Thoreau's departure from American Puritan tradition: The self and divinity

This study examines Thoreau's poetic quest, discovering in his works a departure from the tradition of American Puritan orthodoxy. The American Puritans "ached" for certainty of salvation. This ache manifested itself by circumscribed introspection and individual freedom checked by tradition, community, and the Past. Orthodoxy held with ferocious certainty the dogma of "Innate Depravity." Dismissing certainty, Thoreau countered Puritan deprecation of Self with exaltation of Self. His quest--based upon spiritual Selfhood and Freedom--is fired by "Poetic Uncertainty," and centers upon Self separate yet intimate with Nature, Self's divinity as expressive of God's, "Sublime Belatedness," and the Past. Thoreau thus offers a uniquely "American" spirituality. His poetic quest exemplifies his unique stand in the spiritual history of our country.