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Nation’s Strength
Central Idea: A Nation’s Strength is a beautiful patriotic poem written
by R.W. Emerson. In this tiny poem, the poet reveals the secret of a
nation’s strength. The poet asks several questions to discover the
secret of the nation’s strength and he himself answers these
questions. He says that the strength of a nation lies not in the wealth,
power and pride but in its patriotic and determined men.

The poet says that it is not gold and silver that can make a nation
great and strong, but it is the people who sacrifice for their country
and make it great and strong. According to the poet, it is the brave
men of a nation who work hard while others sleep and build the
nation’s pillars deep and lift them to the sky. So it is not the riches but
the honest and brave people that make a nation great.
Gold and material progress cannot make a nation strong. Material
progress cannot provide a strong base for a nation. The foundation
made on the basis of wealth is like one made on sinking sand. How
much grand a kingdom might be, war will destroy its material
progress. The poet also states that many empires have disappeared
as a result of the battles they fought. Their glory had decayed.
The poet goes on to say that the pride of a nation doesn’t lie in
wearing glittering crowns. Soon, this pride reduces to ashes. The
lustre and shine of the country lies with the people who are willing to
sacrifice everything for the sake of the nation. They work hard while
others sleep. They raise the prestige of the country and build its
pillars deep to make its foundation strong. Such people are the
reason for the success of the nation.
A national consciousness can only become a universal one if there are
unfalteringly strong ideas which are shared among those who hold it.
Emerson, through “A Nation’s Strength” facilitates the development
of such an idea, through the notion of a great nation. By dismissing
wealth, violence and pride, factors which divide people’s opinions
greatly, and providing the image of a recipe for greatness which
requires only the relentless human spirit, he is not only uniting the
consciousness of a nation, but also paving the way for tangible
development.