Nature as Moral Imagination:
Transcendentalism, Ecology, and the Making of American
Poetry
Dr. Shehnoor Shan¹, Dr. Shagufta
Anjum²
ABSTRACT
Although nature has always played a significant
role in American poetry, the tradition of Transcendentalism is where
it is most philosophically charged and spiritually resonant.
Transcendentalism, which emerged in nineteenth-century New England,
suggested a radical reconsideration of the connection between the
divine, the natural world, and the human self. Transcendental
thinkers and poets rejected mechanistic rationality and
institutional religion, viewing nature as a living presence that
allowed for the direct understanding of spiritual truth. This paper
explores the ways in which American Transcendentalist poetry uses
nature as a democratic, moral, and spiritual force. The study
contends that transcendental poetry changes nature from a passive
object of description, with a primary focus on the writings of Ralph
Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Walt Whitman. The study also
shows how transcendental concepts continued to have an impact on
later American poetry, highlighting the importance of nature as a
place for moral introspection and spiritual rejuvenation. By fusing
ecocritical theory with transcendental philosophy, it also advances
current research and expands on conventional understandings of
American transcendentalism. The study emphasizes nature's ethical
and ecological aspects rather than seeing it as a simply symbolic or
spiritual concept, establishing Transcendentalist poetry as a
significant forerunner to contemporary environmental philosophy in
American literature.
Key Words: Transcendental Poetry, Ecology, Spirituality, Emerson,
Thoreau, Whitman.
