Summary:
Emerson`s "Self-Reliance", Longfellow's "A Psalm for life" and Holmes' "The Chambered Nautilus" advise their readers to live in certain ways. Whether it be Emerson's view on relying on oneself, Longfellow's advice to live in the present or Holmes' path of spiritual growth each author has his own unique message about how to live life.
NEW ENGLAND RENASSIANCE ESSAY
Emerson's "Self-Reliance", Longfellow's "A Psalm for life" and Holmes' "The Chambered Nautilus" advise their readers to live in certain ways. Whether it be Emerson's view on relying on oneself, Longfellow's advice to live in the present or Holmes' path of spiritual growth each author has his own unique message about how to live life. They all have very valuable messages about life how we should live it, what its about and convey them in very different, but yet similar, ways. Throughout the literary works of Longfellow, Holmes and Emerson, each conveys its own important message as to how to live one's life.
In Longfellow's poem "A Psalm of life" he teaches us that nothing is a coincidence, no ones fate, or no events that take place are by chance. The message that Longfellow is trying to communicate is that people create their own destiny's. People achieve things through the choices and decisions they make. Longfellow conveys the message that the soul continues to live after physical life is over and reminds his audience to act and live in the present. Longfellow's main message is, "life is short", death is inevitable, and our time on earth is limited. "A Psalm for life" tells us that leading a life of fulfilment is a good life, but not everyone will end up happy. Longfellow's advise is to leave your "footprints" on the world, so they can inspire others, as we have learned from the lives of the great. Longfellow's theme for "A Psalm for life" is the purpose of life is to add to the noble achievements of humankind.
In the poem "The Chambered Nautilus" Holmes' describes the growth, and the on going journey of the human soul. He compares life, very rightfully, to the nautilus and the nautilus shell. The nautilus itself is very fragile and starts off very tiny but grows year by year until it out grows its shell. Holmes is perhaps comparing the human soul to this, it grows year by year and eventually out grows this world and moves on to another. "Leave thy low-vaulted past! Let each new temple, nobler than the last, shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast.", Holmes is trying to convey the message that we can't dwell on our past mistakes and we have to move on in life. He is saying that a person must move on and learn from their mistakes. Holmes reminds us that human souls should outgrow their constraints and should expand until they are completely free. Holmes' believes the purpose of life is to attain spiritual growth.
In the poem "Self-Reliance" Emerson is very deep in meaning of his understanding of being true to ones self. ''There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide.", Emerson believes that a man should not try to be what he is not.. Emerson believes that we should not envy other people. Everyone feels jealousy at one time or another, but it is our own jealousy that causes us to be blind to this better side of ourselves. Jealousy only leads us to ignorance and imitation. "Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles.", Emerson was pushing the point across, in his closing statement, that we are all alone and must all be ourselves. Everyday you are on a journey and when you wake up the next day and you are on a new journey, you rely solely on yourself for these journeys, not anyone else.
Emerson's "Self-Reliance" most importantly states that you should not sacrifice your life or anything else to society because society never advances. You should rely on yourself and achieve your own goals, for yourself, through self reliance. Emerson main theme for "Self-Reliance" are "Being true to oneself", by this Emerson means that we should not rely on past ideas and that nature teaches us to live in the present. Emerson believes that people hve an intuitive understanding of their place in the universe and must act according to that understanding. Emerson uses the metaphor "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesman and philosophers and divines." Emerson belittles the need for perfect continuity between present and past. Yesterday's judgement may not be appropriate to today's reality.
Throughout the literary works of Longfellow, Holmes and Emerson, each conveys its own important message as to how to live one's life. All of these poems are very different, but yet very similar, they all express certain views on life, and the way it should be lived. They all convey the message that life is for living, and that we should not get to wrapped up in human emotions such as envy, imitation and human feelings. All three poems express the fact that we all affect each others lives in someway or another but we are essentially alone, and as Emerson puts it, we should all be ''Self-Reliance." In one way or another all the poets express the fact that we have to live in the present, not worry about the future and do not to dwell on the past.
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