The Verbose Insomniacs
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Biography (1803-1882)
Fast Facts:
-Emerson was born on May 25, 1803 in Boston, Massachusetts.
-When Emerson was seven, his father died. He then continued on to live with his aunt, Mary Moody Emerson, who encouraged his individual thoughts.
-Emerson was known for his individuality and independence.
-He attended Harvard at age fourteen.
-Emerson became pastor of the Second Church of Boston in 1829.
-After his wife's death in 1831, Emerson began questioning his beliefs.
-Emerson went to Europe for a year and came back a changed man; he started his ideas on Transcendentalism and becomes a Transcendentalist.
-He published his first work, Essays, in 1841, and continued on to publish more as years went on.
-Emerson's poems express his beliefs in individuality and in humanity's spiritual connection to nature.
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Nature
Background:
Nature is Emerson's first book. It includes eight chapters and contains ideas that were essential throughout his life. The main theme of this book was about the harmony between humans and nature. Emerson's work becomes highly popular and becomes the theoretical basis of many written works created in the United States in the nineteenth century. This book was also the unofficial statement of belief for the Transcendental Club, a club which included members like Henry David Thoreau, Margaret Fuller, and more who believed in the Transcendentalist thought.
Synopsis:
In "Nature", Emerson writes about the view of nature that can only be seen and understood by a man when he is in solitude. A man is only able to realize this because he is away from the busy life that he had lived in and therefore can see the beauty that nature withholds. In this essay, Emerson links the connection between the ground and the stars. He states that everything in nature is connected, creating the idea of "over-soul". Furthermore, Emerson's belief is evidently shown throughout the essay. The ideas and concepts of Transcendentalism are viewed upon when the man is alone and felt like one with nature, communicating with it.
Self- Reliance
Background:
"Self-Reliance" was published in Essays in 1841. It is known to be the definitive statement of Emerson's philosophy on individualism and the greatest example of his composition. This essay was a combination of many things; from a journal entry written in 1832 to materials given in lectures between the years 1836 to 1839. Emerson was known for using the phrase "trust thyself" repeatedly throughout his essays, and in "Self-Reliance", he explained his reasons to do so.
Synopsis:
In his book titled Essays, "Self-Reliance" follows "History" so that a balanced and self contained unit can be created out of these two. The essay begins with admonition to believe in the true self, which is considered identical with the Universal Spirit. Emerson then holds infancy, which is favorable contrasted with adulthood, as a model for one to follow in the cultivation of a spirit of independence or nonconformity.
Emerson regards a person’s growth normally as a process of losing one’s moral sentiment or spirit of nonconformity. Society is considered to have an huge effect on the growth of each individual’s independent spirit, whereas solitude may contribute to it. Senseless philanthropy, which encourages dependence on outside help, is thus also thought to be detrimental. When Emerson states that one should live by one’s instinct, whether or not it be from the devil, he is attempting to use exaggeration to shock his audience; his idea is that the inherent moral sentiment, which makes one self-sufficient, cannot come from the devil. Total trust in one’s emotions may well result in contradiction when one’s emotions change, however; noting this, Emerson simply retorts that life itself is an organic process, inevitably involving contradiction. Acting in accordance with true feeling, he believes, will automatically bring about a sound life.
Viewed in light of self, history is thus the biography of a few unusually powerful figures. Having emphasized the importance of nonconformity, he begins to explore the philosophical basis for self-reliance. According to Emerson, there is an instinct or intuition in each individual drawing upon the Universal Spirit as the ever-dependable guiding principle. The presence of the self-sufficing and self-contained Universal Spirit in each individual thus justifies one’s living in and for the present without having to refer either to the past or to the future. Emerson regards every human potentially as a reincarnation of the Word. Consequently, regret of the past and prayer for the future as a means to effect private ends are both diseases of human will and should be avoided. Traveling with the hope to see something greater than the self, in Emerson’s view, would simply be senseless. As a result of this moralistic view, society, like nature, may change but never advance. Typical of his conclusions, the end of this essay, which repeats the theme of self-reliance and predicts the subjugation of Chance under human will based on self-reliance, sounds greatly optimistic.
Concord Hymn
Background:
In 1835 Emerson purchased a home on the Cambridge and Concord Turnpike, and quickly became one of Concord's leading citizens. "Concord Hymn" was written for the 1837 dedication of the Obelisk, a monument in Concord, Massachusetts commemorating the Battle of Concord. At Concord's Independence Day celebration on July 4, 1837 it was first read, then sung as a hymn by a local choir.
Synopsis
The first lines of the poem reflect the image of the flooded wooden bridge. The flag that is being mentioned is just a poetic style to get a clear image of the war that happened. Emerson then explains that it was just the layman who went out to the field and was not of any particular army. Till date no one knows who started the shot that the world heard. Ever since the first shot was heard, the men from both sides went into an eternal sleep. After all the destruction, a replacement structure had been created at the site, which is now located at the Minuteman Park. At the monument, Emerson explains that in memory of these great warriors, candles are lit and they are to be honoured for the deeds they have done. As the years pass by, they should not be forgotten, but instead given respect, and be remembered for the courage and strength they had to fight for us.
Style:
The poem elevates the battle above a simple event, setting Concord as the spiritual center of the American nation, and exalting a general spirit of revolution and freedom. The language used in this poem is neither too complicated, not to simple, yet it does make the reader understand the pain that the fighters went through nor how much respect should be given, even at their death. Through this poem is how Emerson established as an essayist and this poem depicts how versatile and talented writer he was. This short poem is composed of four stanzas of quatrains written in iambic tetrameter rhythm. The alternating lines rhyme in a pattern of abab.
Analysis:
In the first stanza Emerson briefly reenacts the early American Revolution battle that took place at Concord bridge on April 19, 1775. The first line describes the location as being by an arched, rustic (“rude”) bridge crossing a stream. Patriotic dedication is expressed in the subsequent line, “Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled.” The release of the flag to the wind symbolizes the fact that there is no going back to the conditions preceding this battle. The third line emphasizes the location by repeating the word “Here.” The phrase “the embattled farmers” reminds the reader that the Americans were soldier-farmers fighting a professional British army. The most famous line of the poem, “And fired the shot heard round the world,” expresses another anomaly.
The hymn is written as quatrains in iambic tetrameter (8 syllables per line), and has rhymes on alternating lines. The poem has many literary devices throughout. Firstly, the whole poem is an allusion to the American Revolution, and the specific battle at Concord. Next, “rude bridge” is an example of personification. The use of alliteration is present, such as in lines 5 and 6 with the “s” sound in “silence slept” and “silent sleeps”. There is also use of assonance, such as line 11’s “deeds redeem” repetition of the “ee” sound. In line 8, the author switches the order of the words “seaward” and “creeps” to fit the rhyme scheme. Lastly, the 4th stanza has an apostrophe, as the author is calling out to an invisible entity that guided the soldiers to carry out such great and selfless deeds.
