Ralph+Waldo+Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson
Page Author: Tyler W.

The Transcendentalists’ Era had many writers and authors that contributed to its movement in popularity and growth. One of the most influential authors and philosophers of this time was Ralph Waldo Emerson. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote many books during his time as a Transcendentalist writer. These include books like “Nature”, __Emerson’s Essays__, and __The poet__. Almost all of Emerson’s works were considered controversial at the time; however they were soon accepted to be a major part of the Transcendentalist movement. “Crossing a bare common, in snow puddles, at twilight, under a clouded sky, without having in my thoughts any occurrence of special good fortune, I have enjoyed a perfect exhilaration. I am glad to the brink of fear.… Standing on the bare ground,—my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted into infinite space,—all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eye-ball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or parcel of God” ([|Sassian] 2775). That was a quote from the transparent eyeball. Emerson’s many works were read and loved by many early transcendentalist readers (“[|The Transparent Eyeball]”).

Ralph Waldo Emerson mainly used religious and philosophical themes in his works that he wrote. “ I suppose it is not wise, not being natural, to belong to any religious party. In the bible you are not directed to be a Unitarian or a Calvinist or an Episcopalian.… I am God's child, a disciple of Christ.… As fast as any man becomes great, that is, thinks, he becomes a new party” ([|Sassian]2774). Ralph Waldo Emerson was a very religious man and was a preacher for a while for the Christian church. He used his ideas and expanded on them with the bible and other religious works. Most of his ideas were rejected by the church for being “against the religion” however; most of his ideas and teaching came straight from the bible. It was just the way that he was interpreting these ideas. Ralph Waldo Emerson also believed that nature and the world were directly tied into religion. Some of his other themes included individualism, nonconformity, and intellectual independence. Most of these themes are shown well in his collection of works called __Emerson’s Essays__ ([|Wright] 195).

Emerson was very important to the Transcendentalist movement in many ways. “Returning to the United States filled with new ideas and inspiration in 1833, Emerson joined the lyceum movement. This community-based program, which had arisen in New England in the 1820s, sponsored lectures and performances by visiting scholars and artists. Topics for Emerson's lectures soon ranged from English literature to the philosophy of history. Lecturing was Emerson's main source of income for the rest of his life” ([|Benson] 502). Emerson is important to this movement because he basically headed it, and he was the inspiration for many young aspiring authors in this time that were scared to step out of their shells. He was also important for his contributions to the Transcendentalist movement in the form of his many books that he wrote and all the works of literature that he wrote. Emerson also showed that man can live on his own and showed that man did not need all the new technologies to support oneself when in the wild in the book her wrote called nature. In conclusion, Ralph Waldo Emerson contributed a lot to the Transcendentalist movement ([|Benson] 502).

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