SOURCE: "English Literature," in The Early Lectures of Ralph Waldo Emerson: 1833-1836, Vol. I, edited by Stephen E. Whicher and Robert E. Spiller, Harvard University Press, 1959, pp. 205-88.
Emerson, an influential literary figure and philosopher during the nineteenth century, founded the American Transcendental movement. In the following excerpt from a lecture delivered in 1835, he places Chaucer in the English literary tradition, praising him for his delightful and authentic literary portraits.
This is a free excerpt of 71 words. There are 1,243 words (approx.
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