Ralph Waldo Emerson
American essayist, lecturer and poet (1803–1882) who led the transcendentalist movement.
At a glance
Main ideas
Self-reliance, The infinitude of the private man, Nature and the Soul …
See all 5Books to start with
Nature, Essays: First Series, Essays: Second Series …
See all 5Connections
Henry David Thoreau, Thomas Carlyle and 2 others
See all 4
Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionist and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century.
- He left the Unitarian ministry in 1832 and set out transcendentalism in his 1836 essay Nature.
- He wrote most of his essays as lectures, giving some 1,500 over his life, and his two collections of Essays hold the core of his thinking.
- He championed individualism and criticised the pressure of society toward conformity.
- He was a mentor and close friend of Henry David Thoreau.
Why it matters
- He is a linchpin of American Romanticism; Nietzsche called him "the most gifted of the Americans" and Walt Whitman called him his "master".
Key facts
- Born
- 25 May 1803, Boston, Massachusetts1
- Died
- 27 Apr 1882, of pneumonia; buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, Massachusetts1
- Education
- Boston Latin School from 1812; Harvard College, graduated 1821; Harvard Divinity School from late 18241
- Minister
- Junior pastor of Boston's Second Church from 11 Jan 1829; resigned in 18321
- Transcendental Club
- Planned with Frederic Henry Hedge, George Putnam and George Ripley on 8 Sep 18361
- The Dial
- Took over editing the transcendentalists' journal from Margaret Fuller; it ran from 1840-07 to 1844-041
- Divinity School Address
- 15 Jul 1838 at Harvard; it denied that Jesus was God and outraged the establishment1
- Abolition
- An ardent abolitionist from 1844; denounced the Fugitive Slave Act in 18511
Main ideas
-
Self-reliance2
Each person should avoid conformity and false consistency and follow their own instincts: "Trust thyself".
-
The infinitude of the private man1
"In all my lectures, I have taught one doctrine, namely, the infinitude of the private man."
-
Nature and the Soul1
"Philosophically considered, the universe is composed of Nature and the Soul"; God is not separate from the world.
-
The Over-Soul1
Within each person is "the soul of the whole", a unity in which every particular being is made one with all others.
-
Intellectual independence1
"The American Scholar" (1837) declared American literary independence; it was called America's "intellectual Declaration of Independence".
Books to start with
The line under a date fills as it gets older: empty when new, full at 2 years.
Connections
Related
- Henry David ThoreauMentor and close friend from 1837
- Thomas CarlylePersonMet in 1833; a strong influence; they corresponded until Carlyle's death in 1881
- Matthew ArnoldPersonLectured on Emerson in North America in 1883 and 1884
Writes
Links
Sources
Last checked against its sources today
Is something on this page wrong or out of date? Tell us
The line under a date fills as time passes: empty when new, then one equal share each for a day, a week, a month and a year. For episodes and other items it is full at 2 years; for "last checked", at a year. A striped line means the date is known only to the month or year.