Essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson
October 21, 1985
A review of "The Over-Soul," "Intellect," and "The Poet."
Copyright © 1997 Property of Deborah K. Fletcher. All rights reserved.
Each of these essays was titled in direct accordance with the subject matter that is discussed in it.
Emerson's essays do not have point of view in the manner of a novel. There are no characters, and there is no story line.
The essays are extremely didactic. Each states its topic, enlarges upon it, and explains the various facets of it.
The figurative language is well used and effective. Particularly effective is the personification of the elements of nature through deific capitalization. In "The Over-Soul," words such as "Unity," "Over-Soul," "Wisdom," and "One" are capitalized. The phrase "Justice we see and know, Love, Freedom, Power," seems to illustrate the use of capitalization very well.
In "Intellect," natural figuratism is effectively used. At one point, Emerson wrote, "All our progress is an unfolding, like the vegetable bud. You have first and instict, then an opinion, then a knowledge, as a plant has root, bud, and fruit." In this work, capitalization is also used, as it is in "The Over-Soul."
In "The Poet," the ancient deities are referred to. These, combined with the traditional Christian deity, and the philosophical answer for deity, become a form of figuratism. "For the Universe has three children, born at the same time..., Jove, Pluto, Neptune;... the Father, the Sirit, and the Son;... the Knower, the Doer, and the Sayer," may seemn to be an unusual combination of names, yet it is meant to stand for "... the love of truth, for the love of good, and for the love of beauty." The passage also illustrates, again, figurative capitalization.
The vocabulary in Emerson's essays is that of an educated man addressing an educated audience. The meaning is somewhat difficult to grasp. The language is, however, appropriate to the essays.
The essays read rather slowly, as they are similar in content to schoolroom lectures on philosophy. The pace is also affected by the didactic nature of the works. Their purpose can be realized early in each work and, therefore, the reader is compelled to attempt to learn from the essays.
Overall, the essays were very formal. The manner was still. There were no colloquialisms in these works.
The theme of "The Over-Soul" is that there is a higher Being which contains the minds and souls of all mankind. It states that "With each divine impulse the mind rends the thin rinds of the visible and finite, and comes out into eternity, and inspires and expires its air. It converses with truths that have always been spoken in the world,..."
The theme of "Intellect" is that "Intellect is the simple power anterior to all action or construction." It deals with existence for the sake of existence, rather than with existence for material gain.
The theme of "The Poet" is that certain members of mankind are capable of making sense of the universe and of translating that sense into art, music, or poetry. "... this hidden truth, that the fountains whence all this river of time and its creatures floweth are intrinsically ideal and beautiful, draws us to the consideration of the nature and functions of the Poet, or the man of Beauty;..."
In all, Emerson's essays are highly educational and exceptionally well written.
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