Holgado 1 Miguel Holgado Mrs.

Willingham English I 4 27 May 2008 Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American poet, philosopher, essayist, and lecturer, was a very well-known literary figure of the nineteenth century and was one of the most influential ones of his time. According to critic Mark van Doren, Ralph Waldo Emerson was the prophet of his generation, (Ralph Waldo Emerson 58).However, from his birth to his thirties, Emerson did nothing to distinguish himself from respectable mediocrity, the contributor for Concise Dictionary of American Biography noted (Ralph Waldo Emerson 59). He was born on May 25, 1803, in Boston, Massachusetts in the United States, and is the son of William Emerson, and Ruth Haskins. Emerson also had five siblings, none of which became well-known or famous. At the time of Emersons birth, Thomas Jefferson, the president of the United States, extended the western border of the country to the Rocky Mountains through the Louisiana Purchase. As a child, he attended the Boston Public Latin School, the oldest public school in the United States. In 1821, Emerson attended Harvard College, and then went to Harvard Divinity School at Cambridge in 1825 and 1827. In 1829, he settled in Concord, Massachusetts, where he would live the majority of his life. On September 30, in the same year he moved to Concord, Emerson married Ellen Tucker, but she unfortunately died of tuberculosis about two years later. Emerson then married Lydia Jackson three years later and had four children: Edith, Edward, Ellen, and Waldo. In 1833, he began a career as a public lecturer and philosopher, speaking on a variety

Holgado 2 of subjects. Over the years, Emerson began writing hundreds of poems and essays, some of which were inspired by his lectures. In addition, Emersons poems and essays were profoundly influenced by the events taking place in nineteenth-century America (Yanella 7). He did not receive any major awards for his writing, but he did receive the admiration and appreciation of his readers. During the times of the Civil War, Emerson opposed slavery and aggressively campaigned for its abolition. Over time, his memory began to deteriorate, and he eventually reached senility. At 79 years old, Ralph Waldo Emerson died of complications resulting from pneumonia (Emerson, Ralph Waldo 5) on April 27, 1882. His body is now buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, in Concord, Massachusetts.

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Concord Hymn

By the rude bridge that arched the flood, Their flag to April's breeze unfurled, Here once the embattled farmers stood, And fired the shot heard round the world. The foe long since in silence slept; Alike the conqueror silent sleeps; And Time the ruined bridge has swept Down the dark stream that seaward creeps. On this green bank, by this soft stream, We set today a votive stone; That memory may their deed redeem, When, like our sires, our sons are gone. Spirit, that made those heroes dare To die, and leave their children free, Bid Time and Nature gently spare The shaft we raise to them and thee.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson (American, 1803-1882)

Holgado 4 Concord Hymn Ralph Waldo Emerson

This poem commemorates the Battle of Lexington and Concord not only as a military victory, but also as the dawning of a new age in world history (Concord Hymn 4). The poems setting is in Concord, Massachusetts, where the speaker lived most of his life. Throughout the poem, he addresses the deeper meaning of the battle by illustrating its importance, and honoring those who have fought in it. The poem is made up of four quatrains, which are stanzas that consist of four lines each and have an alternating rhyme scheme. The speaker begins at the battle site by the rude bridge (1). Here, rude is defined as crude, in order to show its state of being dilapidated by time. In line 2, the flag of the colonial troops was unfurled to Aprils breeze (2). The colonial flag referred to here was prohibited to be shown, according to the British law at the time. So unfurling it in the breeze while battling British troops was a valiant and defiant act. The speaker also says that this battle site was where the shot heard round the world was fired (4). This reveals the importance of the Battle of Lexington and Concord as the battle that sparked the eventual birth of the greatest and most influential country in the world, the United States of America. In line 5, the speaker refers to the British troops as the foe and states that they are gone forever through the alliteration silence slept. In line 6, he refers to the triumphant colonial troops as the conqueror and states that their spirit is still living, ready to awake at a moments notice (Concord Hymn 4) through the alliteration silent

Holgado 5 sleeps. In lines 7 and 8, the speaker goes back to the battle site and says that the bridge has been destroyed by the river of Time, just like the colonial troops who battled there. In line 10, the word "votive" means devoted in accomplishment of a pledge or vow, or representing a wish. In this case, the wish is that the votive stone (10) will remind future generations of what took place here. In line 12, the speaker uses the word sires instead of fathers in order to form alliteration with the word sons and create a more improved sound effect. This improved sound effect accentuates the connection between the past and future generations. In lines 13 and 14, the speaker addresses himself to the Spirit that (13) gave the colonial troops the courage to stand on the bridge and stare down the most fearsome and formidable military power at the time, the British army. The poem ends with the monument not only honoring the deceased colonial troops, but to their spirit of freedom and liberty. Furthermore, the monument commemorates the other inalienable rights they believed they were [forever] endowed with (Concord Hymn 5). Here, the speaker remembers the ruined bridge (7) that Timehas swept (7) away, and requests future generations that the monument be spared a fate similar to that of the bridge. In this way, the speaker pays his final tribute to the colonial troops who died for our freedom. As a result, the poem has been successful in commemorating the Battle of Lexington and Concord.

Holgado 6 Works Cited "Concord Hymn." Poetry for Students. Ed. Mary K. Ruby. Vol. 4. Detroit: Gale, 1999. 2940. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale. THE WOODLANDS HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY. 14 May 2008 <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=GVRL&u=tlc069023139>. Concord Hymn by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Famous Poets and Poems.com. 20062008. 14 May 2008 <http://www.famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/ralph_waldo_emerson/poems/15 292>. "Emerson, Ralph Waldo (1803-1882)." DISCovering Biography. Online ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resource Center - Gold. Gale. THE WOODLANDS HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY. 14 May. 2008 <http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve& tabID=T001&prodId=SRC1&docId=EJ2102100565&source=gale&srcprod=SRCG&userGroupName=tlc069 023139&version=1.0>. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Authors and Artists for Young Adults. Ed. Dwayne Hayes. Vol. 60. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2005 Yanella, Donald, ed. Ralph Waldo Emerson. New York, NY: Dwayne Publishers, 1982