Ralph Waldo Emerson was a key literary figure in the development of transcendentalism and in the American Romanticism Movement. According to literary folklore, Ralph Waldo Emerson began the American Romanticism movement. The literature of American Romanticism was written between the late 1830's and the beginning of the Civil War in 1861. It was considered the first illustration of American literary genius. Its purpose was to examine the intersection between fantasy and reality. Encouraging the writers of America to establish their literary independence from Europe, Emerson addressed the society in his speech called, "The American Scholar." In this speech he wrote:.
Perhaps the time is already come when the sluggard intellect of this continent will look from under its iron lids, and fill the postponed expectation of the world with something better than the exertions of mechanical skill. Our day of dependence, our long apprenticeship to the learning of other lands, draws to a close. The millions, that around us are rushing into life, cannot always be fed on the sere remains of foreign harvests. Events, actions arise, that must be sung, that will sing themselves (13).
It was this speech that sparked a period of creative energy, producing some of the greatest works of all time. Such works include, Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, Henry David Thoreau's Walden, the essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Edgar Allan Poe's short stories (Hurley 13, 15).
Each American romantic adopted his own style and theme. However, all were unified by a common concern with the internal world, the world of the mind. Examining questions of human identity, imagination, and intuition, these writers turned inward for a source of truth. The instability of American society also inspired the Romantic faith in nature. Nature was a place of beauty, simplicity, and truth for American Romantics.
American Lit 111 The Heart That Vibrated to That Iron String Ralph Waldo Emerson, born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1803, was extremely intelligent for his age. Seven of Emerson's predecessors were ministers and preachers including his father William Emerson who was minister of the First Church...
British Criticism on Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson is one of the most influential literary figures in history. ... Emerson's British critics shared mixed views on his works. ... In Nature, Emerson makes reference to a "transparent eyeball" (Emerson, PG?) ... Lawrence commented, "I like Emerson's real courage. ... Emerson simply didn't want to be limited to a religion. ...
Ralph Waldo Emerson is one of these, devoting his existence to the concept there is divinity in nature and humanity. Emerson exemplifies these points in his writings "The Poet" and "Self-Reliance". Ralph Waldo Emerson's beliefs are grouped in a category called transcendentality. ... Ralph Waldo Emerson believes that there is Divinity in Nature, and everything makes a circle back to a unity with the universe. ... (The Poet 1181) Emerson emits a sort of overeducated hippie philosophy throughout his entire works. ...
In the excerpt we read from Ralph Waldo Emerson's The American Scholar, it seemed as though Emerson's main goal was to create an extremely complex and overly-wordy written piece to confuse the reader. ... Emerson also spoke of the many great authors of the past. ... According to Emerson, however, writers are no more than men. ... One such idea Emerson covered was the necessity of creativity. ... Emerson wrote, "But none is quite perfect....
Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau had a conflicting view on the idea of American colleges. ... Emerson continues on in his criticism. ... Emerson starts off by bashing the idea of man learning from a book. ... Thoreau has a similar view of institutionalized education to that of Emerson's. ... Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau had a unique perspective on not only learning, but on life. ...
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an amazing author that also agreed with self reliance and no conformity. ... Ralph Waldo Emerson once said; "To believe your own thoughts, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is a true for all men- that is genius." ... Ralph Waldo Emerson ...
It saw the spiritual as a ideal over the real every day world, and the two people leading the way were Henry David Thoreau, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. ... Henry David Thoreau and his friendship with Ralph Waldo Emerson helped form the Transcendental movement which, in turn, changed America in the nineteenth century with lasting effects into today"'s society. ... Ralph Waldo Emerson was the most crucial of all the transcendentalists. ... Emerson entered Harvard at the age of fourteen, while living in the President's house, and his board was paid by waiting on tables in the commons and ...
