1. It was important to Emerson that ideas be put into practice in the real world. Consider some contemporary controversial issue and examine it as you think Emerson would. Examples of such an issue might be capital punishment, human rights, environmentalism, feminism, or cultural pluralism. Quote from Emerson’s writings and […]
Read more Study Help Essay QuestionsStudy Help Full Glossary for Emerson’s Essays
acrostic A short poem in which the first, middle, or last letter of each line spells a word or phrase when read in sequence. Agamemnon In Greek mythology, the leader of the Greeks in the Trojan War; he was killed by his wife, Clytemnestra. agaric A form of fungi, including […]
Read more Study Help Full Glossary for Emerson’s EssaysCritical Essays Emerson’s Use of Metaphor
Introduction In both Nature and “The American Scholar,” Emerson advances the theory that all language is based on physical images. For him, etymology, the study of the history of words, traces words’ meanings back to original concrete pictures and actions. Especially in Nature, he maintains that objects are a kind […]
Read more Critical Essays Emerson’s Use of MetaphorCritical Essays Emerson Unitarianism, and the God Within
One of the greatest problems that readers of Emerson have is grasping his religious beliefs. We know that religion is important to him because every essay seems saturated with references to attaining a more perfect relationship with God. His emphasis on a universal soul flowing through individual souls can strike […]
Read more Critical Essays Emerson Unitarianism, and the God WithinCritical Essays Understanding Transcendentalism
Never a truly organized body of thought, and characterized by defects as well as inspirational ideals, transcendentalism became one of the most subtly influential trends in nineteenth-century America. Three main currents contributed to this uniquely American school of thought: neo-Platonism and the belief in an ideal state of existence; British […]
Read more Critical Essays Understanding TranscendentalismSummary and Analysis of The Poet Glossary
Apollo In Greek mythology, the god of poetry, prophecy, music, healing, and light. Orpheus A legendary Greek poet and lyre player, he attempted to free his wife, Eurydice, from the Underworld by using his music to charm Hades, king of the Underworld. Empedocles Fifth-century B.C. Greek philosopher and statesman. Heraclitus […]
Read more Summary and Analysis of The Poet GlossarySummary and Analysis of The Poet Paragraphs 30-33 – The Poet and America
In this final section, Emerson reflects on the need for a true poet of the American experience who can be to Americans what Shakespeare is to the British, and what Dante is to Italians. Such a poet has not yet emerged. (“The Poet” was published eleven years before the publication […]
Read more Summary and Analysis of The Poet Paragraphs 30-33 – The Poet and AmericaSummary and Analysis of The Poet Paragraphs 19-29 – The Poet and Imagination
The poet, who uses nature’s language to interpret the world for society, benefits greatly from imagination, “a very high sort of seeing.” Emerson begins his inquiry into the nature of imagination by telling the story of a local sculptor. This man was inarticulate and inexpressive in words, but his statues […]
Read more Summary and Analysis of The Poet Paragraphs 19-29 – The Poet and ImaginationSummary and Analysis of The Poet Paragraphs 10-18 – The Poet Language and Nature
In this second part of the essay, Emerson discusses the poet’s medium — language — and its relationship to nature. Central to his thinking is the concept of language as a natural phenomenon. Original, primitive languages tended to be highly image-based, and Emerson believes that this characteristic can still be […]
Read more Summary and Analysis of The Poet Paragraphs 10-18 – The Poet Language and NatureSummary and Analysis of The Poet Paragraphs 1-9 – The Poet as Interpreter
Emerson considers the nature and the functions of the poet, “the man of Beauty,” to whom he ascribes a superior calling. Unlike the intellectual, who sees no dependence between the material world and the world of thoughts and ideas, or the theologian, who relies exclusively on historical evidence for truth, […]
Read more Summary and Analysis of The Poet Paragraphs 1-9 – The Poet as Interpreter