full title
Originally published as Walden; or, Life in
the Woods. Thoreau requested that the title be abbreviated
simply to Walden upon the preparation of a second
edition in 1862.
author
Henry David Thoreau
type of work
Essay
genre
Autobiography; moral philosophy; natural history;
social criticism
language
English
time and place written
1845–1854,
Walden Pond, near Concord, Massachusetts
date of first publication
1854
publisher
Ticknor and Fields, Boston
narrator
Henry David Thoreau
point of view
Thoreau narrates in the first person, using the word
“I” nearly 2,000 times
in the narrative of Walden. Defending this approach, he remarks,
“I should not talk so much about myself if there were any body else
whom I knew as well.”
tone
Thoreau’s tone varies throughout the work. In some
places he is mystical and lyrical, as in the blue ice description
in “Ponds.” He can be hardheaded and practical, as in the accounting
details of “Economy.” Sometimes he seems to be writing a diary,
recording the day’s events; other times he widens his scope to include
the whole cosmos and all eternity. In some places his style is neutral and
observational, in other places powerfully prophetic or didactic,
as in the chapter “Conclusion.”
tense
Thoreau uses the past tense for recounting his Walden experiments
and the present tense for the more meditative and philosophical
passages.
setting (time)
Summer 1845 through Summer 1847 (although
the book condenses the two years into one)
setting (place)
Walden Pond
protagonist
Henry David Thoreau
major conflict
Thoreau resists the constraints of civilized American
life.
rising action
Thoreau builds a small dwelling by Walden Pond and
moves to the wilderness.
climax
Thoreau endures the winter and feels spring’s transforming power
arrive.
falling action
Thoreau, accustomed to a solitary life in the woods,
concludes his project and moves back to Concord and social existence.
themes
The importance of self-reliance; the value of simplicity;
the illusion of progress
motifs
The seasonal cycle; poetry; imaginary people
symbols
Animals; ice; Walden Pond
foreshadowing
Thoreau tells us in the first paragraph of the work
that he has left Walden Pond, foreshadowing the exit he narrates
at the end.
