"Emerson and the Work of Melancholia"

Can I please just say how totally hipocritical Emerson is by completely disregarding literally everything he had been saying about Romanticism for the past, oh, I would say, lifetime? Is it not ridiculous to say that he is sort of a jerk after all of these years? Might that be fine if I were to begin a life of vegetables, solitude, and a fear of sunshine with no probable cause for any of them? Hmmm...That seems oddly familiar. I think Ralph Waldo Emerson might have said the same kind of thing when he moved into a new section of thinking - Transcendentalism. And, why again did he make this switch? Was it for a legitament reason? Um, no? Oh, ok. I see. That makes sense. Let me completely change my mind about life and living it just because I woke up this morning on the left side of the bed with only half the sheets over me. Yes, that seems quite reasonable. So, thank you for listening to my rant about how stupid Mr. Ralph Waldo Emerson is. "Yet Emerson doesn't just preach against mourning. He offers a philosophy of aggressive perpetual motion by which we can throw off circumstances before they have become confining... To begin dwelling in received forms is, for Emerson, to enter the house of mourning." ("Emerson..."). In this excerpt from Mark Edmundson's "On the Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson," Emerson is showing the transition from Romanticism as he loses the friendship of his life-partner and brother. He is the kind of person who does not believe in crying or, apparently, acceptance of loss. I do not think he really got how deep the cut was. mourning is the largest and easiest form of coping, and it seems as if he should have, at the very most extreme of a least, acknowledged both of their deaths. But, he felt it necessary to skip the mourning process because connections to those who will be lost only lead to pain in the future when they are lost. I suppose I understand this now that i am writing about it, but, I also see that if you love someone, such as your wife, you should show it by commemorating their beautiful life and glorious death as best as possible. I think Emerson was being more childish by not admitting death and glorifying their lives as they were because it takes more maturity to face a problem than to try to hide it under your false smiles. If it makes you feel any better, talk to someone about it; but do not simply cover it up with your lack of emotions. Even still, Emerson was fantastic at preaching his Romantic views. Why he gave it up must be a decision that was made hundreds of years ago when this crazy man lived. It must have been a long and thoughtful decision, but I am sure Emerson went through the process to find the correct answer. I do not know if he made the correct decision, but he is, indeed, sticking to his decision.

Works Cited

"Emerson and the Work of Melancholia." Raritan (Spring 1987). Quoted as "Emerson and the Work of Melancholia" in Bloom, Harold, ed. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Updated Edition, Bloom's Modern Critical Views. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= MCVRWE007&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 12, 2010).

Journal #21

So, there is this secret, and no one knows this secret, except for me, apparently. I am not sure how I learned this secret, but I know it must be true. Are you ready? Well, I have learned that both of these men have secret identities, and do you want to know what they really are? Actually, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Benjamin Franklin were sorcerers with the magical powers of influencing thousands of other commoners. Emerson accomplished these goals by writing spells and enchantments in the forms of essays and poems,including all sorts of long and confusing words to distract the reader while they are secretly being hypnotized into believing that Emerson is a good writer. But, in reality, these combinations of words have no real meaning and are sometimes contradicting themselves, but that is the key to a great and almighty sorcerer. When he wrote about finding the soul in solitude, he was actually implying an underlying message from within the text, itself. Luckily, we here at the United Nations Creepy Authors Guild have found a way of reading this hidden message, and we would like to share with you, the humble reader, what this underlying message is, but please understand the graphic nature of this message and the horrible possible outcomes if you are to follow its command: "Go out into nature, and stay there unto you die!" It is truly shocking. Benjamin Franklin, however, was anti-Emerson without even knowing it. His secret message from within the text was simply this, "Keep track of yourself, and simplicity follows." It seems to be apparent that Franklin was much more lax about his control over the masses, but his message is true for even today. Franklin promoted self control and staying within the boundaries of ease, but Emerson was much more about calling the folks to action. Honestly, I wish not as many people had been trapped in the works of Emerson because of the dreadful outcomes they have been known to produce.

Journal #20

I do not think it is that important to step away from society's normal routine because I will always come back to it, eventually. Besides, it is not possible to fully escape society because there are always people there with you. No matter what I do or where I go, there will always be some sort of trace of society because there is hardly anywhere we have not been. Also, I do not really want to get away from society because I like the hustle and bustle of the city. But, if I simply had to get away from everything, I think it would be beneficial because it is a time to be able to relax without the stress of daily life, which, by the way, is extremely hectic and pretty much just scary. Reflecting upon yourself is some pretty heavy stuff. To get some heavy stuff through your thoughts, you really need to concentrate on it, and what could be a better way of doing that than getting out of society? There are some times in life where you just need to escape, too. That is another good reason to go out to the wilderness or just to your place of tranquility. That is how you truly relax. You just need to find the place that makes a peace with the soul, which, by the way, is also extremely difficult. I do not actually know what else I can say about escaping from society. But, if I am still not at three-hundred and twenty-five words, I suppose I should continue writing something. Nature is so beautiful, and it has the amazing power of taking the mind off of everything going on in life. It is so simple and "down to earth" (not to be ironic) that it is no wonder that it is thought of as so relaxing. I just wish I did not have to go to school tomorrow but just spend the day outside. I really need some rest right now.

Journal #19

First of all, it is impossible to have a perfect country. There are too many people who always disagree with some sort of political issue. In other words, there is always someone who does not like your decision. But, if there were to be some way of having a perfect society in the United States, this is, I think, how I would want everything to be run. There should be one person in charge with the rest of the people giving enough input to be fair; however, the one person in charge should be the ending person. I mean that the "president" should pass all the laws, and every single citizen should be happy with the outcome. No one should fight over how something is written because everyone will eventually have to follow the rule. I really do not like how people always bash the president for the smallest things, so that would need to be eliminated in my perfect society. When a rule or law is put into effect, everyone needs to just abide by it. I do not care if you do not totally agree with it. The person in charge of everyone has said it will affect everyone. Also, the whole world really needs to use one type of currency. This whole inflation thing is destroying the economy. We need to quit borrowing money from people and quit giving free money to everyone else. It is no wonder why our country is in such an enormous debt. We owe like $40 billion to China alone because we continue to take their money just so we can give it to other countries for nothing in return. I hate America. There are so many people, too, that are just so stupid, so we should just get rid of all the stupid people. Maybe we can ship them out to Africa to live with the poor people in shanties. Basically, everyone needs to stop complaining about the way the country is being run. If everyone does that, no one will argue, and the country will be peaceful.

Poetry Explication - "Ballad of the Oysterman"

The literal meanings of the lines themselves and the overall meaning of the poem are very similar in this poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes because it is written as a dialogue with a story.

Literal Meaning:
There was a tall, young oysterman who lived by the river. He ran a shop on the bank, and his boat was just underneath it. A pretty woman lived on the opposite side of the river from him with her father, a fisherman. The oysterman was thinking about his love one day while watching her from afar. He saw her waving her handkerchief, as much as if to say, "I'm wide awake, young oysterman, and all the folks away." In a rush, the oysterman jumped up and thought I guess I'll leave the skiff at home, for fear that her parents should see; I read it in a story-book, that, for to kiss his dear, Leander swam to Hellespont, so I could swim this, here. And so, he swam across the river to reach his fair lady and to receive her beautiful kisses. But, suddenly, they heard the footsteps of the lady's father, so the oysterman quickly jumped back into the river to swim home. The old fisherman asked his daughter what the splashes were about, and the daughter replied, "'T was nothing but a pebble, sir, I threw into the water." Then, the father asked what it was paddling off so fast, and the daughter again protects the oysterman, saying it was a dolphin. The old fisherman tells her to fetch his harpoon, then, so they will eat it for dinner that night. The daughter had nothing to do but turn pale white. While trying to swim back home, the oysterman falls victim to a cramp and drowns in the current. Now, the oyster shop is commemorating the fallen boy and selling oysters to "mermaids down below."

Poetic Devices:
I suppose I could be redundant by saying that there is a lot of imagery, but that would be silly because the whole thing is a story about something that happened. It was written to be played in your head.

Figurative Meaning:
This hidden love does not endure because God gave lungs to humans, not gills. The poor boy only wanted to hold his dream in his arms, but he was not certain how her father would cope with it, so he tried to hide his love for her. When he thought he had the chance, it was tarnished, and he paid the ultimate price for his poor timing.

Protector

The cool breeze of fall blows through the town.
Kids come out to frolic in the street,
while parents dread the impending winter.
Winds grow in strength and sweeps the feet
out from under a small child. As he fell,
the wind began to swirl and beat
at the poor child. The cold rain shot out
and lifted the boy out of his small seat.

The boy had the face of terror and dread;
they always remember that day of the dead.

Poetry Explication - "Thanatopsis"

"Thanatopsis" is a poem written by William Cullen Bryant in the Romanticism time period. In it, Bryant, literally speaking, describes what is to follow. Bryant says that nature speaks to the people who love it. Nature is happy when they are happy and sad when they are sad. When death and sadness come into thoughts, go out to nature, where you will die. You were born of earth, so you will die of earth; this also means that since you were allowed to walk on the earth, everyone will now be allowed to walk on you, also. The roots of trees will take over what used to be your body. Therefore, you would not have died alone, and there could be no better resting place. You will be there with the wisest of the wise and the grandest of kings from all generations. The ocean, the rocks, the valleys, and the sun will be the scenery of your grave. The universe looks so sadly upon death, but death is inevitable. Go out into the wonder of nature and experience the death all around. You are going to die, and all of your friends are going to die. So, what if no one notices your death? The happy people will laugh and move on in life until their death; the young will grow old and die, and every being after them will follow. So, instead of dwelling on the impending death, live life to the fullest to be able to rest in peace. Literally, as was just stated, this sounds like a gloomy poem, but it is really not about the inevitable death in everyone's future. Imagery is vivid and colorful in "Thanatopsis." "The hills/ Rock-ribb'd and ancient as the sun,--the vales/ Stretching in pensive quietness between;/ The venerable woods; river that move/ In majesty..." (Bryant). His descriptions of nature being beautiful and majestic speak to his attitude toward nature. Bryant wants to celebrate nature, which is common among Romanticism writers. His descriptions also show that the poem has an underlying meaning, other than the predominant theme of death. Actually, Bryant is celebrating death because when we die, we will be surrounded by the beauty of nature.


Bryant, William C. "Thanatopsis." Poetry-Archive. Poetry-Archive.com, 2002. Web. 26 Oct. 2010. http://www.poetry-archive.com/b/thanatopsis.html.