The central theme of Emerson's essay "Nature" is the harmony that exists between the natural world and human beings.
In "Nature", Ralph Waldo Emerson contends that man should rid himself of material cares and enjoy an original relation with the universe and experience what he calls "the sublime." (The "sublime" is closely connected to the divine.) When man's mind is open to the influence of nature, he can sense "a wild delight" as he can...
The central theme of Emerson's essay "Nature" is the harmony that exists between the natural world and human beings.
In "Nature", Ralph Waldo Emerson contends that man should rid himself of material cares and enjoy an original relation with the universe and experience what he calls "the sublime." (The "sublime" is closely connected to the divine.) When man's mind is open to the influence of nature, he can sense "a wild delight" as he can "cast off his years" and the cares of the times in which he lives. He can, then, become a child again and love the "immortal beauty" of nature, experiencing the pleasure and fulfillment that this love of nature provides. Emerson comes closest to stating his theme of the harmony of the natural world and man in his essay with this passage:
The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other[...]. His intercourse with heaven and earth, become part of his daily food.
As a Transcendentalist, Emerson believed that people should take themselves away from their daily cares and reach a contemplative state which permits them a connection with the divine. The beautiful fields of flowers, the awe-inspiring woods, "the waving of boughs in a storm," and the magnificence of the stars produce a delight in man that inspires him and connects him with the "sublime presence." Indeed, Emerson connects man and the natural world in this experience of the sublime. For when man and nature are in harmony, "Nature always wears the colors of the spirit."
No comments:
Post a Comment