Ralph Waldo Emerson Essay -- essays research papers

Ralph Waldo EmersonProperly Acknowledged by      Ralph Waldo Emerson certainly took his name in the history of AmericanLiterature . He lived in a time when romanticism was becoming a way of thinkingand beginning to bloom in America, the time period known as The Romantic Age.Romantic thinking stressed on human imagination and emotion rather than on basicfacts and reason. Ralph Waldo Emerson not only provided plenty of that, plainly healso nourished it and inspired many other writers of that time. "His influencecan be found in the works of Henry David Thoreau, Herman Melville, Walt Whitman,Emily Dickinson, Henry James, and Robert Frost.". No doubt, Ralph Waldo Emersonwas an astute and intellectual man who influenced American Literature and hasrightly have the credit that he deserves from historians. He has beendepicted as a leading blueprint in American thought and literature, or at leastranks up there with the very best. But there is so much more to Ra lph WaldoEmerson when we parcel out the personal hardships that he had to endure during thecourse of his spirit and when we see the type of man that he becomes. He certainlywas a man of inspiration who knew how to say himself by writing the best ofpoems and philosophical ideas with inspiration.     To get an idea of how Ralph Waldo Emerson might have become such aninspiration to the people, some background on his life is essential. Can youimagine living a life with all your loved ones passing away one by one? Apersons life could break away into severe depression, lose hope, and lose meaning.He can build a morbid outlook on life. Ralph Waldo Emerson suffered thesethings. He was born on May 25, 1803 and entered into a new world, a new nationjust beginning. Just about eight years later, his father would no longer bewith him, as William Emerson died in 1811. The Emerson family was left to alife marked by poverty. Ralphs mother, Ruth, was left as a widow having to take care of five sons. However, Ralphs life seemed to carry on smoothly. Hewould end up attending Harvard College and persue a job of teaching full time.While teaching as a junior pastor of Bostons foster Church, his life gainedmore meaning when he married Ellen Louisa Tucker. Journal entries and loveletters he wrote at that time expressed lots of feelings and emo... ...l ideas ever created. His illustrious essays are "History," "Art," "The Poet," and the famous "Self-Reliance."He gathered his essays into two volumes. The first was released in 1841, andthe second was released in 1844. Poems however, also made Emersons reputationas a well-read man. His poems were enjoyable as well as thought provoking to many."Each and All," was a poem that supported his beliefs. "The Rhodora," as wellas "The Humble Bee," and "The vitamin C Storm," touched on the greatness of nature.Emerson also expressed himself through poems such as "Uriel," "The Problem,""The Sphinx," and the well-known "Days." Many of these works of Emerson havetaken there place in the history of American literature.     Thus, we now see what truly a great man Emerson was. We gain a deeprespect for him when we consider the hardships that he had to face, how heendured those problems, and the minds that he opened and touched by hiswonderful works. In conclusion, we can truly say that Emerson is well deservingof the credit he received from historians.