©itements-lieat8 or passioa;, the poet ,will survey the world which, exeited the youth and threw him off his balancea2The logical oounterpart of this attitude is the idea

that:although genius sometimes dispenses with those further-/■■■.. : - ; : 3 ■" ' : ' • ■ v; .v :anoes which others require8 it, is not above the need of eon=sclous improvement. Far from being content with the first': directing Impulse,of youths the poet must, strive to perfect himself and his sensibilities ever hopeful that he will war» rant a visit from his muse and that he <wlll be:able to inter­pret the visiono Ee must be able to create a setting for his own inspiration| he must be able to induce a moodc .Tho= reau describes the time apprbaehing the inspiration as a highly sensitive ©ne0

You must be in an abstract mood to see reflections : however distinct 0 o»= liien we are enough ab- ■ stracted the opaque earth itself reflects images ' to us6 ibao we 'are imaginative8 see visions ete04 ■

And; the mood which.may be created does not have to be iso« .lated from other activitieso

: : ■■ . v-V ' f 1 ■ - ' : : ' ' ■ : z ^3 0 1a.147”14S8 concerning Shakespear e s . "It was Genius and , - : helpeditself <>:.ko / , -y : f V: ■■ ■ /-' '

35

fhe slight ;S.;l$-feTabSiQn: i>*f; picking berries is ■; ' ' ■ ,. favorable to a Mid abstracted poetic mood^ to

.seq,Bestered or transcendental thinking/ 1 return ever moie fresb moo'd from such slight in- ■

" . terruptienol; ; ■: 1 ; ' ; v ' ■ , ■: 1/herevef / the poet is . Thoreau says that he must "continuallyh :... . ■. ;2 :' be watching' his .mooiSd . ;

‘- The poet is a man who lives at last by watching '• his moodsI an old poet comes at last to watch

. .. •; ■ his moods as narrowly as a cat does a mouse 0 3 ;. ■ ..Besides watching and, attending hls;-moods9 the poet must beeager to possess the thoughts and.impulses, which are the

; results of.; such moodsg . v : . - ;Obey the spur of the moment0 These accumulated

': it .is. that make the impulse and the impetus of. 'i the.: life.-of gen % ' : ; ' i" ' ; : ''i• Frobe. the universe in a myriad pointso Be / 1 avarioious of'these impulses <3 5 :

Thoreau tells the poet to. seise any. opportunity to express: ‘ these impulses s '; : " ■ 'v:, ‘ ' - ' "

: : ih?ite "whileithe' heat is in you ooo o- The writer Who postpones the recording of his thoughts uses ah iron which has cooled to burn a hole with&

V He cannot ihfiame the minds of ;.his. a-udiencee bThe poet is recommended to express his thoughts spontane=-ouslyg but not to expect the first record to be his best0 ;The material which appeared brilliant on the day. . of recording.may seem dull on the next0 ;

1, I¥5 :262o2 o H g 4-$3 o 3-o II, 428 o4o III, 231o5K Il,.:45f'o So I, 73a

36

: iflien the poetic frenzy seizes us8 we run and- s.watcla:: oiar pen9 delightinga like the. eoek9 in :the dust we make 9 but do not detect where the

■ ' je-wel lies, whieh perhaps we have In the meantimeeast, to a distance or quite covered up againoi :

fho eaUs, :lik© Wordsworth3. advocates a lengthy time intervalbetween the conception of the thought and .its final expres=

'. The Scripture rule 9 “Unto him that hath shall ':/\:::be-:iglv'en>® is true, of composition» The more you V

have thought on a given theme 3 the more you canstill writeo Thought hreeds:thought« It grows

' - /under, your - very hands 0 2 ... ■ .;The work of Barlowe would have "benefitted from “pause and

' ■ - . ..i.,,-:. 3' ■ : . : ! - .-V-.'. deliheration.o ■ . The writer puts down at first all that he'

has to say concerning a matter; then he returns later for. .there is aineed ®to re^consider our experience from manypoints of yiew and in various moods3'to preserve the wholefruit of it o98 It would seem that if a work were left longenough it would lose its freshness and become fallow3 andthat interest and remembrance would soon be lacking on thepart of.the :poeto Th®reau did not think so0

Often I can give the truest and most interestihg account of my adventure I have had after years

■ have elapsed3 for then I.am not confused3 onlythe most significant facts surviving in my \meaefyo2 -

The poet leaves his work Until that time that he can gain a

• 1 0. Vi;, -19#o2.: m i 3 145 o 3c. I3 ■ 476o 4o 1X8 301o . 5 o. IX, 311 =

new perspective3 and. plek ©mt. ”tli@ most significant s pie- tmnestne s and dnamatie points 0 n This is a demand for.the solieitous revision ef tne thonght itself« In Chapter 111■ tke same: demand is made for the expression of that thought»/

Ihe poet , must take advantage of his impulses immedi­ately as he cannot always maintain that elevated Mood0 Only when he disciplines his mind will he. be in harmony.with the inspirational fonto In several characteristic metaphors8

: fhoreah explains the poet9s condition if he is not able to keep' his divine fires burnings

My rhythmical mood does not endure 0 I eannot draw'from it and return to it in my thought as

• to a well all the evening or the morningo.I ■eannot work the. veing it is so fine and vol-

' .:;yr . atil©o'2l:r i: : '' :©ur genius is like a brush which one© in many

■ . months is freshly dipped into the paint pot0It becomes so dry that though we apply it inces­santly: it fails, to'' tinge our earth and. sky0

. Applied to the same spot incessantlys it at,length' imparts' no- color0 3 . / : ' '

fhoream.then recognizes that the poet may experience periodsof dryness and non-creationo H© implies that there is no.poet whom the muse will attend, forever 6

Drain the cup of inspiration to its last dregs oooo Ihe spring will not last forever»4-If thou art a writer write as though time were short for it is indeed short at the longesto5

Vioid 1b some- poets there Is a1 hrief and "bright fliarry ofgeaiw .:?ihieh soon dies0 . -■ y : Some poets mature early and, die young0 Their-

■ fruits leave a delicious flavor like straw= y herfles» hut do not keep till f all- or' winter0 _ ; , .Others 'are slower in.; eoming' to their growth» ■ ;

Their fruits may he less delidieus^ hut are a : . more"lasting feodol ■

During the'time ;that he reoeives the impulses, , the. poetis in hot sueh an intelleetual frame of mind as he is herepiet^edo At the moment of his eoneeption the poet is anuneonselous medium,, And it is his passiveness which equipshim for the experience 0 : : /■

The thought came to us because we were in a fit. . mood;, also we were unconscious and did not knowthat we'had said or done a good things 2

Ihen these unhidden thoughts come like nthe wind that stirs : the trees8 w the poet touches the divine irradiations of truthv ' In Thoreau’s terms s the poet^s mind is now so in­volved 'that he should feel playing against him strains of ihspiration from all corners of the earth and heaven,, But . it is not entirely a gentle experience/ According toThoreauis metaphor the poem is "to be drawn out from under

■■■. - 5 ■' . ■■ . . . . v • , / . y :the feet of the poeto" .It will he an unnerving experiencea

- The: very thrilisy-of'geniuSv W disofganltlnge the body is never quite acclimated to its : ’

• ' atztosphereoh-: y i;; : y:;-, "... . , : ■

1. 7;,190c ' ■ ■■." . • ■ ■ • 4. I9 413o2 e mi:&y.39c' yy: y: y ^ : : : % i» U4o3c: ; ' . . ' . 6o I, 119o

39

:1a tills: poment of mystical revelation the poet f8aises ' aboTe aaMr4 $ and beeomes de-hiuaanizeci» He is empowered omt of actual nature and. seems to "become a ereature of another worldD The idea is suggested "by Thoreaa9 s deserip= tipn. pf himself Meating. ambrosial fruit son the highhill='side ' o o oV ' I "was young: again and whether. I stood- or sat 2 ■

V:\- \ xv:: w/: t: : t'/'h /:was not the sape- ereatmreo^; Thoreau does not tell ms ifthe poet is metamorphosed : into a creature without sex,or \:one who ■ perhaps .embodies both sexes in. a supernatural hodyqHe does define the genius as hermaphroditic9 hut there meansthat it may 'engender itself«V :: .; 'w - V > ': ■ Genius renews . itself 0 Genius is inspired by . t' . its own works 9 it is hermaphroditic03

.Thoreau: smas' up the position of the: poet at the time of hisinspiration in a'self-addressed edieti ”1 must let mySenses ' wander as ■ my. thoughts my eyes s see without looking e w:lt the same , time he suggests the prohlem which faces thepoet at the time of: his inspiration0

:wOenst.ently-t©.'amit': the sudden exal tat ion and yet al=ways to refrain from an overwhelming ardor s was Thoreau Ss .. ■ ; ' ' 5 , p , . ■dilemma:s w • says Norman Toerster ° and such ? Thoreau thought swas the dilemma for all poets0 He advises on one hand a

. ls Ys 170 o. . In I g ; 74 he says: The poet ’’must he something " - more than natural o ® ■' ■ . :" - ■ :. 'a, iiTg: 2i90 : ■ - t3o :2:i9, 2C)40 .v ' :4o 1T9 .351< v . ' ' /5 o Horman Foerster 9 pp 0' 164-105 o ;

Setaeheii, • relationship to the creative idea .at hand0 ^Theartist must work with lu&iff eretGY/;' - % imterest

• i . ' ’ ! ■ - - ■ ■ : - - ■'? ■vitiates his:w©rke ®; But he does not' resolve the contra- •dietion'that he himseif createsQ Without the radianee Of deep-welled passion the poet is- not; moved to poetry =. With­out having experienced strong feeling the poet,is in dangerof becoming like the seventeenth century poet whom Thoremu.' ; - ; , . r 2 " - .called wrather Doctor Bonnes, than the poet Donneo” ' Still ;his original ardor had, to eoolg or poetry would not issue Thoream's poet finds himself in the situation which Words- worth knew0: he must recollect his emotion in tranquilityscontemplating it until that tranquility disappears <, and only the emotion is re-produced0 Wot only must the poet control the;temper of his idea hut he must direct it towards -a . special' end o - T,0.So Eliot6 s phrase 85the unity of sensi­bility51' explains the poet9 s transmission of his conception0 Wo matter how varied the experience 9 or many-faceted, the thought, it is the poet’s duty to hammer it into a whole so as to present a totality to his audience 3 and fulfill the function for which literary art was intendedi

Thoreau never adequately describes the poet8s relation to his inspiration^ for the simple reason that he considered

41

it beyond explanationg in the realm of Transeendental jnyg= tieisuio He does not tell us whether he thought there was a loss to the poet®s vision between the moment of inspiration and the time of ' reeording "Weknow that he asserted hisideal of the perfect work of art which would be character”

: . ' , ■■■■ ' 1 ■ ized by an absence of its workero To make the actual formclosely approximate to the imagined impulse j, the poet was tobring his eonsdiousilpowersito the aid of his unconsciousoneSo The poet develops and utilizes his sensitive genius •

: : 2 ■ : ■ ' : 3 • ■ . ■ according to his talents$ his educationo It is this majorpart of the creative'process .which Thoreau treats most amplysexplaining in detail the methods by which a writer arrives ,at a suitable transcript of his thoughtSo The first partof the third chapter of this study will be devoted to thatsubject0 As Loreh says 3 Thoreau thought that wthe best po=©try is a happy combination of the’ unconscious and the eon-scious^ activity of the poet6 To maintain affinity withthe divine: muse and to actually produce poetry of sense andscopes, the poet, needs psrsevering mental energy and a fairdegree of intelligence* .

'•IV Ills, 236o :2V :I9- ylif*: \ ' ’ ;3 . 3/,; 4 7 6 . ;4* Tfed lorehj pp0 286=29Qe

42

4*o The Foet9 s B©sition in His Society ' T"ame

' - i.s the essential quality of the poet is divinely given9it must be said that' the poet is born and net mad® o Trueto the'prescription of the German and English romanticists9Thoream elevates the poet to a point of communion with the

. highest truth,, . In essence the poet is <$©& in man0 • As he..is. destined to receive a Transcendental vision, he must ofnecessity fulfill a Transcendental fuaebiont,

His words must he as the relation of his oldest- and finest memory^ and wisdom survived from re­motest experience03 ' ' ; :He will rememher only that he. saw. truth and beauty from his pos it ion $ and calmly expect the ■ time when a vision as broad shall overlook the

' same field as fr@ely04Then the poet is waiting for other men to acquire his fac= :ulty for seeing the universally signifleant0 The differ-enees between the layman whom Thoreau calls the prosaic manand the poet are. distinctly marked0

The prosaic man sees things baldly or with * the bodily sense| but the poet sees them clad , '

, in beauty 6 5 ... ' ■' .. - ■' . - ■ ■/ ■ 6 -•The prosaic man is a barren flower0

lo 111,' 316o. Thoreau is probably quoting Horace when he : '. . says s oeta nasoitur non fit° .

2o Fred Loreh3 pi 2880 nIn an absolute sense Thoreau idea- .• tified the unconscious activity of genius with the con­sciousness of God0!f

3/1/471,4, Ip 274-275o i-5 o- XIII , 18 r - :6o II, 414°

43

Cdittaoa men earn enjoy partially« 0 0.0' They ean . .: enjoy feetily bmt they eamndt . ereate0l : \

But remembering Thor earn 9s words on the desire of coziiraonprosaic men to raise themselves 8 we know that the prosaicman may develop poetic appreciation^ "The poets seem tobe only more frank ahl plain spokeh; than other meiib” ToThoreaUg then9 the poet was essentially different fromother men in degree $ hut not in kind %

By the very nature of his fuiietion .and his personalitys.,the poet remains at a reserved distance from the rest ofthe soeietyo "The poet must keep himself unstained andaloof ow:° • .

How nameless is the poet among; us> He is abroad •. hut .is not reoognizede4 ' , v .■ By my intimaoy with mature I find myself withdrawn f rom man 0 <, 0 o In your higher moods what man is " ; . ...there to meetf You are of neoesslty isolated.5 v \ .

And this fast presents a problem to the poet. He must re­main far enough from the maddening strife so that he will

. not. heOome'directly involved9 and yet near enough so that he; ean hie; an able interpreter of that strife 0 He may live 9 of course8 within the bounds of society and be an accepted member of that soeietyy but it is doubtful' whether he will

IV -Z , 404. 2o Ig 304V' 3° III, 5o4. vy 34745o IT, 258p

44

"be kmoim as a poet of. high worth0 ^Xt does mot appear thatanybody .saw Shakespeare when he was a'bemt in England look”: . , 1 ; ; :: , " ’ - ■ . . ■■ 1 ; " ■ ' '■ ing offai? , ' ;■ ' ' .

Being an idealist about gifted persons9 Thoreau thought that life was eontrary to the innocent poet9s0 He was angered by the indignities and ignominy which the poet suf­fered and endured0 "y ■■

Ho hawk that soars and steals our poultry is v wilder than gemimsg and none is more persecuted or above perseoutieho 2 ■

;There is a positive note in the Journals.that intercourse -between the society and the poet was not'only debasing anddemoralizing to the poet but fatal o- / : ; ":

A hawk8s ragged wing/will grow - whole again, V1' ■ .bnt so -will notiatpoef *:3 ;. ’ v v : -v-;• So most poe m seven epics, are like the wings [of a moth] comedown to earth, while the poet whose adventuroms flight'they evidence has been snapped up by the ravenous vulture of this

■ r: worido4 V'. vThese, of course, are the poems Of the best poets who neverstray from the thorny path of their ideal, but who make p@o=

■ . ' : ■ V-\. ■ 5 : - :pie sq.nirm in the presence of truth« Naturally there aresome poets who toady to the common tastes, and who aceord=ingly earn no respect from Thoreaua He speaks sneeringly

1 o 31' 286 o2o ,XT, 451 e 34 IF,-:1 0 3 a 4, IT, -259 o ;5-0: U , 329o See also 1%,

©£ the settled ministers ?twho delivered lectures before the: , ■; ; ' ■ : ' 1 .: . ■'' • ' ' ;. :; rich Xnstitiites and Lyceums018 The good poets shall not . . ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ " ■ ' . _ . _ ' : - ' : ; 2 'flatter their readers by reeitiiig ^Pretty Poll* for them.

ThoreaUj, probably because of a lack of perspective, - saw' his own age in a more unholy light than any other» In the sense Of not being able to recognize genius he says . that there was probably no more eons©ions age than the

; present b” :: However,, he was really not disturbed by the divoroe between the perceiving men9 the poets8 and the mass of dull ones 5, the poet8 s audience 0 He ' was not disturbed be=* eause he understood. that, it was inevitable 0 88It is remark­able j but on the whole 9 "perhaps $, hot to be' lamented that

;Y. : ' : ■ ' ■ ' . •' ' ' - ' • ' 4 • ' ; ;the world is so unkind to a new bookow -

The. Journals do not thoroughly explain in what ways the . audienee of the poet hurt him in his daily life; but there is .sufficient material to; draw a conclusion on the poet Ss fame i Thofeau was really hot upset to see poor eontemporary

' reception of books because he was convinced that contemporary opinion mattered not a whit for himself or other poets 0 He was even eapable of making frequent and amusing remarks eon-

. earning the small .sales of his own two books 9 The Week and

:l0 'ziV 327, ''' ' ■ ' ■ - ■ ' i ' . ' : , . ' ‘ . ‘ '2131, 451v,;.' :i ‘ - Y3o H I, 2360 In I8 311 s in speaking of the love and rever-

■ -•©nee which King James and Dunbar of Scotland had for Chaucers, he. sayss "That childlike relation does not seem to exist now whioh was thenen

4o Works IV j 3216 ■■■ r v . ' ■ : Y

"Waldeno: ■ ■' . - ■ ' . • X have now a lltea y; bf mayli nine hmadred .

W l m e s „ over se-ren hmnd^ed of whleh' I wrote '■ „ ; BvseifJ. : ■ : . : .

'•There will eeztainly be no mortal fame for the poet "because• fame is not just 0 . ■ .

It never finely or disefiainately. praises' bu.t ' ooarsely hurrahs o The, truest acts' of heroism

■ ■ never reach her ears/ are never published byher trumpeta2 ■ •: -■ ;; v

SiBoe no mortal fame will be his the poet should <?ris@; ; 4above the dread of criticism and the, appetite of praise0 ,?The poet 8s fame lies in'the assurahee; that he has tsmore toV . ;.v ■ . . , , • . .5 . ' v :Impart than to reGeive from his generations^ and thats likeEndymion9 his star shall rest with the.immortals *

Those great men who are unknown to their own > generations are already famous in the society

of the great who have gone.before them0 The ■ ■early and latter day saints are separated by •

no eternal interval 0© . .But with the prospect of immortal fame will not the poet besubject to mortal pride of his own high station? Thoreaurecognizes that it may be s© and accordingly warns the poetthat he must continually humble himself

and appear in the attitude of a man with his

M v X9 459o: ' '■ ' "Bo TXs 32S0 " ■. 3,0 Xn.. Is 190$, Thoreati says that s$the poet must make his

•/ only ambition virtue6 ” He could mean excellence by this o 'Xn this same statement is the following phraser R n this society there is no fame but love0

4« xxij, . 3X0 : 1 '.';; . . ... . . - :5o Gape .God and Miscellanies« 3210 .. 6 * . ; : ,' ;, . ' ,■:/

47

head inclined 9 who comes as silently and meekly :: as the morning star^i ; . ■ ; . v . : - •„

Thoream demanded an almost impossible admixture of uneon=seiou.shess and' pride from the -poet 0 ??If hehad known of his comparative eminence^ he would not havefailed to pmblish it incessantlyD1? •.

, M l true greatness runs as .1©t@1 a .coarse. and-.. is - as unaspiring3 ' as. the plow, in the furrow. 'It wears the homeliest dress, and speaks the home^ liest languageo3 . -

He; asks the poet to be unassuming in his relation with othermen while he knows that the poet"must assume.that his.lifehas meaning in order to maintain his identity and pursme hisGhdsen" course * If society is not. sympathetic with the poet9 sintention of hearing ^golden crops of Porters and Baldwins

' I : : : : ' ' ; : v - 4whose fame will spread through all generations to come 3 nthen he must he certain that for. the time Wing he is his•own hest audienceo For ”puhlie opinion is a weak tyrantcompared •with- nr irate ■opinion o What 1: think of myself« that

• ' .v.' ■ . . • .5 ■■ ' . ••. : ■ ■determines my fate»?.. In this way the poet may he confidentthat he" shall not live for his work hut in it for the;' 6 • . ■ . "ii ■ ' ' ■ •

I;20 III, 236<3o i; 41 H /5 ° l $i6 © X s>

GHAPTEB 111 •

QT POETRY

l:o

for t3a.e day of $ of' thinking; but ■ info '/

6f 1858s ©oneerned,^There is no a thought ahotrfcmore Herculean taeky 89 he says s flthan. to

• . . ■ : -' ■, - '' ...- ' ' 1 , ■. -, this life ' and ■: then get it expressed G 96 ■ .H©w@yef ? when the ex? pression'does’ resuity the word possesses obvious advantages . over the idea0 Eor. langmge ;is ^very choice and select59;"it is: the. record of men?s seeond thoughts 8 a- more faithful

>" ■ Vf' ’ ' :: " ' ' . ' ' , ' ' . " ■ ' g ■ .utterance than they can■momentarily give"| and it is "thesymbol of his man’s thought” and reflection of all natural" ■ ' . - y 4;' ■ ' " " ' - .' r:' ■ ■■ 'objeetso These statements alone suggest Thoreau’s beliefthat any art which directly utilized language was superior toone that did noto

in his ■consideration of language's the basis of all lit-erary artr: ThoreaU most conspicuously demonstrates his prac°tieal turn •of mindo 'Satthiess@n> the literary historian»Observes that Thoreau "asserted the social foundations of

lo Xy2a Z» ■3 «' I,4o T,

. • 1" • : ■ ' ■■■■ - language” and Thor-eau did ©onsider language as apepS’o^uotlon of nature 8 with integrity and function „ In hisb m writing^ he eagerly- 5nohes roots and utilizes etjmol©<=.gies; ,and :he therefexpects the p©et to serve up histhoughts >y this same method»% Wilkinson8s book to some .extent realizes what ,

I haTe dreamed o f r e t u r n to the primitive atialogieai atid. dehi'ratiTe , sense of words 0 His ability to trace: analogies often leads him to " ^a truer word than the more reiMrkahie writers have founded / u i , j-.. .

It is by des.eent and analogy that a word approves itself 8and fhorearn has mmeh praise for those men who' use meaningful •analogies based on $1naturalf6 and ancient words Q Ihen he .states j, ^She roots of letters are things'3 w he means he:wishes words t© duplicate the original8 to be as much like ■the thing or idea for whieh they stand as possible0 The sureness with whieh Thoreau deduced their similarity and thensameness resulted in the log!©al':.©onelssion: that language isfossil poetryo Emerson repeats this very phrase, and adds

■ ' ■ - dthis aspect to the idea"Every word was once a poemo" ' inThoreau'’is. words this is the way it appeared again r .

Quarless words 0«Q have a certain rustle frag- ranee and f ore© 9 as if ■■now first devoted to '

1 o IMtt hies sen * iiaeriow "Benalssanca,. p 0 86 & ■2o 111 462o ■ ' ' ■ , .3« i= 172o' : . ' ■5o Ralph Waldo Emerson9 "The Poet,". The Essays of :

v';'Waldo Emerson (New Yorki 19441 9~p7- 229.So

3-iti93?;aSire . after having served, sincere and stern msesol'

Possessing' this attitmde: as h,e ■ did8 Thorea that indaxs long.past people used mor© able-bodied words ? He. feelsnostalgia ■ fen the early writers of Hew Englands who used; , ; . . . 2,; . ' ■ ... . ■ ;^strongg.'eoarse^ homely speech""; : for the ^wholesome hearty ■

■ : ' ' ■ ■ ■ ■■ - ; 3statements<=5= strong 9 living* human speech5’ of Samuel Peters *.the early Oonneetieut historian;, and for Quarles’s ’’strongs

h’ . ■ . .... ..... - 1hae.hed.,'w©rds»®. ;v .

The individual, artist must proceed from the things to the wordo There is no discussion in the Journals of the fact that usage. is/constantly transf orming language * that language, is never statico Thoreau makes no comments about the use of

'. words which' we would" ©all slang* •Or the differences in vo= ■ eahulary of sO©i©=eeonomie groups eomparahle to our levels of usage o He did set himself against the use of hackneyed

' phrases * 'however p . ; Xm.-one- place in the Journals he includes : - ' this as one of his faults* ’’using current phrases and maxims * when X should speak for myselfs” Correlated to his plea for; foreibleness and individuality is his objection to foreign . :' words o He wishes to dispose of borrowed words when there are good' vital ones in the'surroumdings'tangible to the writer *

lo X* l+m^k59e 20 7X1* 109o.

51

la a moment of ehativinism for. his Aj2ierioanas he explains" that the. Hbrrim'sk is $9hox more meandering than the Meander

■ , . ' .. .. . . . i ■ ‘ ■ ' ' - . . : .; is aaske.taq,middlmgow ' In other. words „ w® d® aot a hmt. . ■should possess and ns® the genius to eoin words which could

' he a S' foroefxil in meaning and eomotation as the adopted ones cThese the seholars . . x .,

<,4,6 would fain reject; as AEeS'ieahisms'i ' lhat if .there were a tariff on.words9 on language8 for

. ,. the eneouragement of home manufacturers? het :' the schoolmaster distinguish the true from the. V counterfeito2 ' ;'

‘‘Y .' The standard 'for word choice was: not currency hut exact**ness a -■ It explains The ream’s praise for the precision in thelanguage of hotanyo wHow copious and precise the botanical

■■■ 3 , rlY\ YY:\1Y: ■ Y"':! : ...language®^ . ■ He found, the language of the Indians also., to. heexacto . ’ . . . . - : . ' . ;

How much more conversant was .the Indian with any . ■wild animal or plant than we are s and in. hislanguage IsYimplled all:that:inflkacyitY ' : ' Y

He had a stout hatred of anything superfluous in language®:I find' that I ' use to© 'many words for the sake of ' emphasis which really add nothing to the force

, of my sentences o 5 . " '■ :Shat men say is so sifted and obliged to approve itself as answering to a common want * that

-. nothing absolutely frivolous obtains currency in the. language o©, . v : ;

lo JII, 39062o Ibido36 IIV 4096 4s %g 294s5 s III , . 2336 6s I, .99o:'.':y

52

Thdream ieeiSel.that the:poetry of his friend "William Ellery .■■ ■ ■ : .. ■ : ' ' .. V" : 1Ghaiming was eharaeterised .by a ,9slip=shod styleo”

I think it womld be a good discipline for . ' Ghanning^ .wh© ■writes:, poetrys to write Laf in02 '

Thoreau eonfinues that the poet will then have recourse to■."* ,' ■■ ■:

his grammar and diotionary« We,oan suppose that Thoreau meanshe would then be forced to look up the ezaet meanings of wordsand winnow his phrases» The tendency towards frivolity in'language- leads: inevitably to 'verbosityo:; Thoreau Condemns .OhaBning’s phrase ^riparial excursions" to refer to theirwalks along the river banks y-and illebtt tg suggested title of :' v.. ■ , ' v . . . ; 3 " .. ;Sylvania for Thoreau1s book Waldeno . He criticizes them be—cause they are flowery and not plain and direct as language■ should.bev' If.the writer's language is artificial^ he.is in '

4 .definite danger of being ??cursed with a styleo” Thoreau con­gratulates Samuel Daniel because ^his style is without the

- ■ . ■ . - ■ . 5 ; ; . - . ' . . . - :tricks .of the: trade0 m : Aeschylus receives similar ' praise 0 :■Aeschylus's words ^owe nothing to their dramatic formg nothing t© stage machineryo ® Thoreau felt that the writer would be 'more likely to;' say: something important if he remem­bered this cardinal facts ?lfc is on the whole better« as it is .simpler s to . use the common language«” .

1.-' Ill, 118o2, Ibid&3 o'- III j A18 i 4o IX, 75o 5o I, 4660 6 0 I , 9'3 .' . 7, 'X. 1904

53

■ Mature ■,.»e is ,a i'Sses few ges= ■ ■' ■ •tiireay aoes mot ad# 'to her verbs/maea few adverbsg uses no expletives61

v; :' ■ ■ : :ln: sueb 'a letter as 1' ll&e' tbere- will be the most naked and direet speech? the least elr= ewal©enti©iio2To reproduce this rightMangnage: from words which have •

their , roots in thingsg the poet naturally must be convertsant with his snbjeetsc

\ .?Zhere shall we look for standard English but to the words of any man who has a depth of feeling in him?3 : : : . . ; .^11 the trne :growth and;'experience ;[is j the living speeche^

The most .poetic. name for an object comes from the man who ; ;is most clearly related to It; for a "more intimate knowl= •edgeg a deepef.-eXperience.g 'Will surely originate a word0" 'Thorean speaks with contempt of those writers whose languagedoes not'reveal a personal association with their subject„

A: writer who does not speak ,out of a full ex- - ' ' ■ perience uses torpid words s wooden or lifeless' " - • ■

words o® ■From all appearances then8 it should not be an insurmountable task to acquire a distinctive language to express distinctive

: ' '' :thOUghtS„ ' ' ' ' ;v '

; z"' • - ' .;:v : ;2o Ig 351c. Wen he says in Sap© Cod9 p0. 353 that "he who cannot exaggerate is notqualifled to utter truth " he

'la not contradicting:hla thoughts on languages but has in mind the thought behind a work0 3« 1»:255» ■ : - ' ■

W ZII* 389; : x : -vV: : ; : . . .

5o XII, 390*■6 ITg 2 2 5 O

54

Anything living is easily and naturally ex~ ■. pressed';in popular 'languageo1 / ./ ;;How: language is always found to serve 'best

. , the highest' moods9 and expressions of the ; .. highest trnth'si : ': ' , v ;

If thoughts are expressed in acenrate and sensible words,%the highest truth should result

Zo Versifieation, Bound s and . : .. Figures of' Bpeeoh ' .

. ' Inwall' the' foregoing reflections upon the language Of. ; ,a writerg Thoreau m y be referring to the language of poetryor to prose which is figuratively poetie0 Thoreau'1 S ownconfusion.about their differences has been mentioned® Ulti~• mafely any thought which was inspiring and vital was a: poetic thought® . ; ■■ :: v 't: : . i : • ' ' !'t'

Good poetry seems so simple and natural a thing - when we meet it; we wonder that all men are not falways poets® Poetry is nothing but healthy

t ; ;s$eeehf t : .In one place Thoreau'.says: that "the language of poetry is

, ,t . ' : . ■ 4 .. ■ ' 1 ' ' f: "; infantile a . It • cannot talk®!t Nevertheless,, he decided that'the poetic was superior to prosaic language0

This [book] suggests the difference between the looseness of prose and.the"precision of poetry® . ..-A perfect expression requires a peculiar rhythm ' ;■or measure for which no other can be substituted®

- ' The prosaic is. always' a loose expression®5

1® Fig 238®2® 451®. ' 3 ® I V . #9,■ 4®'Is ■323'®'' :-5= W 74o

It is poetry in the literal sense8 poetry that M s a aefl-' •. nit© ’ syilaMe accent and perhaps a regular meter and rhyme aof which he is speaking:here0 There is no mention of metriceal preference in the Journals a and just as meagre anamount on rhyme <, } The re an, does say that when the adjunct of. ■rhyme was used a. it had to accustom .itself to the natural;requirements:©f,speaking and hreathingo

, .r.: So .mortal man ©@uld, have breathed to 'thut - . •' :' cadenee 0 <, 00 . He [lydgateJ should forget his •' rhyme and tell his storya or forget his story.

; x ' ■ and : hr eat he h i m s e l f 62 p : : ■ i: : "v i.; ,

fhe methods or devices which a poet can use to obtaina song^like quality in his poem are not spoken of in theJournalss Thoreau does consider music a natural attributeof'poetrye ' .: /

, " ;iery: uncommon sense is poetry % and has a heroic -or sweet musie>5 .; The Iliad vseems , like a natural' sound which has

y reverherafed to otir daysi^But he merer tells us.how we know music0 The foregoing quo­tations would imply that our finer natures would tell us be­cause this was the'Transcendental music of the spheres 0 :- 1

' It is the content of poetrya the worth of the sentimenta which finally determines whether or not there will be songQ

lc In Ij, 30 there is an allusion to the Alexandrian line |: Spring ?fn@¥.er grSws up, but Alexandrian-like drags .:. ' its ‘slow 'length along6to 1

2, I, .347o

: Saxon,-poetry9 fhoreau says s. ”has- more thought , but less.' ; ... ■' 1 ' • . ' ' ,K: " '' ■ ., \'.'V ... ' ,musi-e o.® . But the best would unite bothj, for jausle Is notenough by itself to carry verse0 it must be eompled with

v':Sens©>- - : , ■ :■/.;■ : ' ' : : '' : Thfhe music of sound3 which is, all-sufficient at

' firstg is speedily lost9 and then the fame of,the poet must rest on the music of the sense02

As there is no further discussion of prosody we assume thatThoreau always f elt, that"good verse <,»: 0 : will: make its own,, ; .

; v • ' ' : - . . ' ' ■ 3 'music g and it will march to the same with one consento"' - in his discussion, of f igurative languages which inei=

' dentally is ' so - much a part :of' .his own: writing 8 Thoreau choosesthe terms tropey simile^ and metaphor 9 and uses them synon= .;. ymously. . ' . . '

■■tten::hatircal''factsiare descrihed,'. itV'is ■ ah.'.'ad-- vantage if,words derived originally from nature ro o : .bmt ;o s o turned from, their primary s.ignifi~

•• canoe to a moral sense are used8 i0eo If the . - object' is' personifiedo4

The most telling simile or metaphor is the one which found_. its basis." in nature o But . to take any' material from nature ' ' !- -is not sufficient; the' poet must .select his- figures j of speech;from the world about him. from his own experience0

■■ Surely3 it 'is a defect in our Bible that It isnot truly ours8 but a Hebrew Bible 9 The most per= tinent:,.illustrations for us are to be drawn^ not

to ly 2$9o;; ' 2o 1 s.: 294©Ao XIII, 145o

No poet is aWle Se do’f ise,;.w@rtjiy- figures tmless he is, first'thoroughly: :0#mVefsmut witM: his subject0 : v . : , f

The unpreteMing truth of a slmile Implies some­times sueh distinetness"in the' conception as only e&perienes ©Siild have supplied 0«o 0 If he [the poetJ knoro what- it was3 he will know what it was likeo^ , . ; - ' . \v': /

Only' two. literary .devices come into the, Journal pages0These are paradox and double entendre * spoken of together because they again' illustrate'''Thoreauis feeling for directspeeeho He includes paradox .in a list of his own literary

Paradoxes g — sayihg'- just the opposite^ -=a style which may be imitated^)I am sure that the.Greeks.were.commonly inno­cent of any such double entendre as we attrib­ute to them0 4Despite his lack ef amplification on.this subject of

versification and poetic, devicess Thoreau is never at a loss to 'rente'll his cardinal point -on'the; poet0s language. It ■ applies to all 'aspects of the poet is ■style. s his versifica­tion and figures of speeeho

Bueaoparte said pretty trulyy; “Speak plains '• the rest will foll©w0.M I do not believe that any writer .who considered the ornaments 8 and - hot the truth'simply & ever sueceedOd o 5

58

3o . Prineiples for Prose Writing

. ■ . Thoreamrs eoneepjb of the organie relationship between the p©etrs experienees and his literary expression is re=\ fleeted in his- eonsideration of the s.trmetmre. of writing9 the putting together of words« It is quite obvious as soon as .One begins to catalogue Thoreau9s impressions of composi<= tional elements and diffiealties from the Journals,that he is comparatively uninterested in the large arrangement of a ■piece of writingo When he does consider composition and or­ganisation , he adyis.es against too great an adherence to ,■ meticulous rules: of structure0 . He takes his stand against yprescriptive grammar in a favoured maxim of his own: tfAny

• " . I " - . : . . . ■ ; / . . i :fool can make a rule0 And every fool will mind it 0 n Thepoet is in danger of producing a de=vitalized work if heservilely observes the letter of the law6.

Tory dangerous is the talent of composition$, . the striking out the heart of life at a blow*2Most admirable: when they [early Hew England writers] most outrage common taste and the rules

: of eompos it ion 0 3 • / / 1 ' ■/;: 'The grammarian and the.'scholar rarely receive a complimentfrom Thoreau anyway; he Is too sure that they are removed fromthe heart of any matter'e, > ,. "1

1= m i 8 i2 5o2,o I j. 3k9o...3 <,711, 110,

59

The grammarian is often one' who can neither - 0F3T ,mer 'lamgh^ yet thinks that he can express . htman; emetionSsi ■ ' :

He spends his.' Jetirnal time more usually in thinking ©n the■ ' indiTiduai .element: of ? eomposif ion-=the, sentence 0 ■ - ' ''t : . . Simplicity and succinctness are the guiding principles

of the?senteneSo tThoreau avowes his delight in sentences ■which .are edncemtratM and nutty/* says his biographer HeS0

; .Salt.5,. ? and, the statement is ‘ well .corroborated by, the Journal; ■ texto \ . • . •i:;?: ' tt: is the fault of some excellent writers--

ooo that they express themselves with too great ; fullness and detail 0 o <,«, They lack, moderation and

• sententiousnesso3Be Quineey and Biekens have not moderation enough,>They heyer stutter| they flow too rapidly04

Compactness was exactly the quality which Thoreau proposed to, .maintain in his own writing; accordingly^ he emphasizes its■ importance to all writers 1 ,• Who, is not tired, of the weak and flowing periods

of the politician and scholar^ and resorts not ?; ■■ .even to the farmer’s’ Almanacy. to read, the ■ simple

account of the month’s labori to restore his ., ? tone: againo 5 .; ? ., 1 . . ' ..

If a sentence is succincta and says no more than necessary^

' : :1 (11'' Q .: . -f' :. ■' i. .20 HoSo Salts Thoreau (Londona 1896)«, p0 174» Actually this

could be a direct quotation from Thoreaus who gays in ,11 s, 418 s, ’’Their sentences are not concentrated and

. nutty.o”’ ,■3* if s 418-419 e - : .W* 111 482 a ? ' 1 . : v : : ' - ' ■ .. '5. I> 313o ... -

it may not .even reveal itself entirely on sight0; ', ■' ; 5EI1S •' abWe vdat ed. sent erne e points to the thing for

explanationo As the sublimest thought is mostfaithfully printed in the faoes and needs the, fewest interpretating words, The page nods towards the fact and is silentC1fhere is a sort of holding baek or withdrawal ■ of the full meaning, that the ages may follow

' . after and explore the-whole'o v ' '• Thor eau St at e s that he would like to.meet the .sentence“whioh 1 :may neTer with my utmost intelligenoe pierce throughand beyond (more than the earth itself], which no intelli~' ■ ■.■■■■ " # ■■ . ■ -1' ' - :gence oan understande” . .

Another element which the sentenee must possess besides conciseness' is rhythm™-popularly esteemed the counterpart of

■' poetry¥ s measure 6; -in, the way the measure was required to make; poetry sing s it would seem- that; rhythm was needed for a singing prose, -Thoreau is constantly on the watch for sen­tences which have an unerring pace .of marchs “as if a man or a body of men-were actually making progress there step by

- - ' . - if ■ . . ■ • ; . . ; - . 1 ■step,}! ; ' The- rhythm seems to .come'' to: the sentence in a , ..natural mnkhown; way, Thoreau is not more definite about itthan he was about song in-poetry, '

A well-built sentence $, in the rapidity and f orce with which .-it works may be compared to a moderncorn-planter s, which furrows out, drops the

-''and covers' it up at ■ one moment, 5 ■ .■ seed.

All these elements, the diotioiig. the rhyme and meter in a •, poetie line3 the use of poetic devices a the length and rhythm ef the pros© line, are creative tools0 Coupled with the personal mode of,the writer— his personality, mood, and attitude==they make tap his style e

. : 4o The Poet^s Relation to. his Stylet . -' ■ ; RevisiopSelT^Crl.tieism, and Publishing

Unlike many literary critics who preceded. him, Thorean " does not analyze at any‘length ways by which a writer may ereate a distinctive style. He is too certain that the ex~pressionofiany thought Was not so important as the thoughtitself, too convinced, that the thought9 and not the. thinker,. • Vv: " : : ■: ■■ ::v- v -'•ii.t;:,;-: '■ l /' \ '■ ' ‘ - : / , . ' ^demanded a certain expression0 "It is not in man to de~tefmine what, his style - shall he»W -. According to Ben lonson.,the poet might attain a good style by observing the best '■speakers; and studying the best authors => Thoreau could notconsider the.: external influence's on a man’s style to be in-fluential because sentences ‘'were to be novel expressionof themes spoken with a relish and telling wo r d s * W i thJomson’s third 'prerequisite for.a good style, however, ■•Thoreau did .agreet, This was the need for. the sedulous ap~ .plication of talents to an aiready-pr-esent genius 0 '

1 e ;1 », . v2o gape edd and Miscellanies« p6;. 33®= ‘3,o W $ E e s> P® 331 o ' ?rHo man ’a thoughts are new, but the style ; of;.their expression is the never-failing novelty which

cheers and 'refreshes men," '

If one wishes to take the kinks out of his writing?then he will have to praetiee<> Thoreau. considers Carlyle

* 1» ■ .

oti.e.' who" w$ll ■not stoop .to : rise:8'to . or undergo apprenticeship. The only way to improve, of course, is to vfrit'e. Thoreau , did believe that ^experienoe is in the fingers and head*The heart is. inexperieneedew ' . • : ■" -i. At the very time he is revising, the poet is also

eritieizingo It occurred- to.Thoreau that there might be some value in the critical exchange of ideas0

The writer needs the suggestion and eorreetioh " that a correspondent or- companion is Q ' I som@~ times remember something :l have told another as

.: worth telling to myself' i 0©o writing in my : •Journalo3' , : ’ :

But as. the poet lived alone^ enjoying and needing his ssli= 1tudes and perhaps not finding congenial companionship, thisexchange was not always possible0 Therefore the poet has t©resort, to; sharpening 'his own critical faculties6 After thelapse of timewhen Thoreau is correcting his manuscriptswith sufficient phlegm9 he says? nT can review the rejectedsentences [those he had rejected at a previous sitting] and :' . ' : ' ■ ■ • ■ ■ ' - : ■ : ■ , ■ : 4easily detect those which.deserve to be readmittedo” He.con­sistently advises himself (and other poets) to follow the procedure of developing one's own abilities to find out im= mediately which are the finest and which the p

lo III, 108o2o 1,-358o

120 o4o ¥1, 146c

passages£ then t© cut out the bad so that it will net cor­rupt the work for pesteritye, ' % :

If you forsee that ;a part:of yomr essay will tepple down after the lapse of time % throw it

■ : down now yowself03-■ ... ■: ^Find out as soon as possible what are the best things in your composition % and then shape, the rest t© .fit th@a0.2 .

It would be'.'feasible for the .poet at this time to develop by:;himself 8 or. acq.uire from one or more writers. a standard for .judgmento Thoreau mentions in the Journals the possibilityof developing such a standard by using the best of one’slines as a .touchstone< He' can review the whole again he - .says after ^having purified the main body9 and thus created 'a distinct standard for comparison.^ To establish this grouppf prime linesy themselves under constant revision^ and tocriticize one’s work generally with acumen8-. one must possessa steady trust in his finer instincts.

. In erifieizing your writings, trust your fine InstinetSo There are many things which we come .very- ,near to questioning$- but do not questione ?ijhen 1 have sent off my manuscripts to the printer^ ;certain objectionable sentences or expressions' are

: ' ' -sure to 'obtrude themselves on my attention withforce;, though I had not consciously suspected them

; -r.. before. My critical ins tin# t. then at once breaks -:r the ice:and comes to:the surface.4

;The question of style returns then to the poet himself; it

64

feeoomes most assuredly a refieetion of the poet8s, sensiMll-®/ ties'ahd'attitudeSo v; -■; ' - Ttioreau s related opinions on the publishing of literary : material do not; surprise ms® They are a logical ednelusion, to his rather eonserratIre view of the whole relationship of ' the poet and his stylee Thorearn offers several reasons for

■ his usual eautlon about advising-himself or'others to publish0 Oh© is the tremendous money eost 0 . ?,lt eosts so muoh to pmh°lish„ would it not he "better for the author to put his manu-' :;1 : i;,',seripts in a safe?? : This is only an adjmnetiye, reasono , Thereal basis of his resolution is the immaturity of the poet ■and his, works® v:/'v

Thinkers and writers are in.foolish haste to come 1 ■: "before the world with oru.de works 0.e0 and what it

took the leeturer a sumer to writer it will take..his amdienee hut an hour, to forget® If time isshorty then you have no time tbwaste02 . i

As he maintained suoh a high standard for his own works', he. :- . was more willing to. assign the fact of unrefinement in one’s own work8 due to the laok of revision, as the reason for un­popularity® : Thoreau seemed to agree with Horaoe^s advice in the #piStle to Plsos®^ ' :.VV;. - . I - , ; :; ^

But even without publishing, the poet is struggling with his creation and working towards a goal® The strife.all aims - -towards a perfect style, the style which will' be felt hut not

65

se@n0 . Impiieitly in Thoreau5 s -whole theory of style is the ohampioMs'g of the tmobtrmsive manner 0 VJhen he says heV ' : ' ' ■■ . 1 :wants ''‘’sentenees in whieh there is no strains, he really ■/.. Means no. observable strain@ This is why he respects Qarew® "They say that Carew was a laborious writers but his poems€o not show ita They are finished,' but do not show the

;; ■ ‘ . 2 ; ' - . 'i • ■Marks of the ahisels” • The: most perfect style is-8 of ©ours© 8the artless style the one which seeins to be made up of theunheeded produets of th# poeto "

i -Facts fall fro* the poetlo Observer as ripe . - seedsa 3 '

' ' ' Wiat. we do best of most perfectly is what we haveMost thoroughly: learned, by. the 'lengest. ,praetiee 9.

.. ' and at length it falls from us -without .our notie© j ,as a 'leaf from a tree 0 It is the last time we shall do it«““Uneonseious leavings^ : -

inasmuch as he does trust in the supremacy of the artlessstyle 9; Thoreau is in complete sympathy with Stevenson9 s

- famous dictum:- - ' ". -That style- is therefore the most perfect 0 0 c 1whieh attains the highest degree of elegant.and - ■. pregnant implication, unobtrusivelyo'5-.

I* III,; 1#«:,1 j • 4,65"o"3e IVy 1161 1 . -yv . , ,

ko m ; 39o ■ : : ■ -i; ■; r : .. i , :5 =. Robert Stevenson ,:%n, Some ;Te©hnieal Elements ; of Style

in l>iterat:ures $s English .Erose of the Nineteenth Gentury (New York, 1940)1 J<r n £ 7 ~ ~ ,

- Thoreau always realized the difficulty of., perfecting the . artless style0 "How will you ever rivet them together without leaving,the marks.'of the file? Yet Plutarch did' not so| Ibntaigne did not soew- III, 2 3 9°

TEQS. OOM'MT OF POETRY

lo Forms and Themes in General

The elements, of style whleh have just been discussed give way to: the more important consideration of the content Of poetry* Since Thoreau called for a ?fstyle in which the

. ■ . ■ :: F; , ; :■ V ’ . .. . : " . ' . 1 .

matter is all in allV and the manner nothing at a l l h e understood that the outer' form, ofpoetry was determined hy its inner substance* Since the nature of the idea was the determining force behind the expression of the ideas Thoreau°srelatiT© indifference to form is easily understood * !iLet us

; . . " ' ; • 2 ..know and conform only to the fashions of eternityhe said0 As form is only the relatively insignificant garb surrounding the all =■ import ant th©ught9 Thoreau believes that to spend time on' it' IS' to waste time * V, 1

: It is surprising how much . from the habit of . re* garding writing as an accomplishment^ is wasted on form*. A very little information or wit is

■ .. mixed up with a great■deal, of conventionalism in .the style of expressing it, as with a sort of ' preponderating paste or vehicle *3

This stern conviction of M s apparently prevented him from

'coining to any hard=and=fast opinions on lit@ra.ry types» Al­most any mention wMch. Thorean makes of the literary forms in the' J our rials is contingent upon their subject matter °s henee they will appear here according to the ideas they presento '

: One of the f irst precepts of Thor'eau that strike ■ thereader analyzing his ideas on content is the idea that onedoes not uadertake a search for significant themes0' It is,vain to write on chosen themeso We must

■ wait. till they have kindled a flame in our » minds „ « 0 <> The theme that seeks me8 not I it c

Providing' an idea -suggests itself naturally8 the poet can '. and should begin to work on it a Thoreau praises lohn Brownfor touching on such a variety of subjects in letters home to" V : .y i: 'U ' ' / \ ' : '' ' '1 . : ' ‘ /his familyc But one does not go on writing through thegamut of themes forever» Bike the, painter;, the poet uses them

- only as a means t,o an end--the' development of. his own bestthemeo, . ii ; : ■' . '

It is wise to write on many subjects, to try many themess that, so,you:may find.the .right and , , ' yinspiring ones yo@e He is a wise man and ezperi- : -eneed ' wh© has taken:many views e 3 . y/-

And the right theme for each man is life as he sees itc VI'think that the poet cannot tolerate more than a footpath through the fields; that is- wide enough^ and far purposes of winged .poetry suffices . Q c. 0» ; ' .Bray 5, what other path would you have than a ■' footpath?4 . - .

i . - in.; 253 o2c. X l l l , 13. 3o II,'457o 4 6 II, 455o

For in that footgath^ he goes on to say man has travelled. . ' V. ■ 1 . . - ■smeh o ’Ehe ;iif@ in the theme is its dominant note 9 met thelife of any jnan, but of the author himself 0 The only thingwhieh . should interest us in literature is a private lif e0 V' ■The poet’s story is to be areebrd of his o m experieneeo

Your observation to be interesting 1*60 to be signifleant must be subjective the sum of what

. . .the writer, of whatever class he has to report \ . is s imply some human experience02 .

I require ©f any leettirer that: he will'read me <■ . a' more' or less simple and- sincere account of his own life, of what he has done and thought03

Thoreau states again and again that the poet,,'should be writh­ing about himself o It is why he says that ’’the resear ©her is more memorable than the researehed2 tJ: that "biography 0:o V '

• ' ■ . ■ ■ . ■ ' 4 - : 'should be. autobiographyo”Thoreau eonneeted the poet’s experience with a simple

i. but deep life <, It was what he liked best 5, and why he ©ailed: ■ . • i . ' ; ' ■ ■■ : ' 5 ■for themes whieh are ^simple2 cheap3 and homelyo”

' . . The eommon has the . greatest oharms and is the _truest theme of poetry0oThe poet writes about himself because this is the

lo ' ®Men ©ommonly exaggerate the theme 0 Some themes they think are signifleant: and others insignifleant 6 00 ye ' foolsr the theme is-nothing^ the life is everything0Wi2iw/v " - v,:- : -

2 » i3, 26F:3 o . 19 e ..., ' . ■

4:o 1$ 2 6 9^2 7 0 ® In 11$ he says? "Is not, the poet bound to 3 write his own biography? Is 'there any other work for him but a good journal?!? .

0.. I2£s 121 e

69

iu'bjeet that he is supposed to know the hests Eaoh writerwill write of what he does and knows c

3?he meehanie will natmraily lecture about his trade g. the farmer about his farm, and every man. about that which he5, compared with other men9 knows.bestYet many a m h likes to taekle mighty themesy like immortalitys but in his discourse he turns up :

/ nothing but yellow sand 0 0 o 0 ■ It is a great art ■in' the writer to improve from day to.day just that soil and, fertility he has 8 to harvest that crop : 1; which: his’ life yieldse2 ■ . \ ■'The journals.present the eonvietion that a man has"to

be thoroughly acquainted with the subject at hands the ma­terial that he garners* .

You must be conversant with things for a long time to know much about them* 3 ■

Van "Wyck Brooks thus givess as a reason for Thoreau9 s favor­able opinion of Donne and Drayton instead of his contempor­aries;, the fact that their poetry was roofed in fact and ex-• ■ ' 4 ■ / , ■' " .perienceo Brooks is probably correct„ In Thoreau$s eyesthe person capable of recounting the Napoleonic campaign in Russia is the man who had the experience3 Labaume 3 who was. there writing^ he himself tells us 8 in the midst...of incred­ible misery with a .k

^raven8s quill and a little gunpowder mixed with some melted snowg in the hollow, of my hand g the

lo I8 485v. '

2 * XC, 304. . . • " : : ;3 o ill, 1 2 3*: ' " • .4<. Van Wyck Brooks 9 ps 2920

quill cut a M mended with the knife with which ■ Z earned my scanty morsel of horse-flesh<> 1

itoether or not he considers Labamme's admission wholly true.Zhoreau does not say. but he continues in the Journalr"Smeh a statement promises well for the writer9 s qmal-lfiea-; . . ' ' ■■■ ■■ . ;■ ■■ ; . X '2; : . ■' ; , ' • ' ' :tions .t© ' treat sueh: a thing6t8 ■ ■ ' ' . ■

As the poet5s exemplary themes were to spring from familiar material^ it does not- seem as if;fhoreau would con= done travel for the poet 6 . There are some utterane.es in the Journals which only gently question the worth of the poet’s

The foreihle writer does not go far for his : themesB His ideas' are not far-fetched oaao3

/Familiar:and surrounding ohjests are the best * symbols and illustrations of; his. life : o o o a . ,It is not the .book of him who has travelled the . ■ *' / farthest ©fer the surface of the globe 5, but of him who has lived the deepest and: been the most

; ,at home<,4 v.

From other quotations in the Journals» we learn that Thoreauwas firmly eonriheed that the poet was home=bound> For ifhe should venture out into foreign territory^ he would be a: stranger to the facts of nature about himo It is the poet’s

lo flllg ;';2 7&28e Familiarity does not mean ©omplete identity .with■the subject9 however; Thoreau advises detachment in regard to the theme s just as he 'advised it concern^ ing styleio Ills W j - l ' ......

71

You might frequently 'say-Of a. poet away. from home •' - that he was as mute asv of passage »»:0; but

follow him to his true habitat and you shall know : Vhi%:/he will sing so .melodioiislysi;: , ■ ' '■ -

It would be suitable here to extend this discussion on sub" jeot matter to ihelude Ihoreau9 s view of his own Concord and the town's' relationship with the whole world9 for the light whieh it might show on the.poet's theme* ;

Several eritiesp among them Grant Allen and Arehibald iaoMeekanp have aeeused Thoreau of unstinted provincialism in; his attitude toward Gone or d0 Other's/ who may have: ex­amined his works more, closely , have, modif ied that view0 If •. Thoreau seemed unduly chauvinistic etncornlmg: his Concord s it did not mean that he considered Concord the best place for allg only the best place for him0 • He travelled to Mainea to Cape; Cod9 Hew;Tork:<, Minnesota, and several times, to Canadae Hor his time Thoreau9s interests were astonlshly nationals IHien he travelled, Thoreau did so with the idea that it would ©tily be a temporary departure. It seemed to him that other poets should follOw his rule, and "only travel enough to give ■ their ' intellects an a i r i n g , . There is strong motivation behind his fierce desire to remain home0 The first and fbremost reason for his decision was that be would not be enough acquainted .with hew places and new symbols to use them effectively in his thoughts and, his writingsa So

■ 1, 321,' ' : ' : " •2, III, 246, ; ■ . , ; ' ... ' , .

72

, lae wltes in 1857 jmst five years before M s death;; Sere 1 have been forty years learning the language

of these fields that I may the 'better express ■ myselfe If I should travel te the prairies I should

• much less understand thems and my past.life wouldserve me but ill to describe them^lQnly that travelling is good whieh reveals to me , the value of home and enables me to enjoy itbetter«, 2

' There is every indioation that he deferred the idea of travel■ ;for himself ■bebause'of its possible, influences on hiiio Hedid live- in a somewhat solipsistid world whieh he created 'for himself and . then guarded:?,;,. IBieh .soeiety': enerdaQhed upon .his liberty he fought it stubbornly0 Thus he did not intendto invite new dangers by going out where he had no controlover eireumstanoeso

i f ear the dissipation that traveling, going ..into soeiety even the.best o0e imply [sibJ 3Paris p-oo eduld only be a sehool e 0 0 to doneord :: e;p;o ^leh is this .uniyersityo^ ' - t • b-1 . ■ - •

©oneords, thenj, is the symbol of the world for Thoream just as Hew Hampshire was for Robert Frost 9 The plan he under­took had defeats as well as virtues 9 but for Thoreau it was the besto One of his first and ablest biographers s Salt 9

'' seems perfeotly right in his; decision that . • ,

lo Z s;.1910'. - 3. yiil^ 2#.2. '71I!/ 205b V5o In III 9 5 he says: "let him perambulate the” WQnds- ■ of Imagination5 s provinces 0»o 8 and not the insig­

nificant boundaries of towns o The ex@ tars ions of the imagination are so boundless 3 the limits of towns are

. •. so .pettyp7 • . . ' .

73

■ This ' pref erene©: • a <=>«, was a.©t' du.es:, as. s.bae have supposed g to mere paroehialism and narrotmess of mind @ 0»==but. was. a half "humorous way of r©^

. ... assertiBg th© old stolea).;'Jiaxim. that all plaees . :were the same to the wise man and that the hest

. plaee for eaoh is where he s t a n d s . . v :: Basically theng Thoreau was not trying to. limit the 'boundaries ©f subjeet matter to local surroundings onlyg but was try­ing to persuade the poet of the ©id truth that'he should

'•find his best material right in front of him instead of in some exotie habitat0 . The ©ore of Thoreau8s whole argument about the poet8s best theme lies in this statement:

It matters not where or how far you travelg the farther commonly the worses--but how much . alive you areo2 :If I travel in a simple 9 primitive , original .

1 manner s»o get some honest' experience of life o c o then it becomes less important whither I

' go or how far0 3 % • : ’ .

20' ' She' Speeifie Theme, of Hature

fhoream protested that he wished every man to write on the theme' whieh should suit him best s .' He probably imagined that eaeh M,n?s experience will be in some way connected ' with the.-physleal phenomena of nature or the spiritual re- fleetion of these phenomena0 Bor he does estimate the love Of nature as one ©f the paramount qualities in literature0

l.o Salt g pQ 94o 2.$, 237o :3o Illg

: 74

la£Blys however$ he did not criticize authors for leaving ©at H.attn,e$l hut for treating it as they did0 He judges • these peets. aeeorf|iB.g to. the .degree of aeeuracy with whieh ; he thinks they interpret it0 Most seem to Thoreau to look at nature not stuarely but out of the corner of one eye*The Journals* author accuses jRuskin,just new on the literary horizon^ of not having implicitly surrendered himself to

.1 have just read Ruskins^s Modern Painterso I ' am disappointed in not finding it' a more out= ■ -. ef =door book 0 <, o „ H© does not describe Nature . as jEature a but as Turner painted her s 2

.. Gilpin o o o is never' to me perfectly in harmony .with the scenery s but 9 like the high ■water y;. something unusual»3How much is written about Nature as somebody has portrayed her* how little about nature as

■ :•'she.,.isv and ,chiefly'Concerns usg i.oee' hbw'much :. prose* how little poetryl4

Then the poet must not; writ e too much of himself .' into hisdescriptionso ©therwise* Thoreau will say that he ap«proaehes nature as a courtier instead of a lover a He ac<=>

■ . ‘ ■ 5eused Quarles and his contemporaries of this eonduetoHe does find some who comprehend a panoramic view of nature.* ; and who see it wholly0. Those poets who. have "ob­served nature5 s system of Nature .can be counted among its

1, Zyl47. : .

2 0' X 9 6 9 =. ;' In 1 * 471 he says: ^Svery child should be en­couraged to study not man$s system of nature8s but nature^S o ® ' r'

'3. Ill* 417<i " "I" ■ 4o % 696■■ " • - 5o 1* 45S0

75

e©asedz&S@<t priests0 .He considered Seethe0s deseriptions: : : ; i . ' ' v - " ■ 'of nature to be faithful, and aeeurateo Sinee those

eloSest to it', shomld see it' most aistineilys Thoreau says ■, that the peasant often .regards "her with a true glance „"There are also groups of writers with whom Thoreau seemsto he ih most'Sympathy on this matter* .

The early Hew England writers 0.o o are not to be , , . caught napping by the wonders of Nature in a■ . ' new. country»3 \

, ' I do not know where .to' find in any literature 8 whether ancient, or modern9 any adequate account of that Ifature with which I am actuaintedo Mythology comes nearest to it of anyo4 ■■ ' .The true glance from these poets is a balanced glance$

one which does not idealize nature or its parts0 like theRdmantic ‘ poet Orabb.es, Thoreau dislikes those that idealizethe common man0

How all poets have idealized the farmer9s life!What graceful figures and unworldly characters-

■ - they have assigned to them!,,' ; Serene as the sky9emulating nature with their calm and peaceful live s e 5 \ : ' :

In idealizing not only the' people who lived closest to thesoil9 but all of physical nature^ the poet is. exhibitingonly one side of nature9 the side which Thoreau calls the

■JL o 4-.7 e '' -'"v" ■ " .2;o I 9.- 2550 ' ■ ' " . -t' ':--v ;.,y ' ' :.3o Tils:108-109o ' ,4o; 11,;, 152o m Ii; 145 there is another compliment to

.'. Gr ecian mythology9 s ;fertlle' nature * ' - 5o Hi| 369 0 At this time Thoreau had Thomas Gray in

^ . '::'.'- . 'Wordsworth is too tame for. the Chlppewaye

Eaei gitieratloa thitiks to inlaa.M'b only a west end of the worlds and have'Inter©omrse with a refined •and aivilized Hatnre? not ©onceiving of

• ■ her hr dad equality and republic an istoo They ::'• 1 , think her aristoeratle and exclusive because, their own estates are narrows^1 wish my friends were wildero A wildness whose glance no eivilization eohld endure03

Syabnymous with the- wild side of nature in Th©reamv s mind.Is the poetry of the'mornings the time when nature seems -most aliveo : ' ■

In :the youth of poetry men9 love to praise- ;: the lark and the morning9 hut they soon forsake the dews and skies for the nightingale and

: v' ■ evening, shades The 'Iliad is not Sabbath . ' ;hut .morning readihg 1 0 o o' - We read him [Homer j ' ,with a fare sense of freedom and irresponsible^

'. ;ihess,4 •. i. ; '.t ; • // .-'ly - ; itTod soon it seems ;to Thoreau do the poets age and muse only: ' - -5 . > - .I. v ■ ..■ on-.the. seenes 'of twilighto -:

This laaseuline attitude of Th©reau'fs cannot be re<=garded as art ifIcial1 One critic has even gone to theextreme point of admitting that really ^Thoreau had the- ' - ' - - : - ■ . '• ' V-' V-;' ' ' 6modern vision of. nature as red in tooth and claw

: it I, 2 7 3o'2,0: lg- 27#«, In Ig 272 he says: "The best poets9after all,.■ exhibit only a tame and elvil side of natureo They have not seen the west side of any mount a in ptf He

: means these are the best poets vwe.;- hav@g even though they have failed to grasp nature completely«

30 H i 171 o ''' t-o l s 284o - ' . '. . : -' 5o HI, 320o ' ' ; i . - b i6 c, Iforman Foerster-8 p0 114<.

VAetmallj fkeream 'meTer viewed mature as man’s antagonistnor harped on the Yietorian theme of eomhatting nature 0To Interpret Thoreaus whole attitude toward nature it isexpedient to analyze his definition of the word -wild0-He suggests hy it no Faustian elements necessarily butsimply the natural primitive manliness in nature which isopposed to the element of supra^reflmement in the neivi"■lized” world» \

The ©harms, of Mature are not enhaneed by oiyi- t llzations as society is 8 but she■possesses a

permanent refinement which at last subdues and . educates m©nei ■. . ; ■ • .. ■ :There is all of civilized life in the woods

.The poets should- not concentrate on the pacific or the sterner aspects of nature9 nor should they concern them­selves only with the extraordinary thingst Nome of us should be excited only ,?when Mature goes to an extreme in any of these directionso5’. Bay and night 8 woods and •meadows 8 eataracts and : rivulets; all ., ©an be successfully • imitated in poetic form,,

The final aim for any writer on nature is■to reflect the spiritual power .in :;nature which is part of God and the Qver-souls ■

X pray fdr skeli Inward experieaee as will make mature signifleaat01 , ' ,

fhe poet$s suesess in interpreting nature rests finally onthis sfipulati©no: • . '

Motwithstan&ing the unexplained mystery of : nature man still pursues his studies with ©on-

v fidencej, ever ready to grasp the secret^ as if . the truth’ were only ©oat ained j, not withheld 0

fhe poet is to come to nature unbiased and is to make nofinal effort to unmask and prove nature8 s riddle0 Essen­tially this is what fhofeau himself tried to do0 In hisextreme love for natureV he strived to interpret herwholly; and at the same time to respect and admire hero The ever present distance between man and nature was. perceived by Thoreaue

3e The Poet's Relation to His Theme * - ..

There is a stedi’ast, conviction in Thor earn that there can be ho analysis of the content without relating it to the poet; for thete is a binding relationship between the two> Implicit in all:Thoreau8s observations on literary theory is an emphasis on the poetj, his qualities and mood9 and their refleetion in his writing, Eather. than talk about these qualities under the poet himselfs it seemed more

t r’ W ' ■ ' ' ; vV't' ; ; ■2 o 2* $) h-tyl © . . ' . . , •3, See Ellery Ghanningg The Poet Naturalist (Boston,, 1873),

po 75o

79

fitting t© discuss them here 9 for they characterize the■ peet’s-pr©duetiond: ' Berela. attrittates tie following ©pinion, ©n tkis matter to Thoreau: ./ ■ . X i v - - "

The real question is not how the artist has ex­pressed hie:, ideh'' hut, the degree to which it has ohtained form and expression in his own life0l

Joseph Wood Krutohs Thoreau0 s most recently published critic,insists that : i, ./ ;

' what-Thoreau wanted to do above all in descrip- : tion or in narration was to eommunleate not merely the object or the event but the empathy which has been; established in his own conscious™ .•ness between himself and- ito .

A H the features of the poet$s character express themselvesin his workg and it is.characterized by one or several ofthem0 These, fualities often overlap in meaning and Thoreauby no meahs placed distinct limits on each of them0 Sooften inthe Journals'we come across the words sincerity.Vitality% earnestnesSs nobleness and love0 They appear in; such a way that we realize they are considered the life =>blood of any literary art b■ A work of writing cannot beconsidered .great unless it embodies theffio They decide quitenaturally: the Success ' or f ailure • of: a , work c • - t - ,■ •, 1

, A good piece of literature reflects sincerity0 When .

Thoreau says ??From the gentlemanly windows of the country-seat mo sincere eyes are directed upon nature 9” he is

lo :i,red lorch : .po : 2 9 9 = ■ . :.i.:: V ; ; ,■2o Joseph Wood Kruteh^ Henry David Thoreau (Hew York9 1948),- P.- 26?o .. ; . .

3 . W 255c. u-t;. ■ ■ . ■ . _ ; . ^

80

ift effect condemning the gentleman’s expression of nature0 ' Sincerity is really the same as earnestness or honesty0 It is opposed to the frivoloms 0

Just as earnest as yourlife is3 so deep is your; .SOiia; . , : : . ■ . -

la thy journal let there never be a jesti fo the earnest there Is nothing ludicrous« - 'If our scholars would lead more earnest lives* .

/ we should not. witness those lam© eonelusions to their ill^soWn discourseo3

Ihoreau implies that Drummond shows, a dilletantish attitudetowards his work^ a half-hearted attention to the real stuffin poetry, ■: : ;>y.': y; ’ ■ ' ' .

Brummong was indeed a quiddlers with little.fire . ■■■■ • • and fihre and 'father a taste for poetry* than a taste of it,4. ; 'The sincere thought seems to be the true thoughta The vital

' ' thought seems to be the sincere thought0 Thus $, the 'vital• thought is the true thought6 Thoream is not sure that thewisest thought is 'the truest thought0 He would sometimesforsake apparent truth for what he considered to be a truer

: vitality or sincerityo:' ■ ’ ' ■ ■. ; I would 'rather' read histories [like Peters8 s J ' ;

though every sentence was a falsehood,5 - ■■ The early writers of New England 0 „, cared ' adre - to speak heartily than scientifically true06

1, 3Q4,-- ' , / ' ; 4o I» 46$, .2, HIV :222s - : 5 IXS 75 e3, 1 9 3 1 3 , ■, ' ■ 1 , : : . ■■■ . 6 : , : . T O 3 1 © 8 » 1 0 9 ,

81

He womM forsake monetonously written truths for freshlywritten truths/ hat he was really searching for the unique©omhinationo Mewspapers are not cited for their laek- ofvitality because they have a grosser laek; they present hotruth atx a l i o ; : i ■ , ; ' ■ , v

How many of these preachers [editors ] preach the truth? :s 6 o o Almost 'without. exception, the tone

: of .the press ia 'mereenary and servile 1 ■ %fhe editors of newspapers s the popular clergyg

' ■ politiciansand orators of the day and. office- ; i, holders: do = are essentially one and homogeneouss

inasmuch as they are only the various .ingred- lents of the froth which ever floats on the . surface of' society02 : :::r

Truth without sincerity and warmth of feeling is truth bar­ren o Any true and accurate picture of life ■is expected to result in a direct and glowing transeriptloBoOn consider­ing the serenity of the Charles River one day Thoreau re- 'marks': ^1 was reminded of the way in whieh Wordsworth so.©oldly speaks of some natural visions on scenes 9giving, him

' 3 ■ % ' ' ; ■ . , : . ■ ■: ■ ■ ' ■':■. p l e a s u r e d . -The quality of warmth is the same as the emotion of

loveo The most significant of all the poet’s needss and the one which resolves all these .fore-mentioned qualities into a single unity is the state of love =

i9 ii, 179, . ; . ■ ■Be 'XIs, 8?o . For other condemnations, of the newspapers see■ X I I ; B? e .3o IIa 295 o. ' '

All that a man has to say or do that ean pdssl^ • bly eonoern manklnds is in some shape or other 'to tell the story of his life'^-to sing; ands if ' he is fortunate and keeps aliteg he will he- , forevef: in loTe«,l , : " ; 7:,;. ;Zaeh aco deserihes those faets which he knows . and loves better than anybody else02 ; •

There is am unremitting, stress in the Journals on the powerof loveo It reflects the idealistic motion that the bindingforoe :ln-the uniWrse. is loveo . ■ -. ■

Discipline yourself only to yield to lovei - suffer yourself to be attracted ». « There ■ 'must be the copulating and generating force of

:. - lovev behind every . off ©rt destined -to be success^ ' •' fml o oo 0 The poetrs relation, to his theme is the relation of lovers03 : v

. . The great ' and solitary heart will love alone s ‘:without the knowledge of its object0 It cannot . . ■

V have society in its love ;o.= c,» The only way to / 'speak truth is to speak lovingly| only the

■; . lover ?s. words are heardi^ \ - ■’:>The reason why the poet should be forever in love is becausethen he is nearer to God and truth] he is most deflmiteiy related: t©: the realQ ■

In love we impart, each to each^ in subtlest immaterial form of thought or atmosphere 3 the ;best of our selves g 0. o,0 and mutually enrich each •

. other65 . ' " ; /;■ ■ ■If the writer speaks for himself and speaks with love$, it

11VI, 237o :v :2„- 1, 485 =3 = 111, 2-53= ' .4= i, 3 3 2o ■ ; ; , . ■ ■ 'ii i . ■ - / ■’5= IVg 360 = Dor another reference, to the strength Of ■ . love see 1 , 296= ; ,: . , I- ■v . ; ; : 1

8>;

will be a geBuine and •oontemtei lif e whieh is his.o And ■M s oontentedness will be transferred.to the readers

Give me a gladness whidh has never given place to sadnesssl : ' ... . -I should like to keep some book of natural his® tory by me as a kind of elixirs the reading of . .which would restore the tone of my system and secure me true and cheerful: views on lifes^ - . ;To attain a Transcendental state g poetry will have

also to possess a high elevation of tone0 The writing willneed to tend toward' the;noble0 As; a sublime work it cannot' concern itself with inconsequential details a with the:/- -frivolities of man, .

1 discover in Raleigh8s verse the vices of the courtier,,,3 ■ : ' i -.xl': V

Mj©velacers oo0 goings, and. comings were of no great a c c o u n t \ ■

The presence' of humor will not benefit a serious undertaking =,Carlyle’s humor is always subordinate ' .to a. serious purpose6 - 5 ' '' '

Nowhere in the Journals do we find any discussion of humor .on psyehologieal or physiological grounds such as we en®counter in Aristotle 8 Bergson or Freud 0 Thoreau has a

1,: II,'471*:: " v':,,■ ' , ' . - ' ' /2o 1? 30? o In IX<, 195 Thoreau says that the. poet9 s words :

,8must have the essence or oil of himselfT tried out of the .'fat' of' his experience and jojow In this way Thor earn almost comes to an agreement with Ruskin’s dictum that morality for the artist is the success with which he •

- accomplishes his work* - ' 3 o, 1$, 314 o : : . - r . ; -.A, Iy.M7o..;: : ''../i.'::':, / ; i: '5* Gape God and Miscellaniesa Po .334* '

rather short-sighted view of humor; he usually sees it asonly a departure from the serious side of life^ He doessee that humor m y have sense in it s hut he deeidesfinally th^t n© inspired work .of poetry can be humorous« ■

A mere humoristP indeeda is a most unhappy man; :■/ ; ■ and • - hi s ■ read er s are most unhappy also Q 0 „ 03 -

Some tragedyg at least some dwelling ons or even . •exaggeration ofg the tragic side of life is neGe.sSary for eontrast or: relief to the pie=' ■ tureo4 ■ ■ .

■ ; : --/ThdiWam never names in the ■ Journals-' one hook of poemwhieh emhodies all these precious qualities and contains aspirit of truthful vigoro Since there is no single ex®ponent of this all®emhraeing spirit Thoreau concedes toeach work its outstanding quality and reserves the summationof his . praise' for the work: of his .imagination»■

: ;'.: The Judgment of Poetry

There has been very little mention in the development of this paper, of the professional critic0 In the second chapter ' under.. the ' position of the poet in his - society j .it - . was suggested that the poor critical reception of hooks was unjustified and that, in writing out Ms ideas the. poet was to serve as his own best eriti,e0 The whole social body is

2* • I> 358o f|!The Froiegue; to the Canterbury Tales 0 0 h is essentially humorous, as no inspired poetry is0n

3®- Gape, dedv and Miscellanies , "pi 3351

pictured generally in the Journals as being insensitive tothe. poeto. Thoreau makes no definite connection between alleritids and this unfeeling group® .He did conceive of his.contemporary efiticism as shamefully Worthlesso But thevery fact that he so violently attacked the influentialHorth American Review ,because it does hot civilize indi=cates that he did set a standard for professional criticismo

If criticism is liable to abuse j, it has yet a ■great and humane apology<> When my sentimentsaspire to be universal«, then my neighbor has am -equal interest to see that the expression bejust with myselfql • ■

But newspapers and. magazines do not aspire to be.universal -because they print cobweb?* eriticisa® "It is one of myqualifications9 states Thoreau proudly,, "that I have not '. ' . ■ . ■ ■' . ' •' '■ '■ ; ' ■ ' , ■ v. 2 . :written an article for the North American Review*"" The only time that criticism was justified was whenthe professional or amateur critic thoroughly understoodthe writing and the writer* Thoreau does hot think thatSamuel Johnson met these standardsa

Johnson can no more criticize Milton than the : naked eye Can erifieize Hersehel5 s' map of the suno3 .. . V ■ -

There is some place for a critic in the society provided heis in accord with the work's intention% provided, that he

a$prea,W his literary object with reverence and not disdain,and understand its naturalness»

■fhat :©rlti©isa whieh': ean only dsteet its tm=* naturalness has ho longer any office to fulfilled

; ,' : ".fhe critic must at last stand as mute thoughcontented before a true poem as before an acorn : or a Tine leaf.o.2 ,' ' .

The critic must'give credit where credit is due (he is some«• how ablO. to immediately perceive true greatness in a work} 0But he should not make unqualified statements„ Thorearnthought that Emerson m s a real ©ritic s s' fine or' ^poetic". critic because he understood the limitations of man toand■ ■ ■. ■. . . _ . ; " '1 , ■ v , . / .■ 1 3 ■ ■ ■ ”. .; „ .' /.reserved the unqualified nouns for the gods o’5

Thoreau returns more: surelys however8 to the standardof private judgment„ .He reemphasizes his unequivocal eon®vietion that: the pbet is his '■ own ' best critic 0 ■'

: Those authors are successful who do not write - . down to others0 but make their own taste and'.

• judgment their audienee 0 6 <, 0 It is enough ifI please myself, with writing04 .

The situation is much the same for the lay reader => Provided. that the poet.’ s -wisdom penetrates. his understanding immedi®ately he should have no need for an entrepreneuro But forthe less sensitive^ the critic plays a parti Bte is to ex®tend to us those moral frequencies in literature of which we

l0- :Ia, 380*' -';3o r7T32o' 4 o T & 345 e

' ' ' . ; ; . ; . : ... 87

Mght "be unawarev But Thoreau implies that there was no .'strong tie - between the critic and his soeietys laeh manwould take from literature what he wished0

That reader- who most fully appreelates the poet9 ; and derives the greatest pleasure from his work,

- himself lives in Qircumstanees most like those.■ of the poet himself

From the discussion oh the function of poetry in the first chapter of this study we know that Thereau placed a finer trust in the ability of the individual man to derive di­rect benefit from the noblest literature which-was poetry0 Then we Judge literature finally by, its effect upon our» .selvess by its ability fo stir us into keener awareness 0 .Haturally the’greater the work„ the greater will be its . ' ■ability to provoke us and the greater, will be its influenceuponrUSo / \ - o r - ■ v':- ’ '.r '■ r; - : . :

n,-, rr^n.L

1>. Ill, 245b

fhe fact that .it, has been possible to formulate these.' Journal mhterances oh literary art is an indication that - the theory is an integrated whoXe> Ofiee amalgamateds the parts of his theory fit into a well-rounded and straight^

" forward' ■ unit whleh retains almost the same pattern through^' : ■ ■; , :: ' ■. out his' life* This is not to, say d howeirer $, that there• are ho unresolved contradictions of no unexplained and un=', def ined ideas in his.doctrine o ' Norman Foerster■says that . , ' the three most common speculations among American critics ' are the relation of.literature to reality8 the relation of literature to moralitys and the relation of American liter-

■ : ature to the national spirit0 To effect .a summary of Tho=: reaWs 'views on literary art and to begin to relate him to■ .-the whoie;: eritical^spirit a: we: ©ah consider his doctrine in ; ' 'cphjunotion with, I’oerster ffs- three points 0

:In the exposition of the first chapter the place of

lo Cf the five hundred odd notes on literary theory which : I. ; the Journals : Contain. 3 about half are confined to .the• - first three, books of the Journal s', that is 3 from the

year.. 1837 to about :the yeirTsAfT It is not within .. - \ the scope of this paper to' analyze the reasons for ■ this decrease$ except as the reasons pertain to.changes

' ' in'his theory; of '.literary: arts'-' Suffice it to say that the early absorption with poetry waned as Thoreau grew

; elder and began to expend more time and thought on Other sub jectso:; i ■:

lit@yatt$re' was aimoweea and: defended a Literature and ; •'especially poetry Were'understood to be the most significant imaginative produets of man. Literature was elosely related . to- reality because it: .presented the .truth, about life which ' life itself could not always make known0 Literature is ref­lated to reality through its selective imitation of the actual worldo : ' ■ , ' ' '

On the relation of literature to morality Thorearn was articulate but not positive0 The aim of literature was moralityg by way of increased sensibility0 HoweverP morality was rarely defined as"virtuous conduct'according to social ■ standardso Thoreauls persistent Puritanism sometimes imagined:that it was (he was glad when Chaucer repented his more .robust stories 1 •„ but Thoreau s' usual definition" of morality named it as a sympathy between man and the force :of life @: Its:function was to draw man into a closer union with the engendering forces of nature and Godc It was the writer who gave a work this moral strain and seminal power*■ -It is necessaryg, before relating Thoreau to his contem­porary national spirit3 to describe the critical mood of :nineteenth century America^ Iffost .critics' of Thoreau and v;: his period-■define.; the: state; of .'criticism in the nineteenth century as backward and narrow*

The literary atmosphere in a new eotmtry was ■ hardly , eondueiye tQ„ the, elaberatien., of impart ial - esthetic judgemeBto2- ' -

: •SaifBs . expresses a : similar opiBion* ■ , ’ : : ■ " . ;?ttien he j Thoreau] aeeepted his position on the . Tribune 9. no; daily: newspaper in the ©otantfy gave; a soholarly and dignified discussion of liter~

/Lpary; matter So'2 . . ; ' .This self"Conscious awareness of the,country^s youthful con­dition made some writers and critics of America unduly chau? vihistic■ ©r unduly antagonistic in regard to their country8s . literary .production6 Bespite the fact that critical feeling , was warm■on both sides of the Atlantic (many British were • extremely scornful of the new Americana)9 Thoreau did not formally ally, himself with the detractors of his country’s . or; England.® s literatureo Ihen he scorned contemporary writ-; ers of either countryj, he scorned them on grounds of prin­ciple al©hee Unlike many contemporary Americans, Thoreaudid not enter in the Journals a special plea for subject •/matter ©n the nation or its politics® Be did not call forthemes which extolled the new democracy’s aim and praised :her progresso He did not. because he was often too violently opposed to the acts done under democracy®s flag, and be" cause:he : thought that'propaganda"was not a. worthy attribute : of . literature>. , Hemely^.. individual. themes .were the ones.

fti.orea'a jaest' praised as they seemed to be nearest a vital experlen©e( life was the only ,tsue; theme, for any wltero3nt in the matter of language , Thoreau. lees favor the .Amer= lean ahove the- fore igm 'idiom, : : ge tonsid%rs-the use of •Amerieanisms a n d 'Ameriean s,pe@.eh;. not, only legitimate when ■ dealing with local suhject matter8 but ahsblutely necessary=

: Thoreau8s expression of his literary preeepts reveals :,a further connection with the intellectual' spirit of•hisi l 1 times:s ; His; conclusions disclose his- indebtedness and rela= ..- tioh to the Romantic spirit. He follows the creed-of the, Hbmahtie poets' and critics by his insistence on simple and ..aeeurate speech8 by his apotheosis of the divine in the poet - .and in his plea, for an accurate but inspiring transcription , of nature. Transcendenta1ism9 the Hew ,England .flowering of Bomantieism9 endowed M s theory with a strongly mystical east by ■emphasizing' the inner life of man and the doctrine of individual .perfectibility% and by placing absolute trust. ... in poetry8s :inst@ad of science9 s approach-to truth,- Thoreau ■ inherited thd eighteenth century?s emphasis on the full but 1 stolid 'life which rested, on: spiritual principles 0 His lit- , erary theory reflects the combined forces at work in the Amer ican current of thought § Puritanismj, Romanticism^ and Transcendentali'sm, i -. ; - .-' 1, : -- - lit is doubtful whether Thoreau will' ever -be known as a

.great'critical writer or whether he will:achieve' fame be- . cause of his. critical theory0 VJhen a writer of his time is ■

;pieked;to se^Te as an exponent ©fTransoendental dritieiss^ , the honor is usually Emerson9sa It is Emerson’s heeause he formulated a well-defined theory, one whieh clearly relates hi# to his age« Thoreau never produeed a full treatise on literacy arto If he had, the hazard is that it would too mueh reseHhle: hts long and dishura.lye, essay on Carlyle« Ap­parently such an undertaking did mot Interest him* He un­doubtedly had other readers: in mind when he recorded his •Journal notes |he carefully revised most of them) but he wrote largely for hi s' - own and not others6 edification^ The random duality^ of the' Journal entries testifies to the fact ■' that he was simply cogitatingj, musing on these points of 1 literary concern0 He recorded these ideas chiefly as a record for further reference, and as a stimulator toward further thought and creation0 The Journal passage's relating to literature* s function, content., and authors are unpolished and. unperf eotedThoreau- seems always: to be on the point of adding some new thought or amending an old ones As a - result the Journals are full of repetition* One can say that his literary theory is in the process, not the state, of eompletiono i'

If it . is true, that Thoreau was a critic for himself bet- fore he was a critic for others, does:it also mean that his : ■ critical thoughts have no meaning In the eyes of posterity? According to the opinion expressed by Archibald MaeMeekan, it would seem sot -'1 • \ , : ,

93

2!hiese things [im Walden] are seen with the ■ /■ naturalists * ' el©ai; grave eyes,, and recorded in

, ■ . plain words. with no attempt at ©raeular profun® - ,dity,o For the. sake of more true pictures of ■ reality. how gladly would the' modern reader forego ‘:

. the disquisitions on Persius and ©ssiaml ' ■ • ' : ,But fhoreau ee.nnot be dismissed as a erifie of little or nowortho . In that part of'his literary theory whieh estimatedindividual writers there are evidences of elear thinking andpefeeptipho In hack of his opinions of other writers are ;souhd seholarship and a sure knowledge of the works ofwriters he. professed, to knOWo His eonoeption of some .ofhis contemporaries seems unusually, stunted'to us- now. He ..was ©verwhelmed "by Carlyle and Os slang but shovsred no excite®ment over Wordsworth 0, . His. opinions of Chaueer 8 of Shake®speare-j of the seventeenth e©ntufy•.poets and the classicalpoets are worthy of . repetition6 His attitudes y however $,were not always new, although he often found new expressions'for themo. 'v - " ' ; . . ■ ■ ’. His observation on literary the or y9 the mature of poetry,

and the kinds of content are seldom characterized by brilliantinterpretation, but often by a unique expressiona He ere® ■ated many eontradietions in his Journals which he'never re®■solves|. the' balanoe-of unoonsoi©usness..,and egoism in the

1 o Archibald MaeMeekan, wtlh®reaua The Cambridge History of :■ : Araer-ican hiterature (New York 9-T^3TTr=¥^~Wo • '

However^ifeoMeekan may be aware that Thoreauls criticism of'these two was not necessarily keen or correct0

94

poet, the re straint necessary in the glow of conceptionand ' the objectivity necessary to the experience with nature even though the experience is a. sub jeetive one = In assigning the critic a relatively insignifleant position in societyg Thoreau also relied- entirely on the power of the individual.

.tmh.to'.-.gr&sp. the ■essentials from poetrye All' these fea­tures can be considered limitations in' his theoryi

The Transcendental and Sastern influence which charac­terizes some aspects,of his doctrine often shroud the the ory in Transcendental terminologyf Ideas which Thoreau often refuses to put to the test, of reason are •simply assigned to the divine power and never fully analysed. His inability to fully explain the origin of the poetfs powers and the 'hature of the creative moment can be explained by the fact that •much of the concept .is according to Transcendental pre­cepts $ and hence cannot be explained in plain empirical

- factsi There are several'points which reflect the thinking of the Eastern world 0 Thoreau implies in the Journals that there is no such thing as creation^ only re-creation0 He talks about works of aft foturnlng to: nature; he conceives of the poet9 s thoughts as contributions to an ageless flow of ideas 0 He mentions that words were once things <» All : these ideas were the result of 'a perceptible' inf luence on his literary theory by the. Hindu thinkers 0 It is perhaps the most mystical part of Thpreau^s whole theory®

So; far as; ThdriBau s:; effect on American criticism, is : ■ -

95

©enee neii,! proTsatelyquantitative effect eeuld be sea^e '- suredo Bernard Smith says that the "spirit was the really :important thing about his oritieism hot the.errors of judgement nor the esthetic blind spots which may be found in it a He goes on to say that ‘Thoreau8 s distinction lies in the fact that-he attempted to.embody his own critical theory in his ovm life and work0 This is undoubtedly.true, ■ but if is only, part of his distinction as a.critic0 His ■ unique contributloh.was his awareness of the essential'eon^ neofion between the creators his thoughts £, and the expres­sion of the thoughtsg and his explanation of this connection o He■attempted to show that art was not a defense against llfSg but a sweet result of lifeo ' ' - ; : "■ '

\ WheuThoreau^s practical conclusions on literary men and matters do not follow the theoretical preoepts he establishess we become more aware of his definite virtues ? . his singular integrityy his deep sensibility^ his feeling for the rightness of man^s creative activity^ and his con­viction that man needs poetry for a richer life„ Thoreauls doctrine of literary theory is important as it relates to other literary eriticismo It is even more significant for the further insight it gives into bis own life and thoughts and the whole intellectual temper of his day and our ownG;

. lo Bernard Smith3 forces in JLraerican Criticism (Hew York,: : I???), p. '20.— — ^ ,

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New Yorkt EoPo Dutton and Gompanya 1 9 3 6*GairnSj William B, . A History, of Ameriean Literature New

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Company3 1939* .... ' . ; ;,i/, • ■ ■ V,.v;y.Channingj William Nilspy* Thorearns The Poet Naturalist,

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97

KTuteha Joseph Woo'd = Thoreau. Assoeiates* .Hew York? lteei Sloan and

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Hew York: Charles Scribner?s & Sons9 l'S91 o (See Chapter ’’Henry David Thoreau? His Character and

Taylor 9:Walter Fuller0 A History of American Letterso Hew York: American Book Company9 T936o 1 : ■(Bibliography on Thoreau by Henry Hartwick ppo 513^5151)

■Thoreau s Henry David 0 The Writings.of Henry David Thoreau0 Walden Iditions 20 vols 0 . Boston: Houghton Mifflih " Company 9 19061: X ' " i : : '/(Contains Journals8 edited by Bradford Torrey* VolsQ TII=ZZo)

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