“COOL: SAN FRANCISCO & SHAKESPEARE”

Published in 1841, “Self-Reliance” is a seminal essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882) which promoted belief in oneself. Though a more familiar theme in today’s world, at the time, it was a revolutionary statement. In his essay, Emerson eloquently implores individuals to seize the truth within. He states, “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.” Over the course of 10,000 words, he repeatedly tells us to not rely on others for answers and knowledge; but rather, to have the courage to pronounce our own thoughts and risk the possibility of rejection in the process. In short, he believed that each of us possessed the capacity to be self-reliant. Not as it pertains to wealth or survival skills, but as it relates to our minds, our ideas and instincts, our goals and aspirations.

In “Self-Reliance,” Emerson strikes out against conformity, believing that to adhere to it is to short-change our individual selves. His argument is that if we look to others for guidance, the chances are likely that we will recognize our own ideas within theirs. And if so, does that not mean that we are capable of such brilliance in our own right? If this be true, why should we fear letting others know? As a Transcendentalist, Emerson subscribed to the belief that every individual could achieve an ideal spiritual state via his/her own intuition. To conform would be to squash that intuition. To sail along straight instead of finding our own true path. As Emerson noted, “The voyage of the best ship is a zigzag line of a hundred tracks.”

###

The metaphysical poets were a group of 17th century poets who concerned themselves with the experience of man and the nature of being in the world. What is our place within the world and how to best define that place? Taking up the philosophy of metaphysics, first set forth by Aristotle, the metaphysical poets wrote of experience, including love, romance, beauty, and man’s relationship with God.

Batter my heart, three-person’d God; for you
As yet but knock, breath, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise, and stand, o’erthrow me and bend
Your force, to break, blow, burn and make me new.
I, like an usurpt town, to another due,
Labour to admit you, but Oh, to no end,
Reason your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captiv’d, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
But am betroth’d unto your enemy:
Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I
Except you entrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chase, except you ravish me.

(Holy Sonnet XIV, “Batter my heart,” John Donne)

Led by John Donne, the metaphysical poets were overall independent of one another. Unlike say the Romantics, who shared ideas and influence. Quite simply, the metaphysical movement of the 17th century was one that simultaneously captured a number of poets at the time, including George Herbert, Andrew Marvell, and George Chapman – though they worked alone. Their poems were lyric poems, defined by wit, wordplay, and arguments that often prove a dualism in meaning. As for their name, it was actually Samuel Johnson in The Life of Cowley (1779-81) who grouped the poets under the well-known umbrella: “the metaphysical poets.”

###