1. Duino Elegies–Read and annotate the second elegy.
2. (Due Thursday, March 31) Transcendental Poem–As for all poetry, be aware of how you are using words to create image/meaning. Thematically, you should weave characteristics of Transcendental poetry into your poem. One final (and very important) requirement: In the spirit of The Rhodora your poem should be inspired by and focused on a specific aspect of the natural world.
Characteristics of Transcendentalism
1. Believed in living closer to nature (Thoreau)
2. Believed in the dignity of manual labor (Thoreau)
3. Saw the need for intellectual companions and interests
4. Emphasized the need for spiritual living
5. Considered man’s relationship to God a personal matter established directly by the individual himself
6. Posited the essential divinity of man (versus Calvinism’s tenet of innate depravity)
7. Urged one great brotherhood (the Oversoul, the unity of all things)
8. Proposed self-trust and self-reliance
9. Believed in democracy and individualism
10. Encouraged reform (to awaken and regenerate the spirit)
11. Insisted on a complete break with tradition and custom
12. Know through intuition
