Reveal at least three of Whitman’s Transcendentalist beliefs in his poetry.

Reveal at least three of Whitman’s Transcendentalist beliefs in his poetry.
Consult the list of “Basic Beliefs of Transcendentalism” on your Unit 4 Study Guide.
Each paragraph must focus on ONE belief. Do NOT divide your paragraphs of the essay into 3 summaries/explications of 3 different poems.
For each belief, use details from at least 2 poems as support.
Use only the poems you were assigned to read during this unit (see your Reading List).
You should use MULTIPLE poems so show that you have read widely. If you limit your paper to only 2 poems, you will lose points on this paper.
Don’t simply quote one line from each poem when you provide support. Instead, discuss each belief and supporting poem with some depth.
List of Basic Beliefs of Transcendentalism to use: (choose 3 and back it up with 2 different poems)
* living close to nature
* dignity of manual labor
* need for intellectual companionships and interests (Brook Farm & The Dial)
* spiritual life is important, but man’s relationship to God is personal (Unitarianism), not regulated through the intermediation of a ritualistic church
* the divinity and union of humankind
* self-trust and self-reliance are to be practiced, since to trust self is really to trust the voice of God speaking intuitively within us
* believe firmly in democracy
* practice intense individualism
The sources you can use:
“A Noiseless Patient Spider”
“When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer”
“The Wound Dresser”
“When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed”
“Live Oak, with Moss”
READ Fanny Fern’s defense of “Leaves of Grass” to see the public reaction (and her defense) of the poem.
Preface to “Leaves of Grass”
“Song of Myself”
(Stanzas: 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 14, 17, 20, 21, 31, 48, 50 52)

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