Emerson, Thoreau, and Dickinson were transcendentalist
Americans in the 19th century. Aside from being extraordinary
writers, they were innovators and free thinkers; firm believers in nonconformity and self-reliance; and also ironically alike in their individuality.
It’s not hard, and almost funny, to see their striking similarities when laid
out, one right after another. One might label them as being hypocritical, it
being so obvious that they influenced one another so greatly. But this is beside
the point; and while it’s true that their ideas had to have been shared somewhere,
or taken from someone, each writer takes on his or her own identity.
Emerson was the first, Thoreau was his disciple and intellectual brother, and
Ms. Dickinson their sister. These similarities are best shown in their writing,
both composed of and built on common styles, uses of syntax, and themes. If one weren’t
familiar with each one, it would be hard to tell them apart.
First, while it is appropriate to acknowledge that these
three thinkers were very different people with very different styles of writing,
they have certain notable similarities that cannot be overlooked. For instance,
while Emily Dickinson’s unique use of punctuation sets her apart from every
other writer, her use of figurative language, and even capitalization, is not
entirely original. Dickinson, Thoreau, and Emerson were all heavy users of
personification, capitalizing such things as “Nature” and “Death,” as if
these things would actually drop by for a card game or something (“Oh,
hi Death, you look rather morbid today…”). In addition to this is imagery, – here, a display of simile – as shown in “The Conclusion” of Walden,
where Thoreau makes the world into
a ship, declaring that he would like to travel on deck, so as to “best see the
moonlight amid the mountains.” Earlier, Emerson describes his profound,
nature-induced trance: “I am nothing: I see all … I am part or parcel of
God,” and Dickinson describes her individuality in “I felt a Funeral, / in
my Brain,” as having been caused by a break in a “Plank in Reason” causing
her to fall and hit a “World, at every plunge.” These breathtaking pictures,
while at first seeming like some psychedelic tirade, are actually well-purposed,
eloquently relating the writer’s point, and reinforcing their profound ideas
by making the reader think a little more. All three use this for the same
purpose, but in slight variations for their respective topics.
It’s notable that one of the more striking elements these
writers have in common are their use of topic sentences with syntax, especially
in paragraph/stanza structure. Emerson built paragraphs from meaningful and
profound statements. He would take one of these statements and then expand upon
it in the paragraph. For instance, in “Nature” and “Self-Reliance,”
these idea-starters could very well make their own paragraph: “Nature is a
setting that fits equally well a comic or a mourning piece,” “Society
everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of the members,”
“Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist,” etc. It is later that we see
that Thoreau’s structure is almost identical to Emerson’s; the main
deviation being that Thoreau would often use a rhetorical question – no
less-meaningful – in place of a statement. Here are some examples of topic
sentences from Walden and “Civil Disobedience:” “If one advances
confidently in the direction of his dreams … he will meet with a success
unexpected in common hours;” “Why should we be in such a desperate haste to
succeed, and in such desperate enterprises?” “What is -the American
Government- but a tradition … endeavoring to transmit itself unimpaired to
posterity, but each instant losing some of its integrity?” You could
understand virtually all of his writing by reading only the first sentence of
each paragraph! And don’t think that this trait – that of being direct
to the point of ugliness - is
simply a male fixation; Dickinson does it too (though, perhaps, a little more
elegantly): “My life closed twice before its close,” “Success is counted
sweetest / By those who ne’er succeed,” “Tell all the Truth, but tell it
slant,” and, my favorite, “Much madness is divinest sense -” Yes, Ralph,
Henry, and Emily are surely the three children of profundity; their topic
sentences can say more than most novels.
Now, last, but not least, we confront theme. This is
perhaps what ties our three subjects together most. Because while Emerson
believed in independence, nonconformity, and free thought, Thoreau and Dickinson
did too. After all, that’s why they’re categorized under the same title:
transcendentalists. Throughout their writings are themes of nature, exploration
of the human soul, isolation, and various other semi-romantic ideas. Emerson’s
essay with the very title “Nature” discusses his self-discovery through the
natural world and his necessary isolation; Thoreau constantly speaks of nature
in Walden, where one of the primary ideas of building his cabin was to
escape other humans and learn about himself and his universe; Dickinson uses
nature in almost every poem (I.E.: “As imperceptibly as grief” and “A
narrow Fellow in the Grass”) to evoke her personal reflection and profound
ideas. All three were bound by similar beliefs, and the currents in their
writings are virtually parallel.
Thoreau and Dickinson were undoubtedly influenced by
Emerson. The very style, the very structure, the very mannerisms behind
their works are so similar that it cannot be denied. Emerson, however, faltered,
in that he did not live by his ideals. He didn’t practice what he preached,
but instead left it to those he influenced. They, the very few, took on the
roles, abandoning society and government, looking to nature, discovering
themselves, and found what they were looking for: madness. They were insane
because they did not conform. They were misunderstood in their time, a
trait that Emerson described as greatness. They were his disciples, but
by no means were they lacking innovation.