PART –-----–– Individualism and Nature Kindred Spirits, 1849. Asher Durand. Oil on canvas. The New York Public Library. “We see the world piece by piece, as the sun, the moon, the animal, the tree; but the whole, of which these are the shining parts, is the soul.” —Emerson, “The Over-Soul” 177 Francis G. Mayer/CORBIS 0177 U2P1-845481.indd 177 4/11/06 3:46:04 PM BEFORE YOU READ from Nature, from Self-Reliance, and Concord Hymn MEET RALPH WALDO EMERSON alph Waldo Emerson was the central figure of American Romanticism. His ideas about Rthe individual, claims about the divine, and attacks on society were revolutionary. Emerson’s father was a Unitarian minister and his mother a devout Anglican. When Emerson was only eight years old, his father died, and Mrs. Emerson was forced to open a boarding- house. At the age of 14, Emerson entered Harvard College. After graduation, he studied at Harvard Divinity School. By 1829, Emerson had been ordained a Unitarian minister and was preaching in Boston’s Second Church. Challenges to Optimism Emerson’s own opti- In 1831 Ellen Tucker, Emerson’s wife, died sud- mism was challenged when his son Waldo died of denly. Emerson had already been questioning his scarlet fever in 1842. Two years later, Emerson’s religious convictions, and after Ellen’s death, he essay “The Tragic” appeared in The Dial, a tran- experienced intense grief that further eroded his scendentalist magazine he had co-founded. In this faith. Eventually, Emerson left the church to essay, Emerson claimed that the arts and the intel- embark on a career as a writer. lect can “ravish us into a region whereinto these passionate clouds of sorrow cannot rise.” A Controversial Career In 1833 Emerson set- After 1870, his memory began to fail and the tled in Concord, Massachusetts, and began writing quality of his essays diminished. He stayed in Nature. This slim book was to become one of Concord and wrote little in his last years; he Emerson’s most influential works. Two years later, died of pneumonia at the age of 79. Emerson married Lydia Jackson, whom he called “Lidian.” Emerson and Lydia had four children. Emerson influenced writers as diverse as essayist Henry David Thoreau (page 202), novelist Louisa During the late 1830s, Emerson gained fame for his May Alcott, and poets Robert Frost (page 704), lectures—notably “The American Scholar” and the Wallace Stevens (page 689), and Hart Crane. divinity school Address. These speeches, both deliv- Emerson was a radical individualist, and his ered at Harvard, rejected organized religion and impact on American thought can still be felt undue reverence for the past. Harvard’s conservative today. As modern critic Harold Bloom wrote, administration was outraged. As a result, he was not “. no single sage, not Dr. Johnson nor invited to speak at the college for the next 30 years. Coleridge, is as inescapable as Emerson goes on While Emerson’s ideas enraged some, they excited being for American poets and storytellers.” many others and helped create the transcendental- Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in 1803 and died ist movement, of which Emerson was the spokes- in 1882. person. Optimism, self-reliance, intuition, and idealism formed the core of transcendentalist thought. Idealism is a philosophy that maintains Author Search For more about the belief that reality is created by the mind. Ralph Waldo Emerson, go Author to www.glencoe.com Search For .more about this author, go to www.glencoe.com. 178 UNIT 2 AMERICAN ROMANTICISM Bettmann/CORBIS 0178-0188 U2P1App-845481.indd 178 4/6/06 3:03:10 PM LITERATURE PREVIEW READING PREVIEW Connecting to the Essay Reading Strategy Recognizing Author’s The following essay is a declaration of Emerson’s Purpose belief in the power of nature. Emerson makes The author’s purpose is the author’s intent in writing some startling claims about how people relate to a piece of literature. Authors typically write to per- the natural world and how nature responds to the suade, to inform, to explain, to entertain, or to individual. As you read these essays, think about describe. While reading this essay, try to determine the following questions: Emerson’s purpose. • How do I interact with nature in my daily life? • How does my mood affect the way I see the world? Reading Tip: Asking Questions It might be useful to ask yourself questions as you read, such as the Building Background following: The Romantics tended to emphasize two aspects of • What is the thesis or main idea statement? nature—beauty and power. The darker Romantics, • How do the details support the thesis statement? such as the Melville of Moby-Dick, stressed nature’s • What are Emerson’s special concerns? Does he destructive power. Although Emerson was sensitive show any biases or prejudices? If so, what are they? to the power of the untamed American wilderness, he chose to dwell on the beauty of nature. Vocabulary Nature is now recognized as one of Emerson’s most perpetual (pər pech oo¯¯¯ əl) adj. lasting forever; important works. At the time of its anonymous pub- eternal; p. 180 The leaders of the American lication, however, it received little attention. In fact, Revolution had hoped to create a perpetual union during his lifetime, Emerson was better known as an of states. orator than as an essayist. Nevertheless, all of the ideas found in Emerson’s later work are an exten- integrate (in tə ra¯t´) v. to bring all parts sion or reevaluation of those initially expressed in together into a whole; p. 180 Can we integrate Nature. the process by having all the committees report to one chairperson? Setting Purposes for Reading perennial (pə ren e¯ əl) adj. continuing year after year; enduring; p. 181 Water pollution is a Big Idea Kinship with Nature perennial problem around factories and farms. As you read this selection from Nature, notice how Emerson links nature to optimism and individualism. blithe (bl¯th ) adj. lighthearted and carefree; cheerful; p. 181 The old man was always blithe in the company of his grandchildren. Literary Element Theme occult ( ) adj. beyond human understand- Theme is the central message of a work of litera- ə kult ing; mysterious; p. 181 The old doctor was inter- ture that readers can apply to life. As you read, try ested in strange, occult research. to determine the central theme of Emerson’s essay. • See Literary Terms Handbook, p. R18. Vocabulary Tip: Synonyms Words that have the same meaning are called synonyms. The words ragged and shabby, for example, are synonyms. Note Interactive Literary Elements that synonyms are always the same part of speech. Handbook To review or learn more about the literary elements, go to www.glencoe.com. OBJECTIVES In studying these selections, you will focus on the following: • analyzing figurative language • analyzing literary periods • drawing conclusions • recognizing an author’s purpose • analyzing metonymy • analyzing theme • writing a comparison/contrast essay RALPH WALDO EMERSON 179 0178-0188 U2P1App-845481.indd 179 1/10/07 10:46:38 AM Ralph Waldo Emerson To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as When we speak of nature in this manner, we much from his chamber as from society. I am not have a distinct but most poetical sense in the solitary whilst I read and write, though nobody is mind. We mean the integrity of impression with me. But if a man would be alone, let him made by manifold4 natural objects. It is this look at the stars. The rays that come from those which distinguishes the stick of timber of the heavenly worlds will separate between him and wood-cutter from the tree of the poet. The what he touches. One might think the atmo- charming landscape which I saw this morning is sphere was made transparent with this design, to indubitably5 made up of some twenty or thirty give man, in the heavenly bodies, the perpetual farms. Miller owns this field, Locke that, and presence of the sublime. Seen in the streets of Manning the woodland beyond. But none of cities, how great they are! If the stars should them owns the landscape. There is a property in appear one night in a thousand years, how would the horizon which no man has but he whose eye men believe and adore; and preserve for many can integrate all the parts, that is, the poet. This generations the remembrance of the city of God is the best part of these men’s farms, yet to this which had been shown! But every night come their warranty-deeds6 give no title. out these envoys1 of beauty, and light the uni- To speak truly, few adult persons can see nature. verse with their admonishing2 smile. Most persons do not see the sun. At least they The stars awaken a certain reverence, have a very superficial seeing. The sun illuminates because though always present, they are inac- only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye cessible; but all natural objects make a kindred and the heart of the child. The lover of nature is impression, when the mind is open to their he whose inward and outward senses are still truly influence. Nature never wears a mean3 appear- adjusted to each other; who has retained the spirit ance. Neither does the wisest man extort her of infancy even into the era of manhood. His secret, and lose his curiosity by finding out all intercourse with heaven and earth becomes part her perfection. Nature never became a toy to a of his daily food.