Unit 5 Section A I Background Knowledge Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau: U.S. thinker, essayist, and naturalist(1817-1862). Born in Concord Mass, Thoreau graduated from Harvard University and taught school for several years before deciding to become a poet of nature. Back in Concord, he came under the influence ofR. w Emerson and began to publish pieces in the Transcendentalist magazine The Dial. In the years 1845-1847, to demonstrate how satisfying a simple life could be, he lived in a hut beside Concords Walden Pond; essays recording his daily life were assembled for his masterpiece Walden(1854). His A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers(1849)was the only other book he published in his lifetime. He reflected on a night he spent in jail protesting the Mexican-American War in the essay Civil Disobedience(1849), which would later influence such figures as M. Gandhi and M. L. King. In later years his interest in Transcendentalism waned and he became a dedicated abolitionist. His many nature writings and records of his wanderings in Canada, Maine, and Cape Cod display the mind of a keen naturalist. After his death his collected writings were published in 20 volumes, and further writings have continued to appear in prints John milton John Milton: English poet(1608-1674) Milton attended Cambridge University (162 -1632), where he wrote poems in Latin, Italian, and English; these included L'Allegro and ll Penseroso, both published later in Poems(1645). During 1632-1638 he engaged in private study- writing the masque Comus(1637)and the extraordinary elegy Lycidas(1638)and toured Italy Concerned with the Puritan cause in England, he spent much of 1641-1660 pamphleteerir for civil and religious liberty and serving in Oliver Cromwell's government. His best-known prose is in the pamphlets Areopagitica(1644), on freedom of the press, and Of Education(1644). He lost his sight in the year of 1651, and thereafter dictated his works. His disastrous first marriage ended with his wife's death in 1652: two later marriages were more successful. After the Restoration he was arrested as a noted defender of the Commonwealth but was soon released In Paradise Lost(1667), his epic masterpiece on the Fall of Man written in blank verse, he uses his sublime "grand style"with superb power; his characterization of Satan is a supreme achievement He further expressed his purified faith in God and the regenerative strength of the individual soul in Paradise Regained (1671), an epic in which Christ overcomes Satan the tempter, and Samson Agonistes(1671), a tragedy in which the Old Testament figure conquers self-pity and despair to Considered second only to w. Shakespeare in the history of English-language poetry, Milton had an immense influence on later literature, though attacked early in the 20th century, he had regained his place in the Western canon by mid-century William Wordsworth William Wordsworth: English poet(1770-1850). Orphaned at 13, Wordsworth Cambridge Univ, but remained rootless and virtually penniless until 1795, when a legacy madeUnit 5 Section A I. Background Knowledge Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau: U.S. thinker, essayist, and naturalist (1817 —1862). Born in Concord, Mass., Thoreau graduated from Harvard University and taught school for several years before deciding to become a poet of nature. Back in Concord, he came under the influence of R. W. Emerson and began to publish pieces in the Transcendentalist magazine The Dial. In the years 1845 —1847, to demonstrate how satisfying a simple life could be, he lived in a hut beside Concord's Walden Pond; essays recording his daily life were assembled for his masterpiece, Walden (1854). His A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers (1849) was the only other book he published in his lifetime. He reflected on a night he spent in jail protesting the Mexican-American War in the essay Civil Disobedience (1849), which would later influence such figures as M. Gandhi and M. L. King. In later years his interest in Transcendentalism waned and he became a dedicated abolitionist. His many nature writings and records of his wanderings in Canada, Maine, and Cape Cod display the mind of a keen naturalist. After his death his collected writings were published in 20 volumes, and further writings have continued to appear in prints. John Milton John Milton: English poet (1608 —1674). Milton attended Cambridge University (1625 —1632), where he wrote poems in Latin, Italian, and English; these included L'Allegro and Il Penseroso, both published later in Poems (1645). During 1632—1638 he engaged in private study— writing the masque Comus (1637) and the extraordinary elegy Lycidas (1638)—and toured Italy. Concerned with the Puritan cause in England, he spent much of 1641—1660 pamphleteering for civil and religious liberty and serving in Oliver Cromwell's government. His best-known prose is in the pamphlets Areopagitica (1644), on freedom of the press, and Of Education (1644). He lost his sight in the year of 1651, and thereafter dictated his works. His disastrous first marriage ended with his wife's death in 1652; two later marriages were more successful. After the Restoration he was arrested as a noted defender of the Commonwealth, but was soon released. In Paradise Lost (1667), his epic masterpiece on the Fall of Man written in blank verse, he uses his sublime “grand style” with superb power; his characterization of Satan is a supreme achievement. He further expressed his purified faith in God and the regenerative strength of the individual soul in Paradise Regained (1671), an epic in which Christ overcomes Satan the tempter, and Samson Agonistes (1671), a tragedy in which the Old Testament figure conquers self-pity and despair to become God's champion. Considered second only to W. Shakespeare in the history of English-language poetry, Milton had an immense influence on later literature; though attacked early in the 20th century, he had regained his place in the Western canon by mid-century. William Wordsworth William Wordsworth: English poet (1770—1850). Orphaned at 13, Wordsworth attended Cambridge Univ., but remained rootless and virtually penniless until 1795, when a legacy made