Essays

Ralph Waldo Emerson's essays and poems on the transcendental movement in the United States became some of the most important literary pieces in American History. In this culmination of essays, Emerson takes the reader through different forms of philosophies that attempt to explain the world and man's purpose within it.

Heavily vested in the philosophy of transcendentalism, though not one to label himself a true follower of the movement, Emerson believed that spirituality and wholeness were central to the ways in which humans could place themselves within nature. Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson is a collection of integral works that paved the way for much influential literature to come, including, Louisa May Alcott, and Margaret Fuller.

With an eye-catching new cover and an informative note about the author, this edition of Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson is both modern and readable.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) came from a long line of New England ministers. Attending school at Harvard University, he discovered a love of writing, eventually becoming a teacher upon graduation. After working as a schoolteacher for a number of years, Emerson went back to study theology at Harvard Divinity school and began a new career as a preacher on the east coast. Emerson's sermons were deemed somewhat uninteresting by the general public, forcing him to once again reevaluate his choices. These formative experiences were what eventually led Emerson to the discovery of intellectual discourse and his newfound beliefs about the role of man in nature. This was a central tenet of the transcendental movement, though Emerson never labeled himself as a member.