Each and All

王圣哲

【Abstract】Ralph Emerson was a leading American poet， as well as a philosopher known for his championship of the American Transcendentalism movement. This essay seeks to explore his transcendentalist mindscape in his poem Each and All， so as to elucidate his viewpoint of philosophical doctrines when creating.

【Key words】Emerson； Each and All； Transcendentalism

1. Introduction

Ralph Emerson was a leading American poet， as well as a philosopher known for his championship of the American Transcendentalism movement（Zuo Jinmei， 2006：283）， which prevailed in America from 1850s and ended with the rise of Realism trend. Each and All was one of Emersons early poems. Previous research papers have sought to illustrate and interpret his view of nature（Zhou Chenjia， 2013） and his transcendentalism and confucianism（Zhao Min， 2006） exclusively. Liu Yunfeng wrote to comment the poem from three aspects （Liu Yunfeng， 2011）. But few has given a provoking and transcendentality-bound explanatory illustration of his philosophical poem Each and All. In this essay， I tend to shoot a transcendental viewpoint toward this poem and have a relatively comprehensive commentary on the poem so as to read Emersons philosophical mindscape. The essay is written in major three parts to give an interpretation on the poem and Emersons philosophical tenets. Therefore， I try to render this poem to a mind-provoking reading in the process of individual experiences as a whole.

2. Commentary on Each and All over a Perspective of Transcendentalism

2.1 Review of American Transcendentalism

American Transcendentalism or “New England Transcendentalism” or “American Renaissance” （1836—1855） was the first American intellectual movement， which was the climax of American Romanticism（Zuo Jinmei， 2006：89）. The term “transcendentalism” is derived from the Latin verb transcendere meaning to rise above， or to pass beyond the limits. Transcendentalism has been defined as the recognition in man of the capacity of acquiring knowledge transcending the reach of the five senses， or of knowing truth intuitively， or of reaching the divine without the need of an intercessor. As the leader of this movement， Ralph Waldo Emerson interpreted transcendentalism as “whatever belongs to the class of intuitive thought，” and as “idealism as it appears in 1842.” The major concepts that accompanied transcendentalism can be summarized in the following five points.

It stressed the power of intuition， believing that people could learn things both from the outside world by means of the five senses and from the inner world by intuition.endprint

As romantic idealism， it placed spirit first and matter second. It believed that both spirit and matter were real but that the reality of spirit was greater than that of matter.

It took nature as symbolic of spirit of God. All things in nature were symbols of the spiritual， of Gods presence. Nature was alive， filled with Gods overwhelming presence.

It emphasized the significance of the individual and believed that the individual was the most important element in society.

It envisioned religion as an emotional communication between an individual soul and the universal “Oversoul”. The “Oversoul” as called by Emerson was an all-pervading unitary spiritual power of goodness， omnipresent and omnipotent， from which all things came and of which everyone was a part.

2.2 Aesthetic appreciation of the poem

Each and All shines not only with its natural scenes Emerson depicts but also his philosophical beliefs. Emerson has explicated his ideas thoroughly in the name of the short poem—Each and All. This poem was organized with three major stanzas and 12 verse lines of the first stanza， 24 of the second and 15 of the last stanza， with 51 verse lines in all. Generally， with the simplicity of common expression， economy of prose-like language， the whole poem is hospitable for reading and comprehending as well as welcome for digesting and reflecting. I aim to appreciate this poem from a transcendentalism viewpoint in the following parts.

The whole poem consists of three interrelated stanzas. Emerson doesnt seem to assemble the three meaningful stanzas just with accumulation of verse lines at random， but intends to organize his philosophical thoughts orderly. The first stanza serves as an exposition and a leading part in which he depicts a tranquil harmonious and cozy countryside life dwelling in peaceful nature. Then the poet， to a lot spiritual extent， seems like have sympathy with “the Great Napoleon” that “lists（listens） with delight” aroused by natural spectacles. At the last of the two lines， he tries to cap the purpose of the whole poem with his sentimental idea： “All are needed by each one， Nothing is fair or good alone.” Namely， the necessary interdependence of the individual animate parts is of vitality to go to make up a organic world. It is inferable that the poet has not realized completely the essence of the interrelation among the individual items when he finishes the first stanza， for he starts with “Little thinks”. So the poet ends the first stanza with his intuitively bewildered perception and starts the next stanza with two of his worldly experiences.endprint

The second stanza serves as a mental conflict or a rising action that goes further to take three empirical argumentation as specific exemplifications aiming to examine the poets meditation： all are needed by each one， nothing is fair or good alone. The sparrows note（voice） can not achieve that pleasing or melodious once divorced from natural elements such as tree， river and sky. That the alder bough， river and sky as well as all the surroundings or nature contribute（s） to the spirit of the vivid singing， which contributes to that of the sparrow. Likewise， shells achieve their colorful enamel with the promotion of the sun， sand and the wild uproar. Once “I” fetch them home， they will become unsightly and noisome things. Symbolic nature has enlightenment thrust on “my” mind and give healthy and restorative instruction on “my” perceptive actions. The above two argumentative examples are discussed over the connection among natural symbols， the last example the poet tries to focus on human individuality： a woman is graceful when she remains single and a virgin， but when she is pursued and married to her swain， “the gay enchantment was undone， a gentle wife but fairy none.” The poet seems to eulogize the enchantment and nobility of individuality at the same time of criticizing its being transiency or its absence of eternity of beauty. The second stanza is the further empirical analysis of Emersons meditation and a key process to lead to his subjectivity-affirmative conclusion in the next stanza.

The third stanza proceeds as a climax， meanwhile， a denouement or resolution of the whole poem. “Then I said， ‘I covet truth” speaks out the poets spiritual or intuitive announcement， which shoot his mental initiation out explicitly. Furthermore， he continues， “beauty is unripe childhoods cheat， I leave it behind with the games of youth”. The poet overthrows his initially pessimistic thought that beauty could not last forever and is nothing but a “childhoods cheat”. Then， in a somewhat reversal， he is disillusioned by his enchanting contexts—nature. Standing against the summer ground， with care-free breath， the poets alienation or solitude fades as he merges into the all： “beauty through my senses stole， I yield myself to the perfect whole”. In announcing so， Emerson demonstrates that the self-centeredness of the perceiving ego is the price of individualization. To conclude， the three stanzas are logically structured for one proceeds with an advance of perceptual promotion， which shows Emersons self-disciplined mindscape.endprint

2.3 Reflection

A poem is the poets mindscape in microcosm. Emerson believes that God is sublime， the center of the universe and the origin of all the things. Man obtains his/er life from God and will be doomed once against Gods will. Emerson is an idealist， he seeks to lay significance on ones spiritual side or the “oversoul”， by which he means the “the infinitude of man”.

3. Conclusion

Each and All was one of Emersons early poems. As the championship of the American Transcendentalism Movement， he is an idealist who lay emphasis on individuals intuition and on spirit or the “oversoul” （Zuo Jinmei， 2006：89）as well as on symbolic nature which is the omnipresent and omnipotent God in disguise. What the poem delivers firstly is that there exists a super and more implicit relationship between man and nature other than the material interdependence—spirit. Second， it stresses interdependence of the animate parts that go to make up a world and man can achieve harmony with nature through spirit. Thirdly， the poet emphasizes on individuals subjectivity via using the I—mood（Zuo Jinmei， 2006：289） to substantialize his argument rather than to release subjective lyricism.

References：

[1]劉云鳳.Nothing is fair or good alone—Commentary on Each and All by Emerson.教育界·基礎教育研究，2011.

[2]左金梅.美國文學（修訂版）[M].中國海洋大學出版社.2006.8.

[3]左金梅.英美浪漫主義詩歌概論與欣賞[M].中國海洋大學出版社.2006.12.endprint