Pursell !

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Christian Pursell
Matthew Siegel
American Poetry
February 19, 2015
The Call Of Emerson
In The Poet, Emerson is frustrated with the people around him. He sees individuals
who are self-proclaimed critics of art, who cast a judging eye on how sculptures or a painting fits
within the borders of the local culture. He even speaks of poets and theologians who dont think
outside of the box, and in his words write from the fancy, at a safe distance from their own experience. (Emerson, paragraph 1) He believes life is so rich and wonderful, and people, including himself, are unable to articulate what we feel inside. He realizes that not all men were born
with the gift of communication, not merely eloquent speech that flatters but true unrefined feelings adequately expressed on the written page. He says, adequate expression is rare. the
great majority of men seem to be minors, who have not yet come into possession of their own, or
mutes (Emerson, paragraph 2). When each of us experience life it becomes part of us, and we
are at a loss for words; the poets are our words.
To Emerson, the poet is a representative for all. It becomes the poets duty to be the voice
for those without vocabulary to describe life. The poet is the sayer, the namer, and represents
beauty. (Emerson, paragraph 5) Emerson raises the poet on a plateau and expects them to embody and illustrate their experiences, in a way that is beyond ourselves and the ordinary, so that
their new thought will be a new experience to us and that all men will be the richer in his fortune. (Emerson, paragraph 8)

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Emerson recognizes the many poets of the past, listing off many names, including Homer,
Plato, Dante, Plutarch and Shakespeare. However he cries for poetry that is written today, in the
vernacular, at the eye of todays people. It is fascinating and illuminating to read the prose of the
past, but there needs to be a representative of the current era. It is much to know that poetry has
been written this very day, under this very roof, by your side. (Emerson, paragraph 8) Without
such a representation, the secret of the era will be lost and will expire. Emerson states that
mankind have succeeded so far in understanding themselves, and the poet is the announcer for
that understanding. It is the truest word ever spoken, and the phrase will be the fittest, most musical, and the unerring voice of the world for that time. (Emerson, paragraph 8) Human history
is chronicled by the poets, who not only capture events but the essence of life in that culture;
without such poets for a culture or nation, they hold no importance in the scheme of things.
So, the poet has the responsibility to represent his time, and to, by disregarding his social
and mental received barriers, communicate what we only feel. He is also to awaken peoples
minds and make them truly live and know one another. Emerson describes what its like to read
the work of one who is not a true poet. At first he is excited: my chains are to be broken;I
shall see and comprehend my relations. Life will no more be a noise; I am invited into the
science of the real. (Emerson, paragraph 9) This poetry begins to awaken his mind, and becomes aware of his place in life, and how he is removed from mundane day-to-day activities that
dull his conscience. However slowly he perceives that this poet isnt truly in the heavens. Emerson then comes out of the poem where he was before, into my old nooks, [leading] the life of
exaggerations as before and falls into despair that no-one will truly be able to guide him.

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This is the root of Emersons objective to describe and summon the poet. Man needs a
guide that will help him escape vanity and mediocrity, and show him real beauty. By showing us
true beauty, we become aware of existence other than ourselves, and enter a spiritual place that is
greater than us. Here we find ourselves, suddenly, not in a critical speculation, but in a holy
place, and should go very warily and reverently. (Emerson, paragraph 11) This awareness permits us to appreciate our lives, and understand our context in the world. This isnt to say that one
cannot appreciate life without understanding. Emerson speaks of average people: they express their affection in their choice of life, and not in their choice of words. he has no definitions, but he is commanded in nature, A beauty not explicable, is dearer than a beauty which
we can see to the end of. He knows of the sincerity of laypeople and those without terms, and
also points out the importance of interpreting beauty.
Additionally, Emerson draws attention to the importance of the poet to express himself
organically, and describe things how he sees them. The poet also resigns himself to his mood,
and that thought which agitated him is expressed, but alter idem, in a manner totally
new. (Emerson, paragraph 19) Imagination and honesty are equally important. he overhears
them, and endeavors to write down the notes, without diluting or depraving them. (Emerson,
paragraph 19) The poet must drop his barriers and be all eyes and ears for what nature shows
him. He cannot let himself be distracted by vanity so he can soak in the universe, and adequately
speak what he experiences. By being intoxicated by his imagination, he becomes a liberating
god, giving man a new sense, according to Emerson.

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Walt Whitman can be said to answer this call. He is the first in his era to meet aspects of
Emersons description of a poet. His poetry is honest, real, and touchable. It contains true humanness, it reads with an intensity that is hard to describe. Its invigorating and raw, and sharply
wakes our brains. In Song of Myself, Whitman appreciates himself and his place in the universe to the fullest. In his opening statement, he fulfills Emersons desire of appreciation: I
CELEBRATE myself; / And what I assume you shall assume; / For every atom belonging to me,
as good belongs to you. (Whitman, Song of Myself, lines 1-3) Throughout the epic he elaborates
his importance to himself, his place in the universe, and his vocation to give words and meanings
to the dumb. His voice is everyones voice, and representing everyone, lifts every race and climb
into the heavens and above their day-to-day lives. What is known I strip away; / I launch all
men and women forward with me into THE UNKNOWN. (Whitman, Song, lines 1132-1133)
This is what Emerson was hoping for, to be lifted into the heights, clear his mind from the humdrum routine, and step into reality with the guidance of the poet, finally able to understand what
he feels. Whitman knows this: It is you talking just as much as myself I act as the tongue of
you; / Tied in your mouth, in mind it begins to be loosend. (Whitman, Song, lines 1245-1246)
With all this grandeur of high purpose and liberating gods, Whitman is only a man giving
his best to explain life. If he had one proclamation to give, it could be from Calamus:
I dreamd in a dream, I saw a city invincible to the attacks of the whole of the rest of the
earth; / I dreamd that was the new City of Friends; / Nothing was greater there than the
quality of robust love it led the rest; / It was seen every hour in the actions of the men
of that city, / And in all their looks and words. (Whitman, I Dreamd in a Dream)
His aspiration is, through his poetry, to awaken the senses of his fellow man, give words
to the sympathetic, and bring all walks of life together, giving meaning to his current era.