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Ralph Waldo EmersonA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Closely examine two or three uses of nature in Emerson’s essay. Why do you think that it was important for him to show that nature has various applications?
Discuss the tension between poetry and science in Emerson’s essay. Why does he consider that poets have a better grasp of nature than scientists?
What role do solitude and individualism play in Emerson’s essay? Why is nature a fitting companion to those on an individualistic path?
How does “Nature” position itself in relation to past and present? Using your knowledge of Emerson’s historical period, state how his approach to the past compares with that of his contemporaries.
What is the significance of eye and eyeball imagery in Emerson’s essay? Include a close reading of at least two different passages in your answer.
To what extent do you consider “Nature” to be an optimistic essay, if optimism is defined as a belief in human advancement, both material and spiritual?
In your opinion and with close reference to the text, what challenges does Emerson’s essay present for the modern reader? You may wish to make ecological, social, or political arguments in your answer.
Emerson suggests that children, with their lack of preconceptions about the world, stand to become more enlightened from nature than a philosopher. How in his view, do children and adults experience nature differently?
Research Transcendentalism. What key elements of this philosophical movement are evident in Emerson’s work?
Analyze the references Emerson makes to other poets, including Shakespeare and Amos Bronson Alcott (his “Orphic poet”). How does he use these references to enrichen his own arguments?
By Ralph Waldo Emerson
American Literature
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Beauty
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Books & Literature
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Essays & Speeches
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Philosophy, Logic, & Ethics
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Required Reading Lists
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Science & Nature
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Transcendentalism
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