Comparing Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Herman Melville And Nathaniel Hawthorne

Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne, all are highly acclaimed American poets of the 19th century, particularly ranging from between the years 1820-1860. Between the years 1820 -1860, is considered as the Romanic Period, which was the follow up from the Romantic Movement that started in Germany. The Romantic Movement surfaced in the America in 1820, and ended up coinciding with the period of national expansion, and the exploration or a unique American identity. American Romanticism played a key element in "the American Renaissance." The Romantic concept accentuated the importance of revealing art for the individual and the community. However, it was communicated through two significant groups of people, who each had their own style and vison but still managed to influence each other.
The first movement was Transcendentalism whose fundamental belief was in the unity of the world and God. The Transcendentalists poet’s romantic ideas surrounded the spiritual and creative dimension of nature along with the use of metaphors. These poets major theme was the development of self, individualism and self- realization. Famous Transcendentalists poets were Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.
Both Emerson and Thoreau both lived simple lives, outside of society, both with a passion for the love of nature. However, what divided them were their philosophies. Emerson avoided political affairs. He connected his love of name to spirituality and believed that engaging in political affairs would have interrupted his Romantic belief in intuition and flexibility. Whilst Thoreau on the other hand, loved nature only for its beauty, and although he stayed away from social gatherings, he felt that transcendentalists should unite with the community when it came to political unfairness that affected the society on a