Nature

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) was an essayist, philosopher, and poet born in Boston, Massachusetts. He was a key figure in the American Transcendentalist movement, which developed in the late 1820s and 1830s. Transcendentalism was inspired by early-19th-century Romanticism’s interest in nature and the belief that intuition was more valuable than the search for empirical truths. However, Transcendentalism entails a special emphasis on individualism, considering that the individual is more virtuous and creative when acting from intuition as opposed to being subject to the pressures of society and organized religion.

“Nature,” written in 1836, was the first essay to be adapted from Emerson’s public lecture on the topic. He later published series of essays in 1841 and 1844. Subsequent essays, such as those on the themes of “Self-Reliance” (1841), “Circles” (1841), or “The Poet” (1844), retrieve and develop crucial themes in “Nature,” such as individualism, the spiritual significance of circular motifs, and the superiority of the poet to the scientist.

“Nature” had a widespread impact both within the United States and in Europe. In the United States, its most devoted adept was the writer Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau, who borrowed Emerson’s woodside cabin, used “Nature” as inspiration for his 1854 text Walden, which described one man’s quest for self-reliance and spiritual awakening in the woods. “Nature” enjoyed a warm reception in Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries, as Emerson’s optimism and advocation of reverence for what is recent and local chimed in with the zeitgeist of the new European nation-states, which sought to relinquish their monarchical pasts in favor of a contemporary model.