Poetry Essay
RALPH WALDO EMERSON Self-Reliance 1. In Self-Reliance, what does Emerson mean by saying "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds"? In what ways does he associate being misunderstood with greatness and wisdom?
2.
3.
DISCUSS THESE PROPOSITIONS AS TO THEIR VALIDITY.
"The power which resides in him (any individual) is new in nature..."
"Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members."
Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind."
"To be great is to be misunderstood."
"Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string."
Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist."
4. To what extent are Emerson's ideals reflected in contemporary American life (i.e., movies, television shows, ordinary social behavior)? Are there any well-known personalities in America today who seem to embody Emerson's ideal of self-reliance?
"The Rhodora" 1. The poet finds the rhodora hidden away in the woods, as if "to please the desert and the sluggish brook." How do these facts relate to the question that prefaces the poem?
2.
The question of why the flower is hidden, its "charm...wasted on the earth and sky," seems to be put aside by the poet's saying, "I never thought to ask, I never knew." Still, there is an answer in the poem. In what way is the poet's "simple ignorance" really a profound wisdom?
"Terminus" 1. In what way is taking in a boat's sail linked to growing old?
2.
In lines 6-32, "the god of bounds" (Terminus) gives advice to the poet. Whereas the poet has compared his life to a ship's voyage , Terminus compares this life to a tree which has reached its limits of growth and must send out no new branches or root. In what ways do both comparisons represent a human life?
3.
The advice the poet receives from Terminus is restrictive: contract your scope, choose among your projects, economize your lessening energies, "mature" the "fruit" you already have. How is
2.
3.
DISCUSS THESE PROPOSITIONS AS TO THEIR VALIDITY.
"The power which resides in him (any individual) is new in nature..."
"Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members."
Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind."
"To be great is to be misunderstood."
"Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string."
Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist."
4. To what extent are Emerson's ideals reflected in contemporary American life (i.e., movies, television shows, ordinary social behavior)? Are there any well-known personalities in America today who seem to embody Emerson's ideal of self-reliance?
"The Rhodora" 1. The poet finds the rhodora hidden away in the woods, as if "to please the desert and the sluggish brook." How do these facts relate to the question that prefaces the poem?
2.
The question of why the flower is hidden, its "charm...wasted on the earth and sky," seems to be put aside by the poet's saying, "I never thought to ask, I never knew." Still, there is an answer in the poem. In what way is the poet's "simple ignorance" really a profound wisdom?
"Terminus" 1. In what way is taking in a boat's sail linked to growing old?
2.
In lines 6-32, "the god of bounds" (Terminus) gives advice to the poet. Whereas the poet has compared his life to a ship's voyage , Terminus compares this life to a tree which has reached its limits of growth and must send out no new branches or root. In what ways do both comparisons represent a human life?
3.
The advice the poet receives from Terminus is restrictive: contract your scope, choose among your projects, economize your lessening energies, "mature" the "fruit" you already have. How is