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Emerson
"An institution is the lengthened shadow of one man," Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote--and in this book, the leading scholar of New England literary culture looks at the long shadow Emerson himself has cast, and at his role and significance as a truly American institution. On the occasion of Emerson's 200th birthday, Lawrence Buell revisits the life of the nation's first public intellectual and discovers how he became a "representative man."
Born into the age of inspired amateurism that emerged from the ruins of pre-revolutionary political, religious, and cultural institutions, Emerson took up the challenge of thinking about the role of the United States alone and in the world. With characteristic authority and grace, Buell conveys both the style and substance of Emerson's accomplishment--in his conception of America as the transplantation of Englishness into the new world, and in his prodigious work as writer, religious thinker, and philosopher. Here we see clearly the paradoxical key to his success, the fierce insistence on independence that acted so magnetically upon all around him. Steeped in Emerson's writings, and in the life and lore of the America of his day, Buell's book is as individual--and as compelling--as its subject. At a time when Americans and non-Americans alike are struggling to understand what this country is, and what it is about, Emerson gives us an answer in the figure of this representative American, an American for all, and for all times.
Born into the age of inspired amateurism that emerged from the ruins of pre-revolutionary political, religious, and cultural institutions, Emerson took up the challenge of thinking about the role of the United States alone and in the world. With characteristic authority and grace, Buell conveys both the style and substance of Emerson's accomplishment--in his conception of America as the transplantation of Englishness into the new world, and in his prodigious work as writer, religious thinker, and philosopher. Here we see clearly the paradoxical key to his success, the fierce insistence on independence that acted so magnetically upon all around him. Steeped in Emerson's writings, and in the life and lore of the America of his day, Buell's book is as individual--and as compelling--as its subject. At a time when Americans and non-Americans alike are struggling to understand what this country is, and what it is about, Emerson gives us an answer in the figure of this representative American, an American for all, and for all times.
416 pages, Paperback
First published May 25, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 18, 2022
An intellectual history of Emerson focusing heavily on literary theory, particularly how later philosophers reacted to and against him.
This is certainly better for academic readers as it takes for granted acquaintance with major literary theory and complex terminology. However, it does reward those readers. It covers the idea of whether Emerson was/is considered an intellectual. It also looks at his evolution intellectually, and explores the true nature of "self-Reliance" as practiced/espoused by Emerson. Buell also investigates what that means for Emerson's views on religion, a consideration of whether he was "radical", the complex relationship Emerson had with abolitionism, and finally, critical reactions against Emerson in the past two centuries.
Emerson is truly interrogated, and I suspect he would enjoyed speaking with the philosophers that came after him. I also wonder though whether he would have been dismissive of this kind of approach (particularly as arriving at the truth on your own was one of his tenets). Though part of Harvard himself, he would have eschewed applying others' truths to his own. Nonetheless, a good book using literary theory applied to Emerson.
This is certainly better for academic readers as it takes for granted acquaintance with major literary theory and complex terminology. However, it does reward those readers. It covers the idea of whether Emerson was/is considered an intellectual. It also looks at his evolution intellectually, and explores the true nature of "self-Reliance" as practiced/espoused by Emerson. Buell also investigates what that means for Emerson's views on religion, a consideration of whether he was "radical", the complex relationship Emerson had with abolitionism, and finally, critical reactions against Emerson in the past two centuries.
Emerson is truly interrogated, and I suspect he would enjoyed speaking with the philosophers that came after him. I also wonder though whether he would have been dismissive of this kind of approach (particularly as arriving at the truth on your own was one of his tenets). Though part of Harvard himself, he would have eschewed applying others' truths to his own. Nonetheless, a good book using literary theory applied to Emerson.
December 10, 2016
Lawrence Buell's 2003 study of Emerson presents a dynamic reading of a dynamic figure in American literature. The study goes beyond the literary to consider Emerson in terms of religion, philosophy, and reform. Buell also looks at Emerson as a mentor--or as he terms it an "anti-mentor"--to figures as diverse as William James and Ralph Waldo Ellison--but especially Henry David Thoreau. Professor Buell's scholarship is immense, and I worried a little that the study might be over my head. But Buell's style is inviting and encouraging. I find myself re-reading Emerson essays and gaining new insights; that alone marks the book as a success. There is a great deal in both Buell and Emerson that I will probably never understand, but both writers offer powerful reading "Experience." Definitely a good read. [Posted to Goodreads 11/05/16.]
April 19, 2009
This is a fine book on R.W. Emerson by the distinguished Harvard scholar Lawrence Buell. THe book is especially strong on Emerson's relationship to his friend Henry David Thoreau. Definitely recommended to Emerson scholars.
April 7, 2023
An incredibly insightful and intimate exploration into the life, ambition, and purpose of both Ralph W. Emerson and his writing. My eyes were opened to the misunderstood complexities of the time period in which he wrote as well as the boldness of that which he idealized. Lawrence Buell beautifully pieces together a complete synopsis of not only Emerson’s life works, but also his wide circle of influence and lasting impact on American literature and its diverse schools of thought.
I suspect I’ll be returning to this book in the future, as my adoration for Emerson has only grown with time.
I suspect I’ll be returning to this book in the future, as my adoration for Emerson has only grown with time.
April 28, 2009
This is a biographical overview of Ralph Waldo Emerson. It takes a unique approach to biography. Rather than tell the story of Emerson's personal life, or the story of Emerson's intellectual life, this book tells the more interesting story of how each influenced the other. It shows how his life reflected his ideas and vice versa. It focuses on specific aspects of Emerson's work for which he was most famous: self-reliance, poetry and prose, religious radicalism, philosophy, reform and slavery abolition, and questioning authority.
The approach was fascinating, but the execution was disappointing. Much time was spent on things that seemed irrelevant to me. A lot of the writing went over my head. This book was clearly written for scholars. The writing style was difficult to parse, but unlike Emerson's writing, this seemed to be more about looking scholarly than about being poetic and writing passages that are pregnant with meaning. A random example: "So far I have focused on Emerson's dealings with a particular strand of antebellum reform, arguably the central one: the intense, divisive, and cataclysmic of the whole panoply from temperance to communitarianism." The whole book reads like this.
Despite this, the book was decent. The last chapter was the best. Its discussion Emerson's strained relationship with Thoreau is one of the best I've read. It also makes a very interesting point: by urging his readers to question authority and not treat older thought any more seriously than modern thought, by extension, he's also asking his readers to not take his own writing very seriously. Indeed, many thinkers have mocked and questioned Emerson's ideas, and this author thinks that's exactly how Emerson would have wanted it.
The approach was fascinating, but the execution was disappointing. Much time was spent on things that seemed irrelevant to me. A lot of the writing went over my head. This book was clearly written for scholars. The writing style was difficult to parse, but unlike Emerson's writing, this seemed to be more about looking scholarly than about being poetic and writing passages that are pregnant with meaning. A random example: "So far I have focused on Emerson's dealings with a particular strand of antebellum reform, arguably the central one: the intense, divisive, and cataclysmic of the whole panoply from temperance to communitarianism." The whole book reads like this.
Despite this, the book was decent. The last chapter was the best. Its discussion Emerson's strained relationship with Thoreau is one of the best I've read. It also makes a very interesting point: by urging his readers to question authority and not treat older thought any more seriously than modern thought, by extension, he's also asking his readers to not take his own writing very seriously. Indeed, many thinkers have mocked and questioned Emerson's ideas, and this author thinks that's exactly how Emerson would have wanted it.
Want to read
August 4, 2013Loads of new words for me. Some of the writing seems a bit archaic which makes it harder to understand. simply said it is not easy going for me.
It goes into many of his work and this makes the works more understandable. I have trouble with some archaic writing and it makes it all the more important that i understand why Emerson said what he said and wrote what he wrote. He was writing for a intellectual audience as he spoke in a more simplified way. It would be interesting to read his talks before reading the more complex written works. Oh well.
It goes into many of his work and this makes the works more understandable. I have trouble with some archaic writing and it makes it all the more important that i understand why Emerson said what he said and wrote what he wrote. He was writing for a intellectual audience as he spoke in a more simplified way. It would be interesting to read his talks before reading the more complex written works. Oh well.
April 26, 2017
This book is eminently readable and is good introduction to the great sage of Concord, who sits at the beginning and center of the American intellectual spirit. Buell knows his Emerson, and gives as good an introduction as is possible to the essayist's many contradictions and central thoughts.
He gets a little lost in the discussion of philosophy, which is likely to fly past those of us not conversant with Heidegger, Wittgenstein, or Kant. And on the very crucial element of Emerson's textual relationship to one of our two great poets, Walt Whitman, he is practically silent.
He gets a little lost in the discussion of philosophy, which is likely to fly past those of us not conversant with Heidegger, Wittgenstein, or Kant. And on the very crucial element of Emerson's textual relationship to one of our two great poets, Walt Whitman, he is practically silent.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews