Ralph Waldo Emerson : The Father Of The American Literary Renaissance

During the nineteenth century, American schools have caused a raise of differences towards the method of educating students. In his essay, “Education”, an influential American thinker and writer, Ralph Waldo Emerson recommends the parents to take in consideration for their children’s lives by creating a better teaching in which the students can learn/imply the basic fundamentals on their strive for success by doing it on their own. Emerson emphasizes his claim by encouraging a teaching method that children use their “naturel” by utilizing paradox, metaphors and analogy.

Emerson's message is one of non-conformity and individuality. He views every man as unique within, and feels society, exterior elements and tradition are man's downfall. He urges us to be a product of ourselves, to live in the

"In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, - no disgrace, no calamity (leaving me my eyes), which nature cannot repair. 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 eyeball. I am nothing. I see all. The currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God."

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” Emerson is a firm believer of maintaining self-reliance and values rather than following the crowd. He also explains that in order to be truly successful in life, a person must make decisions and trust in his or her judgment. In today’s society, teenagers are more likely to not be self-reliant because the teens feel they will be judged for having different beliefs. People today need to realize that they should not conform to be like the rest of the world, they must not depend on the judgment and criticism of others, and people must refuse to travel somewhere in order to forget their personal problems. Through Emerson’s piece, readers are able to

This was the battle started with the “shot heard ‘round the world” as Ralph Waldo Emerson observed.

Transcendentalism was an age of revolution. Not only did this age bring about changes in literature, but it brought about reform in ideals, religion, and people. Movements were all the rage---with abolitionism, feminism, sectarianism, communitarianism, and temperance beginning to flourish. With shifting ideals, literature evolved. Perhaps one of the best known authors of the transcendentalism period would be Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson acted as a mentor to many individuals, with his infamous Divinity School Address. However, one author in particular Emerson guided by introducing her to Goethe and encouraging her to borrow books, and that author would be Louisa May Alcott. Being from the same literary time period, Louisa May Alcott and Ralph Waldo Emerson have similar affinities displaying Transcendentalist ideals in their professional works.

his profession as a pastor in search for vital truth and hope. But his father

Emerson has a great style of writing that opens the eyes on readers to new perspectives. Emerson wanted the future societies to change their ways and he

Emerson was born in 1803, into a family of ministers. He went to Harvard where he

Ralph Waldo Emerson							I am writing this essay on the beliefs and thoughts of Ralph Waldo Emerson on the subjects of individuality, society, government, technology, and spirituality.

Romanticism took place in the early 1800's, it focused on the evolution and the effects nature has upon the universe. This time period helped grasp imagination, emotions, symbolism, and focus on the individual of one's self. I will be evaluating the authors, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne to demonstrate how their works relate to the time era of the 18th century.

Human nature is something that never seems to change. While humans all seem to be different from one another through physical and emotional attributes, their psychological behaviors are all mostly very similar. In the late 18th century and early 19th century, many authors successfully could explain the characteristics of human nature and the effects that it has on everyone and everything surrounding human beings. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgar Allen Poe all convey the behavior of human nature in separate ways. These three authors show the curiosity, drive for perfection, and fear of human nature throughout their texts in detail. With these characteristics being prominent in human nature itself, it

The American Renaissance was a revolution for literature and writers in America itself that emphasized cultural authority. The American Renaissance took place throughout the nineteenth century, primarily in the early segment of this era. According to, The Norton Anthology of American Literature, “the idea of American Renaissance has been so influential in part of the literature of this time period, and was crucial to the development of American literary traditions” (4). This created a diverse movement apart of the American Renaissance reform called, Transcendentalism. The Transcendentalism period which outlined majority of the Renaissance, was led by writer, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Transcendentalism is largely defined by the ideals of, religion, self reliance, civil disobedience, individualism, idealism, nonconformity, and nature. Emerson outlined the reform and countless parts of these Transcendentalism ideals, for writers soon to follow this movement. The Norton Anthology of American Literature, presents Emerson’s language as, “…no American writer who placed greater importance on the reader’s active interpretive role in generating new meanings and new ways of seeing the world” (214). Ralph Waldo Emerson’s language was a formation composed of idealism and a philosophical literary movement. Founding father Ralph Emerson, contributed to Transcendentalism by the primary ideals of Nature, and Individualism. These ideals are all exhibited in Emerson’s essays, “Nature”,

In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s various essays, poems, and other writings, he puts significant emphasis upon defining what constitutes success among men. “The American Scholar” and “Self-Reliance,” two of Emerson’s most well-known essays, describe in detail the attributes of a successful, enlightened human being; the most essential characteristics, judging by Emerson’s continued reiteration of their value, are most certainly self-trust, nonconformity, and the ability to live in the present. Contemporary American society reinforces these qualities in many ways, but they often seem to be superseded by materialism, insecurities, lamentations, and other ephemeral distractions. According to Emerson, the only way to be considered

‘The American Scholar’ was a speech given to the Phi Kappa Beta Society by Ralph Waldo Emerson in Cambridge on August 31st, 1837. At the time he gave the speech, it had only been 60 years since the United States of America broke away from the British. The fledgling country underwent an identity crisis. A distinctly American culture did not exist yet because the young nation still held onto too many ties to Europe. Using his poetic skills, Emerson wanted to change that. With the American Scholar essay, he wished to declare an intellectual Declaration of Independence from the continent of Europe and create an ideal ‘American Scholar’ for the students of the time to strive towards. The essay turned into a testament to American academics, and