In a Dark Time … The Eye Begins to See

Download a copy of Emerson’s essays at: RWE Although I doubt that the definition Emerson offers in “The Transcendentalist” is the ultimate definition of a “transcendentalist,” particularly since these artists disliked the term “transcendentalists,” it is as good a place as any to begin defining the term. Emerson begins by dividing the world into two broad categories, [...]

Emerson is about as close as I get to formal religion, and at times I even wish he would write his essays less like sermons and more like rhetorical essays. Still, when I read an essay like “Compensation,” I remember why I was drawn to his writings in the first place, for Emerson manages to [...]

Although Emerson’s essay “Nature” seems somewhat formal and stilted when seen in the light of Thoreau’s masterpiece Walden Pond, it is a remarkable document in and of itself and reveals the importance of “Nature” in transcendentalism. Emerson begins with the simple assertion that beautiful, natural places heal a man and make him feel better and, [...]

About the time I thought I had Emerson figured out, I started reading “Experience” and decided I will have to dig a little deeper before I can make that claim. Compared to the anthologized works of Emerson I’ve been exposed to in the past, “Experience” seems much moodier and more pessimistic. Looking back, it adds [...]