Emerson and Nature

            Ralph Waldo Emerson felt a devout connection with nature, and he displayed it in his literature. Nature appears simple and emotionless to most, Emerson saw how amazing nature was. He saw not only its beauty and grace, but he also understood its power and potential for destruction. For me when I think about nature I instantly think about the cliché things: first snowfall, sunsets, beaches, etc. I think about nature in the generic way, but when I read Emerson’s poetry I see how much more to nature there really is. The most obvious thing Emerson’s poetry made me realize was nature’s disparaging capabilities. I hear every day about a blizzard, a hurricane, or tornado causing destruction, yet that is not what first comes to mind when I think of nature, I only think of clichés and Emerson made me realize that. “Water” is one of Emerson’s simpler poems but it is still a prototype of Emerson’s theme in a nature poem. “Water” is a short twelve line poem with simple language, but it gets across a powerful message. The subject is obvious from the title, “Water” is about water, but even though it is about one particular thing in nature its theme can be applied to all of nature. In the poem, Emerson gives water and nature, inanimate and emotionless, feelings. He makes it appear as simple and calm in the beginning, but as it progresses it gains greater significance. Water and nature can be glorious when used properly, although when used wrongly it can cause great destruction. Emerson’s nature poetry leaves me in awe of nature’s power but also makes me appreciate its beauty more. It makes me want to preserve the beauty of nature so that my great- great- great- grandson can still admire nature’s beauty. A lot of people, like me, say we “love” nature, but we are frauds in comparison to Emerson. We are in love with nature’s beauty, and while Emerson loves nature’s beauty he also sees so much more in nature. He realizes nature is not just meant to look “pretty” he comprehends that nature is complex: be glorious and calm and simple, but at the same time it has the ability to cause destruction. Emerson is in awe of nature and his poetry is able to instill the same feeling in the reader.