AGENDA- JANUARY 21ST, 2014

• Freshmen:• SSR• Myth of the Day• Begin…Odyssey

• Juniors:• SSR• Emerson and

Aphorisms• Aphorisms Explained

(wkst)

RALPH WALDO EMERSON

• Page 216• Transcendentalist

writer and poet• Expressed the

advantages of a young land—the possibilities, freedom, energy, etc.

RALPH WALDO EMERSON

• Appealed to both intellectuals and the general populace• Describes himself as

a POET—”in the sense of a perceiver and dear lover of the harmonies that are in the soul and in matter”

FAMILY LIFE

• Born in 1803 to a poor but cultured family• Son of a minister• Pressured to go to

Harvard• His life was a series of

attempts to establish his own identity against expectations

TRAGEDY AND CHANGE

• Studied philosophy and theology in college• Got married, she

died 17 months later, and he abandoned religion and his pulpit• Traveled Europe,

conversed with poets of the age

THE INFLUENCE OF A WOMAN

• Ellen Tucker• Met Christmas Day,

and was captivated by her spirit and beauty• She loved nature,

had wit and a mind of her own, and intended to become a poet

THE INFLUENCE OF A WOMAN

• Suffered from Tuberculosis• The couple knew the

time they had together would be short• Wrote love letters• Happy time for

Emerson—a time of remarkable intellectual and emotional growth

THE INFLUENCE OF A WOMAN

• Her condition worsened• His sermons

became increasingly about death• He wrote love

poems for her and prepared for the inevitable

HER LOSS• Ellen died at age 19• Emerson felt his

personal world was cur off from the natural world, as he was cut off from Ellen—”unstrung, debilitated by grief”• Clung to the idea that

her spirit survived the death of her body• Never outlived the

sense of loss created by her death• Separation became his

reality

RETURN TO US

• Returned to the US, remarried, and began to lecture• Denied the

importance of the past• “Idea of Man”-

individual souls were part of a larger identity (“Over-Soul”)

WRITING• Wrote:• “The American Scholar”-

told American writers to unchain themselves from Europe’s learning

• “The Divinity School Address” – rejection of institutionalized religion in favor a personal connection with God

• “Nature”- divinity and identity is reflected in the natural world

• “Self-Reliance”- emphasized the importance of standing alone, not relying on instutitions

TWILIGHT OF AN IDOL

• His home, Concord, became a destination for young truth-seekers• Society responded

to his optimism- they were at the dawn of a new age

TRAGEDY AND DEATH• In 1842, his son,

Waldo, dies.• Emerson becomes

an emotional shell, and never really recovers• Begins losing his

memory, even the power of speech• Dies a recluse

APHORISM

•SHORT STATEMENTS THAT EXPRESS WISE OR CLEVER OBSERVATIONS ABOUT LIFE.