Ralph Waldo Emerson

 Literature / American Writer & Poet

 

American Essayist, Poet, and Transcendentalist

 “Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding.” ~ R.W. Emerson

 

Biography and works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of America's great poets and  essayists, 19^th century leader of transcendentalism.  

 

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an important 19^th-century American poet and essayist, a  transcendentalist, and an orator. His ideas had a strong influence on the development of American culture. He's famous for Nature, his first book.

Early Life of Emerson

Emerson was born on May 25, 1803, the son of a minister, was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. Like his father, he attended Harvard and then entered the ministry. He was appointed pastor of the Second Unitarian church in Boston, but three years later, at the age of 29, he had a crisis of faith and left the church. A year later, he went to Europe and visited England, and became a close friend of the writer Thomas Carlyle, with whom he corresponded for almost 38 years.  

Works Published

Back in the United States, Emerson settled in concord, Massachusetts, and began a successful career as a lecturer and essayist. His first book Nature, a prose rhapsody, was published when he was 33, summed up his ideas. This was followed by "The American Scholar," an oration delivered at Harvard. Emerson's address in 1838 before the Divinity Class in Cambridge produced a sensation, especially among the Unitarians. 

Philosophy of Transcendentalism

Emerson formulated the philosophy of transcendentalism or in simple term, an idealist, who advocated self-reliance, spiritual independence, and rejected traditional authority. He is famous for the often quoted "Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you." Emerson believed that people should rely on their reasons to learn what is right and should try to live a simple life in harmony with nature and with others.

More Lectures, Poems and Essays

Emerson became famous for his lectures. He encouraged American scholars to break free of European influences and create a new American culture. His first collection of essays, in which he explored his ideas more fully, was published when he was 38. They were widely read and further collections followed. At the age of 44 he published his first collection of poetry. Later he became involved in the antislavery movement and worked for women's rights. In 1849, he revisited England to lecture on Representative Men. 

Considered 10 of the Best R.W. Emerson Poems

1. The Bell
2. The Snow-Storm
3. Boston Hymn
4. Give All too Love
5. Brahma
6. Concord Hymn
7. Water
8. The Rhodora
9. The Mountain and the Squirrel   
10. Terminus
    

Analyses presented from Poem Analysis by Emma Baldwin. Accessed 25 May 2022. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson died at the age of 78, on April 27, 1882.

 

Works by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Nature, 1836

Essays, 1841

Essays, 1844

Poems, 1847

Representative Men, 1850

English Traits, 1856

The Conduct of Life, 1860

May Day and Other Pieces, 1867

Society and Solitude, 1870

Letters and Social Aims, 1876

Natural History of intellect, 1893

 

Photo Credit:

R. W. Emerson. Public domain.

 

Resources:

1. Goring, Rosemary. (Ed.) Larousse Dictionary of Writers. (1994)

2. McGovern, Una, (Ed.) Chambers Biographical Dictionary. (New Edition). (2002)

Note: I first published this piece for Suite101.com, 26th May 2008. / Tel

(c) May 2010. Updated May 25, 2022. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.