Ralph Waldo Emerson Biography
Ralph Waldo Emerson was born on May 25, 1803. Emerson is most well known for being a leader in Transcendentalism, two of his most famous essays being Self-Reliance and Nature. Three of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s brothers died before they became adults. In Emerson’s youth he attended Boston Latin School, then Harvard University, and from there the Harvard School of divinity where he studied to be a minister. In 1931 Emerson’s first wife died whom he’d been married to 1829. That grief along with his own crisis in his faith, led to him leaving his position in the clergy to go to Europe to meet and talk to some philosophers and writers oh which he looked up to; Thomas Carlyle, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth. Upon returning to America he started lecturing on Ethics and Spiritualness of individuals, core parts of transcendentalism.
Nature and Self-Reliance were two pieces of literature written by Emerson. Nature, published in 1836, talks about people’s tendencies to accept the present condition of the world based off of the past and how it always had been. In the essay Emerson also goes into the beauty of nature and it’s ability to help a person simplify their life and live peacefully and connect with their spirituality. He also points out how nature can enhance a person’s intellect. Nature overall is something that helps connect a man to spirituality and the universe. Self-reliance, published in 1841, explains the importance of being yourself and relying on only yourself. To imitate anyone else would be to destroy who you are. Because you are a human with a soul, you should trust your instincts and what your heart tells you to do over logic. Emerson also writes that the only good which can come to you must come of your own efforts. These two pieces of literature are monumental in the transcendentalist movement.
Nature and Self-Reliance were two pieces of literature written by Emerson. Nature, published in 1836, talks about people’s tendencies to accept the present condition of the world based off of the past and how it always had been. In the essay Emerson also goes into the beauty of nature and it’s ability to help a person simplify their life and live peacefully and connect with their spirituality. He also points out how nature can enhance a person’s intellect. Nature overall is something that helps connect a man to spirituality and the universe. Self-reliance, published in 1841, explains the importance of being yourself and relying on only yourself. To imitate anyone else would be to destroy who you are. Because you are a human with a soul, you should trust your instincts and what your heart tells you to do over logic. Emerson also writes that the only good which can come to you must come of your own efforts. These two pieces of literature are monumental in the transcendentalist movement.