Nature by Emerson

Nature by Emerson

Nature, Ralph Waldo Emerson's first collection of essays, redefined man's relationship to the natural world.  To Emerson, the natural world was better than his own, offering mankind all the vivacity and inspiration that was absent from society.  The introduction and first chapter of this work paint a vivid picture of the sheer awesomeness of nature and man's important connection to it.  Emerson asks his readers "To what end is nature?"  He answers this question through a variety of rhetorical appeals.  Emerson reveals nature's identity and convinces his readers that the relationship between man and nature is sacred, comforting, and vital for survival.  This is done through explaining the logic of his claims, embracing his emotions, and re-creating the beauty of nature with words.

                First, Emerson asks "To what end is Nature?" He goes about answering this particular query with several logical arguments.  Emerson assures his readers that "We have no questions to ask which are unanswerable".  This is so because the "order of things" in nature will answer all questions.  Emerson tries to give credibility to nature and convince his audience of its reliability.  He goes on to explain that "the universe is composed of Nature and the Soul".  Presuming that the Soul resides in each man, Emerson makes the conclusion that "therefore, all that is separate from us...must be ranked under this name, Nature".  He also notes that nature is anything "unchanged by man" such as the sky, the landscape, the air etc.  By slowly drawing out the definition of what nature is, Emerson makes a somewhat vague and mysterious entity become tangible to his readers.  Emerson successfully explains what nature is by stating a claim and then expanding on what conclusions can be drawn from that claim.

                Following his description of what nature physically is, Emerson uses speculation to demonstrate its power.  In the first paragraph of Chapter 1, Emerson writes the simple conditional statement that "If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore".  Here Emerson is making an assumption on the reaction of humans to nature, but if we are to believe him then the relationship between man and nature is starting to be revealed.  Emerson supports his speculations by talking about how "the stars awaken a certain reverence, because though always present, they are inaccessible."  This explains why nature touches man, why a connection exists between nature and man.  Nature is distantly omnipresent, like God or Justice.  These are concepts that Emerson's readers would have been familiar with, and Emerson uses their similarity to nature to his advantage.  Emerson proves that nature is greater than man and therefore deserves his respect.  Logically, the argument makes sense, and Emerson elaborates further on this idea through other appeals.

                Emotionally, Emerson relates to his readers through the feelings that nature can inspire.  To start, Emerson states that "none...owns the landscape".  Anyone can enjoy nature and nature is for everyone.  It's almost as if Emerson is speaking directly to the common man as he reminds his audience that nature is universally accessible.  Next he describes an emotion everyone can relate to: nostalgia.  Emerson says that "In the woods, is perpetual youth".  This is an emotional appeal because Emerson speaks of childhood, something that most people remember fondly and long to return to.  This statement encourages those unsatisfied in this life to seek a former one in the wilderness.  Nature is young again each spring, and man can be mentally and spiritually recharged by it.  Emerson himself has felt changed by nature, and he expects his readers to be also.  He warns though that these emotions from nature are not random.  This is because "the power to produce this delight does not reside in nature, but in man, or in a harmony of both".

                Emerson further advances this idea of harmony with nature in lyrical phrases and glowing descriptions.  In fact, the language and style of Nature give life to many of Emerson's arguments.  In the Introduction, Emerson uses empowering language to motivate his readers into action and encourage them to keep reading.  He exclaims that "there are new lands, new men, new thoughts" to be found in nature.  The parallel structure of this statement is a stark contrast to the "sepulchers" of the past mentioned earlier in the piece.  Emerson reminds readers that "The sun shines today also".  It's phrases like this that both strike the reader with power and cause him to puzzle over their precise meaning.  Overall, Emerson gives slightly vague descriptions of nature in order to mirror the elusiveness of nature itself.  He uses stars at the beginning of Chapter 1 to illustrate the might of nature and its simultaneous presence and distance.  He uses the sun in paragraph four of Chapter 1 to describe the knowledge that can be gained from nature if one only keeps an open mind.  Emerson's constant referrals to nature strengthen the idea that man should embrace nature.

                Emerson also uses other figures of speech beside imagery in his essay.  Because "our age is retrospective" and obsessed with the past, Emerson wants readers to look at the world anew.  Using a simile to describe this, Emerson says that "a man casts off his years [in nature], as a snake his slough".  Emerson incorporates nature into his figures of speech, creating continuity throughout the piece.  One of Emerson's main points in the essay is that "in the tranquil landscape...man beholds somewhat as beautiful as his own nature".  By using imagery and language to recreate this "tranquil landscape" of nature, Emerson gives his readers a preview in his essay of the wonderful self-discoveries awaiting them in nature.

                The organization of Emerson's Nature plays an important part in its persuasiveness.  To start, the introduction sets up the questions and subjects that Emerson plans to tackle in his essay.  The first two paragraphs contain the biggest questions (What is nature and Why should we care), and the last two paragraphs briefly answer them.  Then Chapter 1 delves more deeply into the inhumanly beautiful mysteries of nature.  The reader is seduced by Emerson's mastery of language as he recreates the sublime perfection of nature line by line.  It's as if you're walking in the forest right beside him, a pair of "transparent eye-balls" taking in nature and reflecting on it.  In Chapter 1, speculation in the beginning about stars and emotions soon turns to hard facts.  Emerson's tone becomes less sing-song and more concrete towards the end of the essay when he declares the "certain" connection between man and nature.  Chapter 1 ends with a  warning that it takes both man and nature to create happiness.  "Nature always wears the colors of the spirit", so if man does nothing to improve himself, nature will only reflect his shortcomings.

                It is nearly impossible to mention every rhetorical devise and strategy that Emerson uses in Nature.  Emerson's loftiness can sometimes lead readers astray, but his underlying logic is sound.  His subtle emotional pleas also touch readers on a different level without being overbearing.  Emerson's use of descriptive imagery to make his points is his way of revealing man's relationship to nature as opposed to bluntly stating it.  Emerson proves that rhetoric can be used to not only take action but advance one's own personal ideas.  In the end, the essay is successful in uncovering truths both about nature and human nature.  Nature is a noble entity that every man can relate to.  However, Ralph Waldo Emerson only takes the reader halfway, for the stars will always be unattainable unless he "demand [his] own works".  The time for mankind's power and motivation has come.