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Alaa Othman

Nimer Abu Zahra

22324

December 09, 2019

American Renaissance

American literature's history extends over more than 400 years. It can be divided

into nine major periods which are; The Colonial Period, The Revolutionary Age, The Early

National Period, The American Renaissance, The Romantic Period, Realism and Naturalism, The

Beat Generation, The Modernist Period, and The Contemporary Period. Each with unique

features, noteworthy authors, and representative works.

The literature phase of the American Renaissance starts from the 1830s until the end of

the civil war. It is also called the New England Renaissance, which has been influenced and

established by leading European literature works. The creativity of literary works in religion,

politics, and culture characterizes this period.

In a darker, more pessimistic way of writing, the American Renaissance states and has

had an impact on dark Romanticism and Transcendentalism. In contrast, American society's

advancement has had a positive impact on literature. They have worked to create their own

national identity. New fields with a new spirit arose in the society during this period, and

accomplishments were of a new style.

American Renaissance writers have revealed different parts of society, focusing on the

religion, politics, philosophy, and goodness of human beings in their literary works. They

portrayed their ideas thru all the poems, short stories, novels, novellas, and essays. Over and
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above, they came with a new movement called Transcendentalism, a metaphysical theoretical

movement that focuses on religion, human nature, intellectualism, self-confidence, and other

concepts that will be addressed.

One of the popular writers of this era is Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1805-April 27,

1882). Emerson was a Harvard graduate. He's a lecturer, an essayist, and an American Thinker.

For “The American Scholar,” which is a famous speech from Ralph Waldo Emerson, he

introduced some of his thoughts on Transcendentalism. He lectured at the First Parish Church in

Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts, on August 31, 1837, to the Fi Beta Kappa Society.

He believes that the time has come to create a new American cultural heritage. Having declared

independence sixty years earlier, he says, it is now time for the United States of America and

American culture to regain control from European influence.

He introduces a cultural revival in which people view America as a center of creative

inspiration. It encourages people to be themselves and to stop being heavily influenced by the

Europeans. He advises them to avoid imitating them, too. He believes that Mankind is naturally

good and that his potential is boundless.

Emerson, as well as other transcendentalists, believe in religion, yet they don't believe in

the involvement of the church. They think that God has given us the brain to think. So, we have

to believe in him through our minds. They have given people freedom of expression. They

encouraged them to transform against the control of society, church, community, and traditions.

In the discussion of the American scholar, three kinds of influence are mentioned: nature,

books, and action. First, he discusses the differences between this gathering and the athletic and

dramatic contests of ancient Greece, the poetry contests of the Middle Ages, and the scientific

academies of nineteenth-century Europe.

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Three kinds of influence are mentioned in the discussion of the American scholar: nature,

books, and action. First, he addresses the similarities between this assembly and the athletic and

dramatic contests of ancient Greece, the poetry contests of the Middle Ages and the scientific

academies in Europe of the nineteenth century. It is a concept which ties together the whole

essay: the notion of an autonomous American intelligentsia that will no longer rely on its

European heritage for authority.

This seems like what one writer says was “The First Clarion of the American Literary

Revolution,” a request for Americans to pursue their creative inspiration by using America as

their origin, much as Walt Whitman would do in Leaves of Grass eighteen years later. In the

second paragraph, Emerson's theme, “The American Scholar,” is not an entity, but an abstract

concept.

According to the old fable, there was only “One Man” who was split into many people so

that civilization could work more efficiently. Everyone in the community is relevant and has to

do their job to be a successful system. As he states, “Man is not a farmer, or a professor, or an

engineer, but he is all. Man is a priest, a scholar, a statesman, a producer, and a soldier.” Also, a

“Man Thinking,” the scholar is now a “mere thinker,” an issue which Emerson aims to address

effectively by re-warning his audience of how the real scholar is trained and what the duties of

this scholar were. “Man Thinking,” represents the potential of the scholar, and conceivably all

human.

A year before that lecture, Emerson had released another work called nature, a pioneering

essay on the development of Transcendentalism, and established, together with other leading

transcendental thinkers, the so-called Transcendental Club in Massachusetts, subsequent

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meetings between thinkers who broadly shared common beliefs as well as mutual frustration

with the American intellectual environment.

By saying “nature,” Emerson introduced the concept of creation in his speech. In these

two sections of the first chapter on how a scholar should be taught, Emerson describes nature as

an educator who instructs individuals who analyze the natural world to see, ultimately, how close

their minds and nature are. The first similarity he involves the notion of revolving force – a

theme common to the readers of the essay Nature found in nature and the heart of the scholar. All

existence and the spirit of the thinker “whose beginning, whose ending he never can find so

entire, so boundless,” is everlasting.

Therefore, nature is the first and the strongest instructor because it's safe and has

unlimited resources. Ashe said, “What is nature to him? There is never a beginning, there is

never an end”. Transcendentalists believe that Man has to benefit from nature and this is the

concept which Emerson brought forward in his essay.

A person discovers the laws of nature and can understand them because they are related

to the workings of the intellect. Gradually, we understand that nature and — both from what

Emerson terms “one root” — are twin soul systems that mimic each other (Emerson's concept for

“parallel” may be misleading; he suggests that nature is the “opposite” of the soul). Thereby, a

greater knowledge of existence contributes to a greater understanding of the self and vice versa.

The maxims “Know thyself” and “Study nature” are similar: they are two forms of saying the

same thing.

The next significant influence of the scholar is the mind of the past. He claimed, “Books

are the best type of the influence of the past.” Emerson devotes a great deal of his discourse to a

second impact on the mind, historical reading or the effect of books. He points out that books
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contain knowledge of the past, but he claims that these books pose a great threat. While it is true

that books turn just facts (“short-lived actions”) into realities (“immortal thoughts”), each book is

a partial truth, predisposed to the standards of society when it was published. Every generation

must build its books and find for itself its truths.

After this appeal for every generation to establish the reality, Emerson dwells on other

hazards in literature. They're risky, he claims because they're enticing the scholar away from the

original thinking. Excessive reverence for the wisdom of past thinkers can prevent us from

exploring new ideas and finding individualized truths.

The worst instance of slavish deference for previous thinkers is a bookworm, a pedant

that spends his attention on insignificant scholarship problems and lacks big fundamental

concepts. Such type of person is passive which is uncreative, and is the antithesis to Emerson's

concept of creative imagination: “Man hopes. Genius creates. To create, - to create, - is the proof

of a divine presence.” The anti-creative bookworm is more morally distanced from God – and

hence from nature – than the thinker of the independent thought.

However, the genius can suffer from the influence of books. Emerson's example of this

kind of sufferer is the English dramatic poets, who have been “Shakespearized” for two hundred

years: Rather than producing new, original texts and thoughts, they mimic Shakespeare's

writings. Citing an Arabic proverb that says that one fig tree fertilizes Emerson suggests that true

scholars should resort to books only when their own creative genius is blocked.

In the other section, Emerson reflects on the scholar's demand for action and physical

labor. He dismisses the idea that scholars should not indulge in practical action. Action is still

considered necessary: “Action is with the scholar subordinate, but it is essential.” The
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transcendental idea of the universe as a reflection of oneself allows behavior the inevitable

obligation of a thinking person.

Emerson states the gap between recent actions and past actions. He states that past

actions of an individual are converted into emotion, but recent deeds are too intertwined with

current emotions to experience this shift. He compares the “new act” with an insect larva, which

gradually turns into a butterfly- a representation of an action that has become thought.

Overall, he recognizes work as important in and of itself, for such action is the substance

that is freely used by scholars an active person has a richer experience than a scholar who is

simply experiencing a second-hand experience through the thoughts of others. The ideal life has

an “undulation”, a pattern that balances or alternates, thought and action, work, and

contemplation: “A great soul will be strong to live, as well as strong to think.” This process

produces a person's character that is far superior to recognition or respect that is too readily

anticipated by a simple show of higher learning.

Since Emerson addressed how culture, books, and action affect scholars, he is now

discussing the role of scholars in society. He defines these duties in general, abstract terms; he

instead applies them to the particular situation of the American scholar. The first and most

important duty of a scholar is to develop self-confidence and a mind that will be a source of

wisdom for others. This is a difficult task because the scholars must undergo poverty, hardship,

tedium, social isolation, and other things while on the path of knowledge.

The real scholar is dedicated to preserving the wisdom of the past and is obliged to

communicate the noblest thoughts and sentiments to the public. This last obligation implies the

scholar's work- “who raises himself from private considerations, and breathes and lives on public

illustrious thoughts" must also remain independent of thinking and judgment regardless of
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popular opinion, fad, reputation or expediency. Since scholars explore common concepts, those

possessed by the universal human mind will communicate with people of all classes and ages:

“He is the world's eye He is the world's heart.”

Emerson ends his essay by apologizing for his focus on transcendental thought rather

than on the theories of the past centuries of Western civilization. He contrasts the growth of

American culture with that of an adult child. This describes the first half of the 1800s as a period

of doubt and disappointment. Transitional periods such as the one in which he and his audience

are at the moment he delivers his message, are a time to compare the old with the new.

Throughout his lengthy final paragraph, Emerson addresses the value of the person. He

maintains the American reliance on the person, which he wrote about in his essay “Self-

Reliance,” which is an essential, profoundly American principle. It motivates American scholars

to bravely share this fresh wisdom with the world.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was born in Boston on May 25, 1803, was a transcendental

poet, essayist, and a philosopher. In 1821, he became the principal of a girl's school. He became

a transcendentalist in 1823 and became the face of the movement. This influenced his best-

known essay, on "Self-Reliance." He served as a mentor and friend to fellow transcendentalist

Henry David Thoreau. Nicknamed Sage of Concord, Emerson continued to lecture and write

until the late 1870s. He was considered a major intellectual voice in the United States. He died in

Concord, Massachusetts, on April 27, 1882.

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Mignon, Charles W. and H Rose. (2019). About The American Scholar. [online]

Cliffsnotes.com. Available at: https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/e/emersons-

essays/summary-and-analysis-of-the-american-scholar/about-the-american-scholar [Accessed 2

Nov. 2019].

Google Books. (2010). Emerson's Essays. [online] Available at:

https://books.google.ps/books?id=uK9VhRSJeG8C&dq=inauthor:%22Ralph+Waldo+Emerson

%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiRrael-KjmAhUBuaQKHbbdDjsQ6AEIJjAA [Accessed 10

Nov. 2019].

Encyclopedia Britannica. (2019). Renaissance | Definition, Meaning, & Facts. [online]

Available at: https://www.britannica.com/event/Renaissance [Accessed 3 Nov. 2019].

SuperSummary. (2019). The American Scholar Summary & Study Guide |

SuperSummary. [online] Available at: http://www.supersummary.com/the-american-

scholar/summary/ [Accessed 15 Nov. 2019].

Saylor Academy. (2019). ENGL405: The American Renaissance | Saylor Academy.

[online] Available at: https://learn.saylor.org/course/ENGL405 [Accessed 19 Nov. 2019].

Transcendentalist Hermeneutics. (1990). Duke University Press Books.

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Transcendentalism: Impact on American Literature." Study.com, 22 August 2013,

study.com/academy/lesson/transcendentalism-impact-on-american-literature.html