Journal #8

Emerson’s Aphorisms

5. To be great is to be misunderstood.

The aphorism is trying to make the point that being misunderstood is part of being great. If you are great then there are people less great than yourself. The people who think you are great with not understand how you are higher than themselves. You will have knowledge and ideas beyond that of the average person. I agree with this opinion and think it is closely tied with Emerson’s love of the instinctual part of man. You need to be in touch with part of your brain other than logic, reason, and past experience in order to be great. You have to think outside the box and come up with new and interesting ways of solving problems.

8. In skating over thin ice, our safety is in our speed.

The aphorism is trying to make the point that when you are in a dangerous position, you don’t want to walk slowly because you could fall into trouble. You want to get away from the thin ice as quickly as possible. This links back to Emerson’s belief that you should go through your life without stopping and analyzing everything you do. I agree with this position because if you took your time and went through life slowly, then you wouldn’t get far. It would be much easier to rush past the trouble and get on with your life. Live your life on instinct and get in touch with the deeper part of yourself.

13. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.

The aphorism makes the point that life has an infinite number of results and possibilities. It is almost impossible to tell what the result will be. You may fail or succeed in your life. I agree that life is an experiment. You are trying out something new and uncertain of the result. After the experiment is completed, you have a larger picture of how life works. If you continue experimenting, then you will learn more and more. I think that all life is one experiment after another. You are like a scientist trying to see what will work to solve each problem that you are confronted with. Anything could happen and anything will happen.

Journal #7

William Cullen Bryant’s “To a Waterfowl” (p.151) and Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” (p.181)

In Bryant’s “To a Waterfowl,” the classical views of nature are clearly clashing with romantic views of nature given by Poe in “The Raven.” Bryant writes about a calm and tranquil scene at sunset. He writes about the solitary bird that is guided across the vast sky. Bryant wonders if “there is a power whose care teaches thy way along that pathless coast.” The poem is calm and orderly. The poem takes place at sunset and is meant to be peaceful. As Bryant concludes, he ponders the lesson that the bird is teaching him. Bryant says that the same power that guides the bird to its summer home will “lead my steps aright.” The poem is very logical and rational. It’s not openly religious but it alludes to it. He uses a plain style of writing that is easy to read. The tone is happy and calming which reflects Bryant's view of nature. The poem is also is trying to convey a deeper lesson to the reader. The classical view is that nature is something to observe and meditate on.

Poe writes using a romantic view of nature. His poem is imaginative and spontaneous. He has a clear rhythm throughout the lines that is often dropped and picked up in the next stanza. The poem is very emotional. The tone is dark and depressing, just like the way Poe views nature. Poe's poem is very ornate and not as easy to understand. The rhythm and repetition are unique to this poem. It helps to create the gloomy mood. The poem is suspenseful and builds up to the point when Poe comes across the raven. It takes place “once upon a midnight dreary, while [he] pondered, weak and weary.” The setting is a lot darker and more mysterious than Bryant’s poem. Poe talks about how he lost his love, Lenore. He is not in a stable state, so when the raven appears he takes it as a sign. He heard tapping at his window and opens it up. Poe says that the raven flew in and “perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door.” This sign was meant to convey wisdom and is more subjective than Bryant’s poem.

Poe is looking for solace from the raven but when asked if he will be united with Lenore again, the raven croaks “Nevermore.” That is the bird’s response to all his questions and it makes Poe even more saddened and depressed than he was before. He is constantly calling the bird a demon and wants it to leave his room. The poem is irrational and it doesn’t make sense that a raven would be talking to him. Bryant ends his poem feeling better about life but Poe ends feeling more depressed than before. The poems are both dealing with birds but Bryant's poem is more calming. Poe writes in a darker form of romanticism. Both poems are written in 1st person. Poe's raven is viewed as a demon but Bryan's bird is a divine messenger. The characteristics reflected on the birds reflects their view of nature.