Transcendentalism In Modern Society In Ralph Waldo Emerson's The Poet

“There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil” -Ralph Waldo Emerson in Self Reliance. Ralph Waldo Emerson was a transcendentalist. Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that originated in the 19th century and was primarily influenced by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Transcendentalists’ main beliefs are: self-reliance is essential to one’s life, nature is divine, every person should have an optimistic outlook, and humanity needs to adhere to their personal morals and beliefs. In today’s world we still see a multitude of the beliefs of transcendentalism.

Of the scores of utopian concepts within the 1800’s, most remarkable of the influx was the birth of Transcendentalism. The roots of their religious philosophy extend much farther back into American history, but in essence, rests in the context of Unitarianism. It’s origins also reach overseas to Romanticism, from which they drew inspiration from. Transcendentalism was an important movement that shaped the course of American literature, it’s assertions commonly taking shape in novels, poems, short stories, and essays, the most famous of authors including Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Transcendentalists sought for their sentiments to be present in the United States, to redefine man in response to the changing context of America. Since it’s emergence in the 1820’s, Transcendentalism had lasting religious, social, and political implications on the order of society.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “the sky is the daily bread of the eyes.” Emerson was a transcendentalist, transcendentalism came with a deep connection with nature from which this quote seems to be inspired. It can also be inferred that this quote has connections with the lord’s prayer, as Emerson was very religious. The lord’s prayer even states, “give us this day our daily bread” showing that God gave us necessities like food. By restating this in his essays, Emerson connects the sky with the daily food source by its beauty, and that we can feast upon what he believed the Lord had created for us in nature. Personally i am not all that religious and i don’t share the same transcendentalist beliefs with Emerson, but i wholeheartedly agree with his outlook on the sky as a feast of sorts.

Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, central figures of Transcendentalism, expressed their beliefs through works such as “American Scholar” and “Into the Woods” in the nineteenth century. They believed that one must be in simplicity, solitude, and away from technology to appreciate the beauty of nature, which is essential for a better spiritual understanding of oneself. Transcendentalism, which focuses on spiritual interactions with nature, is relevant in today’s hectic life with temptations of materialistic goods and burdens of technology. The retreat that Webb offers every year is a good example of how Transcendentalism shapes students to have spiritual richness and mental strength. On retreats, students go off campus with bare necessities for three days to camp sites in nature to reflect and appreciate the beauty of the outdoors. Viewed through the lens of Transcendentalism, retreats allow students to prepare for a new and busy school year to come by helping them to realize their own goals, to get rid of distractions of technology, to get inspired by nature for a better understanding of themselves, and to enjoy a moment of solitude to truly reflect on the deeper meanings of life.

“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds… With consistency a great soul simply has nothing to do.” (Emerson)

“Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members” (Emerson 369). From Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance,” the saying explains how society wants every individual to conform to its beliefs and expectations. In addition, our manhood is the capability to have our own opinions and beliefs. Individualism is a major theme of Transcendentalism, which is a part of romanticism and combines not only literature and philosophy, but also religion. Some additional focuses of Transcendentalism are the belief that an Oversoul exists, that the individual is the center of the universe, that one should involve themselves in civil disobedience, and that self reliance is better than dependence. With that, the followers consist of mainly fierce abolitionists. This movement only lasted ten years, but its influences are apparent today. Furthermore, Transcendentalism is represented in the movie Dead Poets Society. It occurs at Welton Academy, an all boys school, when a new teacher, Mr. John Keating, takes the place of the retired English teacher. He is witty, heartwarming, and inspirational, and has many unorthodox teaching methods compared to the other teachers but the administration is not happy with him. Mr. Keating assists his students, especially Neil Perry, a boy who values independence and leadership, with the pressures of life and school. He encourages them to pursue their true dreams, not their parent’s dreams for them, and to seize the day. The

In a constantly updating world, eventually cultural diffusion causes changes to a society 's views and practices over a period of time. With many religious pressures in Europe and the constant switch between Catholicism and Protestantism, a group called the Puritans moved to America to start life anew. The Puritan lifestyle took hold of America’s New England colonies and became a theocracy of how people lived their lives. People lived by the Puritan interpretation of the New Testament with harsh forms of punishment for the violation of even the most simple sins. Because of this restricting lifestyle and new ideas like the Enlightenment which caused intellectual reforms, people started to break away from the extreme Puritan philosophy. Another movement occurring in America called Transcendentalism, on the other side of the spectrum of Puritanism, started with writer Ralph Waldo Emerson, specifically with his essay “Nature”. Emerson depicts the prime example of the breaking away from strict religion to Transcendentalism. In America, Emerson was a priest who had been ridiculed and had traveled to Europe to find himself. After meeting up with writers of the Romanticism movement, he fell in love with it and brought it back to America under the name of Transcendentalism. Puritanism and Transcendentalism have opposing philosophies which include their view on people, philosophy and God , and on nature through essays and texts by: William Bradford, Anne

Transcendentalism was a time influenced by romanticism and philosophy. This was a reaction to rationalism and created a more enjoyable reality. One leader of the philosophical movement was Ralph Waldo Emerson, who became well known for challenging traditional ideas. His beliefs included the idea that the present and future are more important than past decisions, and who we are as a person is most important. Emerson's beliefs during transcendentalism are relevant to current society in several ways. Emerson believed in the idea that the actions of a person were more powerful than the words that they spoke. He wrote, "Remember what you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say." This is similar to the modern ideal that actions speak

"So shall we come to look at the world with new eyes. It shall answer the endless inquiry of the intellect, what is truth? And of the affection, what is good?" (St. John eat al. 199 )

There have been numerous religious rebellions throughout history, but none quite like that of Transcendentalism. This movement embodies the idea that spiritual growth can be achieved through personal journey instead of conflicting with organized religion. By the time of the movement’s onset, newly gained religious freedom in the United States allowed for new ideas and beliefs to prosper freely. At the heart of this movement was Transcendentalism philosophy famous ambassadors, Ralph Waldo Emerson and apprentice Henry David Thoreau. These men believed nature is what forces us not to depend on other ideas but to develop our own.

Emerson faced many conflicts in his life, including his career. He is considered one of America's most influential authors and thinkers (2). American author Ralph Waldo Emerson, known for his influence in European thought, was a successful poet and essayist during the transcendentalism era. Although Emerson's philosophy is greatly referred to as “Transcendentalism,” he prefered “Idealism” (2).

These men both have an abstract view on life. While Emerson a self-reliant and individualistic

Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau wrote essays on their ideologies of transcendentalism. Thoreau’s belief in intellectualism, spirituality, and naturalism comes from him reading Emerson’s essays and being close friends with him. Thoreau lived in the woods and wrote Walden around Emerson’s ideals. Together they make up classical transcendentalists who changed the perspective of the world. Emerson seems to be the Thoreau’s ideology stems from Emerson work directly, but while Emerson wrote theories, Thoreau implemented his beliefs into his life. Emerson also speaks mainly of scholars and academic people while Thoreau acknowledges the full scope of humanity. Emerson also views nature as laws and Thoreau view nature as poetic. Thoreau’s work means more than Emerson’s various essays.

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champion of individualism and a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society, and he disseminated his thoughts through dozens of published essays and more than 1,500 public lectures across the United States. Emerson gradually moved away from the religious and social beliefs of his contemporaries, formulating and expressing the philosophy of Transcendentalism in his 1836 essay, "Nature". Emerson wrote most of his important essays as lectures first, then revised them for print. His first two collections of essays Essays: First Series and Essays: Second Series, published respectively in 1841 and 1844—represent the core of his thinking, and include such well-known essay "Self-Reliance", together with "Nature", these essays made the decade from the mid-1830s to the mid-1840s Emerson 's most fertile period.

By the end of Emersons “The Poet”, not only has he inspired a new generation of poets he’s also emphasized the important role poetry plays in society and changed all the rules society had regarding poetry.