Each and All

Each and All

作者：王圣哲

来源：《校园英语·下旬》2017年第09期

【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 Emerson’s early poems. Previous research papers hav e 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 Emerson’s philosophical mindscape. The essay is written in major three parts to give an interpretation on the poem and Emerson’s 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.

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 God’s presence. Nature was alive，filled with God’s overwhelming prese nce.

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 doesn’t 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.

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 poet’s meditation： all are needed by each one， nothing is fair or good alone. The sparr ow’s note（voice） can not achieve