The Dual Emerson: Poetical Writing and Philosophical Thinking

YU Jing-yuan

doi:10.19857/j.cnki.ICL.20203404

Volume 3 Issue 4

Jan. 2021

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YU Jing-yuan. The Dual Emerson: Poetical Writing and Philosophical Thinking[J]. International Comparative Literature, 2020, 3(4): 663-681. doi: 10.19857/j.cnki.ICL.20203404

Citation:

YU Jing-yuan. The Dual Emerson: Poetical Writing and Philosophical Thinking[J]. International Comparative Literature, 2020, 3(4): 663-681. doi: 10.19857/j.cnki.ICL.20203404

YU Jing-yuan. The Dual Emerson: Poetical Writing and Philosophical Thinking[J]. International Comparative Literature, 2020, 3(4): 663-681. doi: 10.19857/j.cnki.ICL.20203404

Citation:

YU Jing-yuan. The Dual Emerson: Poetical Writing and Philosophical Thinking[J]. International Comparative Literature, 2020, 3(4): 663-681. doi: 10.19857/j.cnki.ICL.20203404

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The Dual Emerson: Poetical Writing and Philosophical Thinking

doi: 10.19857/j.cnki.ICL.20203404

YU Jing-yuan^,

Institute of Foreign Literature, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Received Date: 2020-07-07
Rev Recd Date: 2020-09-09

Abstract

Abstract

Emerson is many things to readers: a lecturer, an essayist, a philosopher, a thinker, a poet, and even a preacher. To assign Emerson to a single category is neither possible nor necessary, for his writing characteristically traverses many categories and thus defies a single monolithic label. Versed both in Hellenism and Hebrew-Christian culture—with the former mainly pertaining to artistic beauty appealing to sensual satisfaction, and the latter to didactic moral teachings appealing to the soul—Emerson employs a Hellenistic style of writing that is poetical in expression and form, which requires a creative spirit that both perceives and expresses poetically. Poetic perception originates from the intuition and inspiration in the mind, and by the power of imagination, finally arrives at a vision of the truth. In the process of transference from vision to words, Emerson uses poetic expression, blending symbolic language and essay form to create an organic whole with grand ideas. Emerson also inherits the Christian tradition,which emphasizes a philosophical conception of moral teaching. He firmly believes that there is a just law upholding a harmonious universe, which he calls the Moral Law, and that each human being has the ability to intuit this Moral Law and act in harmony with it, which Emerson calls the Moral Nature or the Soul. In this essay, I will focus on these two sides of Emerson and, with the support of detailed analysis and interpretation of his dual characteristics, argue that these two sides do not counteract each other in his writings, but rather reinforce each other:poetical writing acts as the emotional dimension, affective and appealing to the emotions, while philosophical thinking acts as the rational dimension that is profound and thought-provoking to the mind. In this sense, Emerson is apt to be termed as a poetical philosopher.
- Emerson,
- poetical writing,
- philosophical thinking,
- poetical philosopher

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References(31)

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