Ralph Waldo Emerson Biography

A major American poet, who worked first as a Unitarian priest. In his hometown, Concord, Emerson founded a literary circle called New England Transcendentalism, a hodgepodge of fashionable thoughts, in which participated among others Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Thoreau. During his travels in England he met Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Thomas Carlyle, with whom he maintained a lifelong correspondence from the 1830s and whose opinions of the importance of great historical figures influenced his own writings. Later Emerson became involved in the antislavery movement and worked for women's rights.

Emerson was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Most of his ancestors were clergymen as his father. He was educated in Boston and Harvard, like his father, and graduated in 1821. In 1825 he began to study at the Harvard Divinity School and next year he was licensed to preach by the Middlesex Association of Ministers. In 1829 Emerson married Ellen Louisa Tucker, who died in 1831 from consumption. Emerson's first and only settlement was at the important Second Unitarian Church of Boston, where he became sole pastor in 1830. Three years later he had a crisis of faith, finding that he "was not interested" in the rite of Communion. Emerson's controversial views caused his resignation. However, he never ceased to be both teacher and preacher, although without the support of any concrete idea of God.

In 1835 Emerson married Lydia Jackson and settled with her at the east end of the village of Concord, where he then spent the rest of his life. Emerson's first book, NATURE, a collection of essays, appeared when he was 33 and summoned up his ideas. Emerson emphasized individualism and rejected traditional authority. He invited to "enjoy an original relation to the universe," and emphasized "the infinitude of the private man." He also believed that people should try to live a simple life in harmony with nature and with others. His lectures 'The American Scholar' (1837) and 'Address at Divinity College' (1838) challenged the Harvard intelligentsia and warned about a lifeless Christian tradition. He was ostracized by Harvad for many years, but his message attracted young disciples, who joined the informal Transcendental Club (established in 1836).

In 1840 Emerson helped Margaret Fuller to launch The Dial (1840-44), an open forum for new ideas on the reformation of society. He published in 1841 a selection of his earlier lectures and writings under the title ESSAYS. It was followed by ESSAYS: SECOND SERIES (1844), a collection of lectures annexed to a reprint of NATURE (1849), and REPRESENTATIVE MEN (1850). In the 1850s he started to gain success as a lecturer and his books became a source of moderate income. His ENGLISH TRAITS, a summary of English character and history, appeared in 1856.

Other later works include CONDUCT OF LIFE (1860), SOCIETY AND SOLITUDE (1870), a selection of poems called PARNASSUS (1874), and LETTERS AND SOCIAL AIMS, edited by J.Elliot Cabot (1876). Emerson's heath started fail after the partial burning of his house in 1872. He made his last tour abroad in 1872-1873, and then withdrew more and more from public life. Emerson died on April 27, 1882 in Concord. In the 1880s appeared posthumously MISCELLANIES (1884), a collection of political speeches, and LECTURES AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES (1884).

As an essayist Emerson was a master of style. Many of his phrases have long since passed into common English parlance: 'a minority of one', 'the devil's attorney', 'a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds'. His essays have speech like character and a prophetic tone, a sermon like quality, often linked to his practice as an Unitarian minister. Emerson's aim was not merely to charm his readers, but encourage them to cultivate 'self-trust', to become what they ought to be, and to be open to the intuitive world of experience. He encouraged American scholars to break free of European influences and create a new American culture.