Analysis of Emerson and the Work Melancholia

Through his many works, Ralph Waldo Emerson became one of the most important writers in all of American literature. His unique style, with similarities to Romanticism, allowed the creation of not only a new era of literature but also a philosophy known as Transcendentalism. Emerson had very strong views about the conforming society in which he lived, and he believed that it needed to change. His thoughts revolutionized philosophy, though some of them may have even been a bit harsh.

One belief of Emerson was that grieving the dead is a waste of time and energy. This is something that Emerson was known to show many times throughout his life; as when his loved ones died and he did not seem to grieve their loss (“Emerson”). This may seem like a very cruel thought, but there is actually quite a bit of logic behind it. This was one of the parts of society that he thought was conforming too much to do the same thing of wasting ones time to grieving.

Emerson’s thoughts about death and grieving seem to be harsh and pretty dark, but this is one thing that his opinions change on. In 1842, Emerson’s son, Waldo died and just after this time, his views on mourning seemed to drastically change. His strong opinions of not grieving at all changed to more of a need for a reinvention of oneself as the grieving process. (“Emerson”). Again, the focus on individuality and a high personal focus is apparent, as in Romantic literature.

This draws an interesting point of the fact that Emerson actually rejected the idea of Romanticism later in his career (“Emerson”). This is quite strange because Romantic literature seems to be one of the biggest influences on what Emerson wrote. Both styles have a focus on individuality; though Romanticism is more focused on how a person behaves in nature and Transcendentalism is more focused on how a person behaves in society, both are a focus on individuality nonetheless. It is hard to believe that something that serves as the basis for your work could possibly be denied and rejected in later years.

Emerson’s style actually influenced many writers to come like Whitman, Thoreau, and Nietzsche (“Emerson”). Many of these writers emerged during the Romantic revolution and could actually be considered Romantic authors. This is why it is strange that Emerson would reject Romanticism. The people that he inspired used it as a model and became great writers of it, and the person that caused them to write what they did no longer believes in it.

Ralph Waldo Emerson is one of the greatest writers in all of American literature. Though, his opinions changed throughout his writing career, he still inspired many other great writers and revolutionized Romanticism to create the new era of Transcendentalism. Some of his views were almost harsh in a sense, but still there was always logic behind these opinions of his. All of his thoughts about the conforming society that he was living in aided in the creation of a new philosophy that changed literature and the world.



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=1&iPin=MCVRWE007&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 7, 2010).