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Ralph Waldo Emerson's Influence on the Poetry of W. Whitman and E. Dickinson
During 19th century American literature, orthodox teachings and values are evident in most literary works, which is an evidence of the strong influence religion has over the American society. It is noted that during this period, a new form of religion is emerging as one of the dominant religious organizations in the West, particularly the Protestant religion. Ralph Waldo Emerson is one example of a 19th century literary poet that influenced his contemporaries with his highly influential works that illustrate his religious background and belief.
Emerson's distinct character of showing his personal religious beliefs in his poem will be discussed in this paper. In line with this discussion, an analysis of two poets will also be discussed in order to show how Emerson's influence has affected each...
Two poets that have been influenced by Emerson's poetry style and concept are Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson.
Walt Whitman is an American poet who is known for his characteristic style of depicting issues that focus on the worth of an individual and humanity. Emerson's influence over Whitman's poetry is evident in his collection of poems in "Leaves of Grass." Whitman's poem collection is a response to Emerson's call for a distinct and true American culture delivered in 1842. Emily Dickinson, similarly, is an American poet that has been greatly influenced by Emerson's works and writings. Like Emerson, Dickinson subsisted to the belief of transcendentalism, a philosophy wherein people believe that there is a higher reality that is found beyond the faculties of human knowledge and experience as well as reason.
The theme…
Walt Whitman is an American poet who is known for his characteristic style of depicting issues that focus on the worth of an individual and humanity. Emerson's influence over Whitman's poetry is evident in his collection of poems in "Leaves of Grass." Whitman's poem collection is a response to Emerson's call for a distinct and true American culture delivered in 1842. Emily Dickinson, similarly, is an American poet that has been greatly influenced by Emerson's works and writings. Like Emerson, Dickinson subsisted to the belief of transcendentalism, a philosophy wherein people believe that there is a higher reality that is found beyond the faculties of human knowledge and experience as well as reason.
The theme of transcendentalism is evident in one of Emerson's poems, entitled, "The Amulet." In this particular poem, Emerson expresses his belief in immaterial concepts and ideas, as contradicted by the physical belief that the amulet elicits from the individual or its owner. The poet first establishes the "powers" that amulets can give to people before contradicting and illustrating the futility that humans get out of these amulets. In describing it, Emerson describes that the amulet "keeps intelligence with you / Red when you love... And when you love not, pale and blue." However, the strong power that the amulet possesses is contradicted in the last stanza of the poem. The poet develops his thought fully in the last part of the poem, where he finally states that: "... love / Died in its last expression." By saying this, Emerson shows how, despite the metaphysical powers of amulets have over forcing someone to love another, it sacrifices one important thing needed in loving, which is precisely love itself.
Whitman and Dickinson follows suit in illustrating the theme of transcendentalism in their poetry. In Whitman's "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer," the poet expresses his dismay at the seemingly scientific and technical way of looking at Nature, one of the extraordinary wonders of the world. Dickinson, on the other hand, illustrates in her poem, "A Word is Dead," how a linguistic symbol like a word can possess 'human-like' characteristics. This point is illustrated when Dickinson expressed in her poem, "I say it just / Begins to live / That day." These two examples of poems show Emerson's influence in placing priority in humanity and abstractness over scientific and materialistic elements.
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