Emerson And Transcendentalism

Research Paper Ralph Waldo Emerson is undoubtedly one of the fathers of American literature. He was also a founder of Transcendentalism, which was a large philosophical movement that began in 1836. Ralph was a poet, a writer and one of the most famous philosophers of the nineteenth century. His influence, shown through his work includes a book, various poems, and papers as well as his actions that include his lectures. His work showed his beliefs of self-reliance and that nature is the key to enlightenment. He believes that by following his ideas of religion and philosophy such as non-conformity, it will fix all of human’s life problems. His book, Nature, is known to be the single work that served as a base for creating Transcendentalism.
The essay was the basis for transcendentalism. (“Transcendentalism.”). It contains eight sections that consist of the titles Nature, Commodity, Beauty, Language, Discipline, Idealism, Spirit, and Prospects. This work portrays Emerson’s belief that a deep connection with nature will lead to one’s being able to understand reality. He believes that people must first escape from their busy lives into nature in order to be in true solitude (Lewis.). He explains that after humans are in solitude, “We return to reason and faith” (Lewis). From this point, a human will begin to see all that nature has given them, realize its significance, and begin to appreciate it far more than before. He conceived the belief that everything in nature is connected with one another and that said “the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God” (Lewis). He tells us that all things in the universe are not separate, but make up one and if we escape into solitude and become one with nature, we will feel a deep connection with this being and our own souls. Emerson shows us how we rely on nature for tangible things. We rely on things such as the sun and the wind to receive the commodities we need in order to live (Lewis.). Another part of nature, beauty, is explained to give us three things. “To the body and mind which have been cramped by noxious work or company, nature is medicinal and
Walt Whitman was a Humanist, writer, poet who was affected by the influence of Ralph Waldo Emerson (Folsom). Evidence of this influence is found in a letter that Emerson gave to Whitman at the beginning of Whitman’s career. “I find it the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet contributed.”(Belasco). This letter from Emerson was meant to encourage Walt Whitman to publish one of his famous works “Leaves of Grass” and remain in pursuit of his career in writing and poetry. It is considered one of the most famous letters ever written to an aspiring writer (Belasco). This letter inspired Whitman to follow his career partially because this encouragement was from an already famous figure and a voice in literature. Henry David Thoreau is another person that Emerson inspired. Although Emerson was almost 15 years older than Thoreau was, they became very close friends very fast (Harris). Emerson even took Thoreau into his home for two years, practically making him a part of his family (Harris). Their ideas were somewhat similar, which originally brought them together, but they were also very different in many ways. Without all of the encouragement and support Emerson showed towards Thoreau and his work, it is unlikely that Thoreau would have been nearly as successful. A third person, which Emerson has influenced in a significant way, is