Download by Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Rhodora
by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Sam, Eric, Kirsten, Maria
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
- Born in Boston
- Wrote on multiple subjects including:
= Individuality
= Freedom
= Relationship between soul and surrounding area
= Ability for mankind to realize almost anything
- Gradually moved away from religious and
social beliefs
- Moved towards Transcendentalism
The Rhodora
On Being Asked, Whence Is the Flower?
In May, when sea-winds pierced our solitudes,
I found the fresh Rhodora in the woods,
Spreading its leafless blooms in a damp nook,
To please the desert and the sluggish brook.
The purple petals, fallen in the pool,
Made the black water with their beauty gay;
Here might the flower that cheapens his array.
Rhodora! if the sages ask thee why
This charm is wasted on the earth and sky,
Tell them, dear, that if eyes were made for seeing,
Then Beauty is its own excuse for being:
Why thou wert there, O rival of the rose!
I never thought to ask, I never knew;
But, in my simple ignorance, suppose
The self-same Power that brought me there brought you.
An Equation
by Goethe
Goethe
- Study of natural sciences
- Writer, artist, and politician
An Equation
Some flowers from the fields I sought
And took them home with many a thought;
But then from my warm hand I found
The crowns all drooping to the ground.
I put them in a fresh-filled glass
And what a marvel came to pass!
The heads were standing up once more,
The leaves and stalks green as before,
All flourishing as with new birth,
As if they still stood in their mother earth.
Just so I felt when I heard my song sung
Marvellously strange in an alien tongue.
Essential Questions:
1. Is the essence/ meaning of life portrayed
similarly in the two poems? Why or why
not?
2. What is the symbolism of the flower in
both of the poems?
3. Which poem focuses more on the idea
of the supernatural? Give examples.
The Rhodora
An Equation
On Being Asked, Whence Is the Flower? Some flowers from the fields I sought
In May, when sea-winds pierced our solitudes,And took them home with many a
I found the fresh Rhodora in the woods,
thought;
Spreading its leafless blooms in a damp nook,
But then from my warm hand I found
To please the desert and the sluggish brook.
The crowns all drooping to the ground.
The purple petals, fallen in the pool,
I put them in a fresh-filled glass
Made the black water with their beauty gay;
Here might the flower that cheapens his array.And what a marvel came to pass!
Rhodora! if the sages ask thee why
This charm is wasted on the earth and sky, The heads were standing up once more,
Tell them, dear, that if eyes were made for
The leaves and stalks green as before,
seeing,
All flourishing as with new birth,
Then Beauty is its own excuse for being:
As if they still stood in their mother
Why thou wert there, O rival of the rose!
earth.
I never thought to ask, I never knew;
But, in my simple ignorance, suppose
The self-same Power that brought me there Just so I felt when I heard my song sung
brought you.
Marvellously strange in an alien tongue.
John Constable. Helmingham Dell. 1825-26.