Henry David Thoreau

by Harold Bloom (Editor), Luca Prono (Editor)

Overview

Henry David Thoreau was a naturalist, transcendentalist, philosopher, and essayist. His views on civil disobedience and nature have become a part of the American character. This updated volume of the Bloom's Modern Critical Views series is a keenly detailed chronicle of a great thinker who will forever be known for his experiment in simple living documented in his work Walden.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781604131413
Publisher:	Chelsea House Publishers
Publication date:	08/01/2008
Series:	Bloom's Classic Critical Views Series
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.40(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

One of our most popular, respected, and controversial literary critics, Yale University professor Harold Bloom's books -- about, variously, Shakespeare, the Bible, and the classic literature -- are as erudite as they are accessible.

Hometown:

New York, New York and New Haven, Connecticut

Date of Birth:

July 11, 1930

Date of Death:

October 14, 2019

Place of Birth:

New York, New York

Education:

B.A., Cornell University, 1951; Ph.D., Yale University, 1955

Table of Contents

Editor's Note     vii
Introduction   Harold Bloom     1
Thoreau: The Quest and the Classics   Ethel Seybold     13
Naturalizing Eden: Science and Sainthood in Walden   John Hildebidle     35
From A Week to Walden   Robert Sattelmeyer     63
Springs to Remember   Gordon V. Boudreau     87
"Patron of the World": Henry Thoreau as Wordsworthian Poet   Lance Newman     107
Living Poetry   David M. Robinson     127
Thoreau, Homer, and Community   Robert Oscar Lopez     153
Thoreau, Crystallography, and the Science of the Transparent   Eric G. Wilson     177
"The life excited": Faces of Thoreau in Walden   Steven Hartman     197
Chronology     219
Contributors     225
Bibliography     227
Acknowledgments     233
Index     235

Editorial Reviews

Gr 9 Up-Bloom's introductory essay is followed by a lengthy biographical portrait by Ellyn Sanna and a critical essay by Michael Cisco that discusses the important symbols and themes of Thoreau's work, including his political influence. There is a bit of repetition, but it does put the author's work into perspective with the cultural and historical events of the day. Two additional essays, one by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Walter Harding on "Thoreau's Ideas," are included. Both give personal and unique insights into Thoreau's work. While sometimes tedious to get through, this volume gives the information students need to help them understand the man and his writing whether they read the book before or after digesting such works as Walden, or Life in the Woods.-Linda Wadleigh, Oconee County Middle School, Watkinsville, GA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

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