Ralph Waldo Emerson "...was truly one of our great geniuses" even though he may have a short biography (Hodgins 212). But as Emerson once said himself, "Great geniuses have the shortest biographies." Emerson was also a major leader of "the philosophical movement of Transcendentalism". (Encarta 1) Transcendentalism was belief in a higher reality than that found everyday life that a human can achieve.
Emerson was born on May 25, 1803 in Boston, Massachusetts. His father died when he was young and his mother was left with him and his four other siblings. At the age of 18 he graduated from Harvard University and was a teacher for three years in Boston. Then in 1825 he entered Harvard Divinity School and preached for three years. At the age of 29 he resigned for ministry, partly because of the death of his wife after only 17 months of marriage.
Hodgins, Francis. ed. Adventures in American Literature. Orlando: Harcourt, 1989.
Emerson wrote many genres of writing including poetry and sermons, but his best writing is found in his essays. Even though he is noted for his essays, he was also a strong force in poetry. Emerson was known for presenting ideas in an expressive style. He wrote about numerous issues including nature, society, conspiracy and freedom. After returning to America after a visit to England, he wrote for the abolitionist cause, which was eliminating slavery.
"Emerson, Ralph Waldo." Lkd. Columbia University Homepage, at "ILT Web." http://www.ilt.columbia.edu/acedemic/digitexts/emerson/bio_emerson.html
Ralph Waldo Emerson found motivation to write in anything he did, whether it was visiting England, the Transcendental Movement or if it was abolishing slavery. He didn't receive much fame during his lifetime, but after he passed away in1882, he was rememb
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