Henry Wadsworth Longfellow And Ralph Waldo Emerson

American Romanticism was a time period of the 18th century that allowed authors to break away from traditional literary styles and explore new ideals within their writing. Rather than science and reason, the focus of Romantic writing is centers around aspects such as feeling and insight. Specifically Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Ralph Waldo Emerson, are two of the many authors who demonstrated ideas of Romanticism within their works. Both Longfellow as well as Emerson exemplify the use of nature in their literature with the purpose of displaying specific truths about life.

For instance, Longfellow uses his piece “The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls,” as a way of exploiting nature to help reveal some realities of life, especially through his use

Within the piece, Emerson states, “If stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore; and preserve for many generation…’But every night come out these envoys of beauty, and light the universe with their admonishing smile” (240). Emerson highlights a very common yet flawed trait possessed by many, in which something frequently present is taken highly for granted. Since stars are such a common sight, their presence is not often appreciated, however, if they only made a rare appearance in the sky, they’d be admired much more. Therefore, Emerson’s use of metaphor creates a more abstract way of conveying this hidden message in nature with his use of the stars. Furthermore, Emerson once again shows his Romantic views as he ties in imagery when he states, “But the same scene which yesterday breathed perfume and glittered as for the frolic of the nymphs, is overspread with melancholy today” (242). The imagery used helps show that the surroundings of one, base around the way they feel. When one feels happy, they see all the beauty surrounding them, and it is as if the whole world feels the same way. However when one is feeling down it is hard for them to see all the beauty of nature surrounding them. This insight reveals Emerson’s message and utilizes nature once more to show how it even plays a role in one's mood. All

Though these literary works were created a long time ago, the many messages they reveal are still relevant in today's day and age. Although with all the advancements made in technology today, people do not often have the same connection authors like Longfellow and Emerson hold with nature. These authors both make use of components in their writing like figurative language, repetition, and imagery as they work to express the universal truth of the power nature holds over people, an insight that varies far beyond the use of science and reason. Romanticism was in fact a very unique period of writing, however to this day it is not seen as commonly within author’s