Henry David Thoreau's Poetry

One of the most well known poets in American history, a legend from Massachusetts has composed many pieces of art such as poetry whose name is Henry David Thoreau. He has inspired many and contributed to the society he lived in through his own methods, which are quite evident nowadays. Thoreau’s early life led him to appreciate nature, and he uses this to craft his poems. His successful journey as a poet along with his life long influences has created meaning in his poetry.

Thoreau was born in 1817 and lived till 1862; he didn’t live a very long life since he was diagnosed with tuberculosis, a widespread fatal disease that typically attacks the lungs (Olson 1). In his life he won many awards such as the Harvard student award and he even got one named after him, which is called the Thoreau Edition award that was established in 2003 (Peterson 1). Thoreau was a good man who believed in many causes, which led him to start a school in 1838 that unfortunately collapsed due to his illness. Other than a poet, Thoreau was involved in civil disobedience, which led him to spend a little time in jail. He was against slavery and spoke for himself about the most troubling social and economic issues such as the toll tax, which he refused to pay. Thoreau moved to Walden Pond in 1845 to focus on his writing and be part of the nature that surrounds him which is clearly expressed when he says, “I went to live in the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential