A Hymn, Storm, and End: Responses to the Poetic Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson

Transcendentalist writer Ralph Waldo Emerson, known more for essays such as Self-Reliance and his ruminations of individuality and anti-conformity, was also an accomplished poet with works that cover many types of subjects. In the case of the poem “Concord Hymn” he composed a moving ballad to the battle that took place during the Revolutionary War. His appreciation of the force of nature is encapsulated in “The Snow-Storm”. In his twilight years he composed “Terminus”, which from the title shows his thoughts on his life at that point.

“Concord Hymn” was created originally as a song that was sung at the ceremony of the statue made in Concord, Massachusetts to commemorate the Battles of Lexington and Concord. It is four stanzas long written in a tetrameter, with some instances of a ninth syllable, in an alternating AB rhyme scheme per couplet. He of course does mention the famous “shot heard round the world” phrase found in all American history books, but there are original phrases of note. He praised the militiamen ‘that made those heroes dare/ to die, or leave their children free,” as well as mentioning the North Bridge where the Battle of Concord started (Emerson). Emerson’s reasons for writing this comes from the fact that he had been living in the town for four years before the performance of this poem. He lived in the town for the remainder of his life, and his experience as a master essayist and orator gave him the nickname of “Concord Sage”.

Emerson veers away from the lyrical to the pastoral in “The Snow-Storm”. This poem is structured in blank verse with a steady rhythm that is inherent in iambic pentameter. There are certain lines where Emerson goes past the last iamb, but with good reason as they end their respective line with necessary words like heaven and enclosed. The poem itself is enclosed in a way, as one can notice the imagery of the first stanza as told from the comfort of being indoors. But at the beginning of the next stanza Emerson takes the reader to “see the north wind’s masonry,” an allusion to the power of the storm in its way of making new structures (Emerson). The way Emerson describes this construction is something that can lend itself to an animated feature, as it along with the rest of that stanza has a vivid imagery and tone that lends itself to that medium.

“Terminus” serves as a swan song of sorts for Emerson, who at that point of his life was doing less work and in mental decline. The first two lines are blunt in in relaying that message, giving the reader an image of Emerson as an old man sailing into his last years. The rhyme scheme is staggered in this piece. It has rhyming couplets and alternating rhymes; an example of this can be seen in the lines that start with the words terms and fruit. In a similar way to “The Snow-Storm” Emerson changes the focus of the poem I the second stanza. It moves away from the images of branches and veins and goes inwards. Emerson’s words “man the rudder, reef the sail, / obey the voice at eve obeyed at prime” of not just the metaphorical boat in this poem, but of his very life. In that stanza he proclaims his fearlessness to the end, where he will find peace.

The structure, images, and importance of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s poems vary but maintain a strength indicative of in not just that form but in prose as well. His famed “hobgoblin of little minds” quote can easily fit into any of his poems. Regardless, it is worth examining this overlooked part of the Transcendentalist writer’s illustrious career.

Works Cited

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. “Concord Hymn.” Poetry Foundation.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. “Terminus.” Poetry Foundation.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. “The Snow-Storm.” Poetry Foundation.