Transcript Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson

(May 25, 1803 -April 27, 1882) was
an American author,
poet, and
philosopher;
founder of
Transcendentalism
1. Life

1) born in a clergyman’s
family in New England
2) graduated from Harvard
3) a Unitarian minister
4) abandoned Unitarianism
and went to Europe
searching for truth
5) founded a
Transcendentalists‘ Club
and published a journal
called The Dial
6) traveled and gave
lectures; quite influential
2. Major works
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1) Nature ( a book which declared the
birth of Transcendentalism)
2) Some other essays preaching his
thoughts: "The Poet", "Self-reliance"
and "The American Scholar" (America’s
Declaration of Intellectual
Independence)
3. Beliefs
1) individualism;
2) independence of
mind;
3) self-reliance.
4. Aesthetics and its significance
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1) Aesthetics
a. In Emerson's opinion, poets should
function as preachers who gave directions
to the mass.
b. True poetry should serve as a moral
purification.
c. The argument (or his thought or
experience) should decide the form of the
poem.
d. The poet should express his thought in
symbols.
4. Aesthetics and its significance
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e. Poets should use words for their pictorial
and imaginative meanings.
f. As to the theme, Emerson called upon
American authors to write about peculiar
American matters.
2) Significance
Emerson's aesthetics brought about a
revolution in American literature in general
and in American poetry in particular. It
marked the birth of true American poetry and
true American poets.
"Transcendental folly"

His reputation fell in the 20th century
because he firmly believed humans and
human society could be better. It seemed
that he had no sense of evil and was too
optimistic about human nature and the
society. Somebody once called this kind of
optimism "Transcendental folly".
II. Nature
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1. Introduction
Nature is a short book by Ralph Waldo
Emerson published anonymously in 1836. It
is in this essay where the foundation of
transcendentalism is put forth, a belief
system that espouses a non-traditional vision
of nature.
II. Nature
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The essay consists
of the following
chapters:
◆Introduction
◆Nature
◆Commodity
◆Beauty
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◆Language
◆Discipline
◆Idealism
◆Spirit
◆Prospects
II. Nature
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Building on his early lectures, Emerson defines
nature as an all-encompassing divine entity
inherently known to us in our unfettered innocence,
rather than as merely a component of a world ruled
by a divine, separate being learned by us through
passed-on teachings in our experience.
It contends that expansion of the human soul is
possible through a reconnection with nature and
develops Emerson's idea of the "Over-Soul."
II. Nature
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Emerson is one of the first writers (with
others, notably Walt Whitman) to develop a
literary style and vision that is uniquely
American, rather than following in the
footsteps of Longfellow and others who were
strongly influenced by their British cultural
heritage. Nature is the first significant work to
establish this new way of looking at America
and its raw, natural environment.
II. Nature
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In England, all natural things are a reference
to layers of historical events, a reflection of
human beings. However, in America, all of
nature was relatively new to western
civilization with no man-made meaning. With
this clean slate, as it were, Emerson was
enabled to see nature through new eyes and
rebuild nature's role in the world.
II. Nature
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2. Detailed analysis
1) To have a direct relation with nature, with
God's divine creation, simply go out and look at
the stars.
2) The mind must be open to the appearances of
nature in order to achieve true wisdom.
3) The mind that is truly open to nature's own
truth is poetic. There is a difference between the
poet and the farmer or a wood-cutter.
II. Nature
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The purpose or end of nature for the farmer
or practical business person is that nature is
a source of raw materials for human use; the
purpose or end of nature for the poet is that
nature is a beautiful order. The farmer sees
the part; the poet sees the whole.
II. Nature
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4) Because most of us look at nature only with our
own desires in mind, we do not really see nature. We
need to look at nature as if we were little children,
without adult cares and needs. Adults are morally
corrupt; children are innocent and able to have a
direct relation with God's design. But an adult can be
childlike if he or she is virtuous: "The lover of nature
is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly
adjusted to each other."
II. Nature
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Nature arouses all the emotions in us, because
there is something emotional in nature. The
infinity of nature absorbs the finiteness of the
human self. The finite self ascends to the divine
perspective of God, it rises to the God's-Eye
view of the world: "I become a transparent eyeball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the
Universal Being circulate through me; I am part
or particle of God."
II. Nature
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In the wilderness there is something that is
as beautiful as humanity. Emerson's idea of
the self in wilderness as an all-seeing
spectator is very different than Thoreau's
idea. For Thoreau, the self in wilderness is
active.
II. Nature
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5) There is a relation of correspondence or analogy
between human being and all natural beings: for
instance, there is a spiritual relation between people
and plants. Nature and spirit mirror one another.
6) What is essential is to be in harmony with nature.
Our relation with nature is emotional and spiritual:
"Nature always wears the colors of the spirit." We
project our emotions into nature, and nature reflects
them back to us. Nature is a mirror of the moral state
of the soul.