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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 3 pages essay that discusses and analyzes the first paragraph to Ralph Waldo Emerson's 1841 essay "Self-Reliance." Specifically, the writer focuses on Emerson's concept of self and the implications of his definition. No additional sources cited.
Page Count:
3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: KL9_khemer1par.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages" (Emerson). In other words, an individual should consider his or her own thoughts and watch
for those flashes of inspiration that come from within the recesses of their own minds, rather than pay more attention to the brilliant words of poets and philosophers. Essentially, the
first paragraph of the essay introduces Emersons understanding of the concept of "self," that is, the importance of the ordinary, individual person. He begins by proposing that the sentiment that
poetry engenders in the soul of the reader is far more significant than any thought the poetry may express, which leads him to offer his definition of genius, which is
to "believe our own thought, to believe what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men" (Emerson). He urges his readers to speak their minds,
arguing that this what is most admired among historys great men, such as "Moses, Plato and Milton" (Emerson). Yet, most people do not detect that "gleam of light" that
flashes across his or her own mind. Rather than dismiss, "without notice," their own thoughts because they arise from within themselves (Emerson). As this indicates, Emerson elevated the status
of the individual to that of equal to great philosophers, religious leaders and poets. His argument is that within the "self," that is, the consciousness of each individual, there is
the potential to form strong convictions and make insightful observations about life. By expressing this sentiment in Romantic terminology, such as "bards and sages," Emerson stays true to the Romantic
ethos of his time. To refer to poets and philosophers as "bards and sage" and also to refer to their work as the "lustre of the filament," invokes a sense
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