The Poetry of Emerson by Ralph Waldo Emerson
"The Poetry of Emerson" by Ralph Waldo Emerson delves into the nature of poetry, advocating for an organic form that transcends mere musicality or meter. Emerson posits that true poetry emerges from deep philosophical truth and personal experience, emphasizing that a poem’s worth lies in its ability to convey profound insights rather than just emotional appeals through rhythm. He argues that the poet should intuitively connect with the "Over-Soul," the universal spirit that guides humanity, and translate these impressions into unembellished verse.
Central to Emerson's philosophy is the belief in the unity of nature, where beauty is found in the interconnectedness of all things. He critiques traditional poetic forms, favoring a style that is spontaneous and reflective of natural truths. While acknowledging the challenges of applying his theory, he exemplifies it in his own works, such as "Days" and "The Rhodora." Despite Emerson's limited output, his ideas on organic art mark a significant departure from established norms and have influenced subsequent generations of poets, highlighting his role in shaping a uniquely American poetic voice.
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The Poetry of Emerson by Ralph Waldo Emerson
First published:Poems, 1847; May-Day and Other Pieces, 1867; Selected Poems, 1876
Critical Evaluation:
In his essay “The Poet,” Emerson expresses his belief that poetry, like any art, should be organic rather than simply metrically or musically beautiful:
For it is not metres, but a metre-making argument, that makes a poem,—a thought so passionate and alive, that, like the spirit of a plant or an animal, it has an architecture of its own, and adorns nature with a new thing. . . . The poet has a new thought: he has a whole new experience to unfold; he will tell us how it was with him, and all men will be the richer in his fortune.
It is Emerson’s thesis that poetry should not be an embellished art, but a living form which corresponds to higher truth. Like Poe, Emerson believed that true art is the creation of beauty, but he had quite different ideas about what can be considered beautiful. Where Poe believed that the chief merit of poetry is found in its rhythmical beauty and ability to arouse emotion, Emerson held that the worth of a poem lies in its philosophical truth. Emerson likewise believed that the mind of the poet is not “a music-box of delicate tunes and rhythms,” but an instrument by which mankind is enlightened. In other words, the verse itself is worthless unless it is an integral part of the truth it conveys:
For verse is not a vehicle to carry a sentence as a jewel is carried in a case: the verse must be alive, and inseparable from its contents, as the soul of man inspires and directs the body.
Emerson is no less specific in his views concerning the way in which a poet proceeds to create this type of poem. The true poet, to Emerson, is one who is able to intuit impressions from the “Over-Soul” (that universal truth and spirit of mankind which directs all thinking men) and to relate, through verse, instructive truth found within these impressions. This process entails first a testing of the authority of the impressions (whether they be inferior or superior) and then a spontaneous translation of them, without revision, into poetry. Thus the poet is not a carpenter of entertaining sounds, a man of talent, but rather one who instructs, a man of genius.
Finally, Emerson believed that poetry should be of a specific thematic nature: ideally, a poem should show the unity in nature. Beauty, to Emerson, is that quality of likeness in all of nature’s objects; consequently, in order for a poem to be truly beautiful it must demonstrate the unity which exists in the diverse objects in nature.
Emerson views the poem, the poet, and the creative process as being integral parts of true poetry. The poet must be of a certain character, in effect a philosophical mystic who intuits truth. He must be able to place this truth on paper with strict economy and without revision, with the resulting poem being an unembellished, organic chronicle of the unity of nature.
Emerson’s poetic theory is extremely Platonic and typical of his whole Transcendental doctrine concerning the objectives of the true genius, or “man thinking.” Yet Emerson would probably be the first to admit that, while his theory is quite beautiful, its practical application is difficult. Emerson himself applied it completely to only one of his own poems, “Days.” The poem, which is concerned with the duality of the ideal and the real, is a sort of poetic parable of man’s mortality.
Daughters of Time, the hyprocritic
About these lines Emerson said, “I have written within a twelve-month verses which I do not remember the composition or correction of, and could not write the like today, and have only, for proof of their being mine, various external evidences as the manuscript in which I find them. . . .”
On the whole, Emerson’s shorter poems are considered superior to his longer ones, and of these “Days,” “The Rhodora,” “The Snow-Storm,” “Concord Hymn,” and “Each and All” are the most representative of Emerson’s verse. “Days,” for example, is one of the best of Emerson’s personal poems. “The Rhodora,” on the other hand, shows nature generalized. In this poem Emerson presents the organic theme of the unity in nature’s plan symbolized by the beauty of a secluded flower.
Rhodora! if the sages ask thee why
Another approach used by Emerson was to present the beauty of nature in simple, descriptive verse. In “The Snow-Storm” the poet describes the power and beauty which exist simultaneously in this natural force.
Announced by all the trumpets of the
Equally as uncomplicated in theme and presentation are Emerson’s occasional poems such as “Concord Hymn,” which was composed for the dedication of a monument to those who fought at the Battle of Concord.
By the rude bridge that arched the
The most significant of Emerson’s poems, however, are those in which he attempts to present his ideas of the organic unity in nature. One of the best known of these poems is “Each and All,” a well-organized work concerning the interdependence of all created objects. Emerson begins with the general statement that
All are needed by each one;
He then substantiates this belief by listing three representative instances of objects losing their beauty when they are removed from the whole natural context: the sparrow’s song without the river and sky, the delicate sea shells without the seashore, and the graceful maid without the “virgin train.” Finally, the poet sees the woodland and is able to recall the joy of nature which he experienced as a child, and he concludes:
Again I saw, again I heard,
“Brahma” is another of Emerson’s attempts to explain his philosophy of nature in verse. Here Brahma, the first-person speaker, symbolizes to Emerson the “world soul” or “Over-soul” which gives meaning to all creation:
If the red slayer think he slays,
One cannot help noticing the similarity between the theme in these lines and the overall idea of Whitman’s poetry: the belief that there is a divine plan and a divine order in which nothing is without significance.
Closely akin to the theme of the organic nature of things is Emerson’s description of the problem of artistic creativity which he depicts in his essay “The Poet” and in the poems “The Problem” and “Merlin.” In “The Problem” the poet states that, like nature, art must be organic, and he uses the Parthenon and the Pyramids as examples of organic art:
Earth proudly wears the Parthenon,
In order to be in tune with nature, the artist must be free from any tradition or routine which could stifle his creativity and prevent him from being artistically organic. Thus the priest in the poem represents one whose creative freedom is suppressed, and he is contrasted with the poet-speaker:
I like a church; I like a cowl;
Emerson first found this philosophy of organic art in the works of Coleridge, and it was his ambition as a poet to become such an artist. In “Merlin” he expresses his belief that poetry like that of Poe, which relies on meter and rhyme, is devoid of any real depth:
No jingling serenader’s art,
It was, rather, mystical verse such as Coleridge’s own “Kubla Khan” that was Emerson’s goal.
Emerson wrote his first poem at the age of ten, was chosen class poet at Harvard, and published only three volumes of poetry during his lifetime. Although he had a wide range of knowledge extending from Oriental mysticism to Plato, and though he knew what he wanted to write and how it should be written, nevertheless he could not become the free-spirited poet he describes, nor could he break with the traditions which he fought.
Many critics believe that Emerson’s primary ability was as a poet, not as a prose writer. Certainly his poems are more concise than his prose and lack the slow development of thought, while containing the essence of his ideas. Like his essays, however, his poems are poorly organized and are lacking in the organic quality which he speaks of so frequently. Actually, his descriptions of what poetry should be serve as an excellent preface to a study of Whitman’s poetry; for it is the style and theme found in Whitman’s works that Emerson probably would have liked to produce. Only in a very few of his own poems did Emerson succeed in becoming an inspired, organic poet.
Whatever else may be said, Emerson showed the desire of American writers to express themselves in a truly creative fashion rather than through the traditional modes. While Emerson may have failed to produce great works of art, one must consider that what he was attempting was extremely new and that the ideas he tried to present are by no means simple. Indeed, many of his poems are excellent, and in a relative sense he was a good poet. Nevertheless, it is for his poetic theory that he should be valued. His theory of organic art was truly modern and heralded the age which was to follow. If one contrasts his poetic theory with that of the eighteenth century tradition which he faced, one can realize that Emerson was not the traditional poet that he is generally said to be.