Analysis Of “A Nation’s Strength” By Ralph Waldo Emerson In The Context Of National Consciousness
The most democratic art form is poetry. Written by ordinary people for other ordinary people, poetry is a form of democratized art. The poem becomes a way for the common man to express his nationalism in a subtle and indirect manner. When we identify with a poem of a nationalistic nature, it brings out these sentiments and increases our awareness. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s A Nation’s strength reflects such ideas. Emerson was a man of many ideologies, and it’s important to know his background to fully appreciate A Nation’s Strength. Emerson studied at Harvard College, Boston, and was closely associated with the Church until his wife Ellen’s death.
He could not unquestioningly believe in God after her death. This doubt was sown before he became involved in creating the movement of transcendentalism. Transcendentalism was started in 1830 by people inspired by Romanticism, which had a more intuitive and instinctive approach than hard-core rationalism. Early 19th-century religious rationalism provided a logical answer to many of the questions that people asked about the universe. However, it also left them wondering: what’s next? What else? Why waste intuition and imagination when we have the power to do so? The fundamental principles that transcendentalism was founded on include nurturing a relationship with God as well with nature. They also believe in ensuring the dignity of humans. Emerson is known for his many works, but “Nature” stands out as the one that best reflects his thoughts and ideas. This poem’s foundations are built on the principles of transcendentalism, which unknowingly infiltrate the reader’s mind. In informal speech, words like country, state and nation are sometimes used interchangeably. There are huge differences in their meanings, and what each one emphasizes. Both Country and State are rooted in highly politicized contexts. Country used to be a land term, but has evolved into a region united under a specific political entity. It is not problematic to use this definition for the term state. State is often used as a way to describe government in different contexts. The term Nation is unique among these three terms that seem to be identical. Etymologically speaking, the word is derived by Latin from “nation”, a term that can be translated as people, tribes, or kin.
The Latin term was the basis for “nacion”, a French word that means origin, place, or birth. It was brought into English by French speakers and it sat comfortably in the nation or country niche, though there were some differences. In modern usage, we refer to nation as a distinct and identifiable group of individuals who share a common culture or language. They are also united by other factors. This term draws on similarities in people to create a core concept, which is then expanded to include a political aspect of the grouping of people. The ideology may be political, but its roots are in more organic human relationships. Emerson’s narrative is political, but the title of his poem “A Nation’s Strength”, which he chose deliberately to avoid alliteration, could also have been State or Country. Emerson’s use of “Nation” is intended to preface the central message in his writing that only people can make a country great.
The poem is composed in a relatively simple abab format. The poem uses a few literary devices to make the message stand out. The first question in the text is, “What are the pillars of a nation?” The following line asks what are “the foundations” of a nation. Emerson continues to say that material conditions do not make a strong nation. The building analogy is an interesting one. The building is merely a symbol of construction, not the result. The next lines refer to the strength of a nation that can defeat its enemies. If we link the first two stanzas together, it is possible that the poet wants to convey the idea of a nation with a strong structure which can’t be broken by its enemies.
The three following stanzas build to a crescendo-like conclusion. They address each element that most people consider either very important or most important in building a successful country. Emerson’s ideologies are evident, including his views on human dignity and nature. The second verse begins with an assertion that the nation is stronger than gold. This is where we can debate gold’s importance. Gold is a symbol of luxury and status. Gold could refer to monarchies of old, when determining status. Kings were kings, and they lived lavish lives, with absolute authority. In this context, it is a clear criticism of social structures that privileged and glamorized a small group of people while hiding the majority. The line that mentions “kingdoms” could be a critique on the ancient system where development was highly unequal and fuelled by monarchy. One way of looking at gold is as material wealth, or possession.
Material progress is reflected in the construction of more and higher structures, and in a consumer culture that has advanced. All it takes for the golden, shiny aura to be shattered is a “battleshock”. In the penultimate stanza of this poem, the shafts are described as being laid on “sinking” sand instead of “abiding” rock. This is a powerful point that can be made in many different ways. Sand is not a good material to build anything solid, because it is neither stable nor smooth. It is also prone to sinking and becoming engulfed by the sand. Rock, however, is reliable and can withstand any conditions. This quality is reflected in the poet’s use of “abiding”. It is important to note that “gold”, despite its high status and flashy appearance, does not represent true greatness because it’s foundations are weak. Nature is used to establish a solid base, a first step in transcendentalism. Emerson’s book “Nature”, which is a testament to his belief, shows that the relationship between man and nature is of great importance. This dependency on nature is a reminder that our success as a system will ultimately depend on organic roots, not the conditions we create. The poet embeds a hidden comment that is related to national consciousness. The poet begins by telling people that he is wrong about all the factors that he has linked with the greatness and power of a nationality. In doing so, he gives the common man hope that he can define greatness for a country, rather than relying on factors outside of his control. In this particular verse, the notions that material wealth or monarchial control are essential to national greatness have been shattered.
The third stanza focuses on “the blade”. This symbol represents violence, bloodshed, and the power that can be gained by using this method. The phrase’red dust’ is significant and arguably the heart of the stanza. The poet explains how blood turned stones into rust, while “glory has decayed.” The stones in question could be those stones that were used to build the nation. The red dust starts to accumulate as the blood stained stones rust. Blood red dust is all that remains of the ancient empire. The word “dust” has a powerful meaning. Dust is a nuisance, irrelevant and easily brushed off. It accumulates on objects that have no value or are not well-maintained. Here, nature could be mentioned again. It is useless to plan and strategize in order to win every battle. The stanza refers to an empire and not a kingdom. That means that its rulers achieved great success through their tyrannical tactics and conquered a large area of land. The empire that they ruled “passed on” and was ultimately defeated in battle with life itself. In the end, the only thing left was the dusty traces of blood from the empire.
Empires will eventually become dust. Dust is used to show that even something as trivial as dust can have the power to conquer an empire. Dust is an element of nature, so this message says that nature will eventually reclaim whatever was taken violently by man. The poet continues the subtext of the poem, which is to tell the general population what does and doesn’t make a great empire, while telling them, wordlessly, that they are able to do it. Violence has been the foundation of many empires throughout history. Not one has survived to this day. Even ancient empires like the Mongol Empire or even those that were rising in modern times had an expiration date. In order to make the readers think, I made them see that a tyrant will not succeed in his misguided ways and they would fall. The readers are also given a second reason to doubt the notion of grandeur.
Stanza 4 is the final one of the three that explain what can’t make a country great. The poet does not choose to discuss tangibles such as gold, or symbols that have devastating effects when used such as swords. Instead, he chooses an intangible. Ironically, if compared with gold and sword-wielding men, the chosen intangible may appear small and irrelevant. But upon closer inspection, these ideas are the cause of all evil. These ideas poison one’s mind and tell them that to be a great nation, they must only progress materialistically by killing their enemies. This idea is about pride. Pride is that “bright, sweet crown” that all nations strive to achieve. However, God will finally strike it down and leave “ashes” on its feet. The people in power use pride to convince their citizens to wage wars and exploit the natural world for resources.
Pride is an addictive drug. If you can convince people that belonging to a nation in which they feel proud is important, then there will be a whole generation of addicted individuals. Pride is often referred to by the term Crown, but for two unrelated reasons. The bright, shiny crown, which was so appealing to all nations, may have been a crown. Monarchies are built by convincing people to believe that having a monarch to represent them will ensure that they have a proud nation to be a part of. All was forgiven for the sake of building a proud nation. Second, the crown may mean that pride is more important than gold or the sword. This is what makes a country great. God will ultimately strike down the pride-based empire, which is then reduced to ashes at God’s foot. This is another transcendentalist reference to God, since they believed that God was superior and that fostering a relationship with God was important. Here, the poet tells us that God will bring down these empires if people fall into pride. The poet is also warning them not to use pride to guide their actions.
The two last stanzas show what makes a great nation. He begins the penultimate verse as he did the first, saying that “not gold” can make people or nations strong and great. Truth, honor and “suffering long” are the values that are stressed. The final stanza explains the character of the men responsible for making a great nation. They are courageous and hardworking men who “dare to fly while others sleep”, and even “while other people sleep”. Emerson says that these men can build a nation’s foundations because they “build pillars deep” to take it to new heights.
In the final verse, pillars again serve as a metaphor. Emerson’s men are hardworking, solid and well-rounded. In the final stanzas of his poem, the core is revealed. In the fourth stanza, he reaches a conclusion to the narrative that he had been developing over the previous stanzas. The idea that wealth or money, violence, and pride are all ingredients in our mental image of a great country was destroyed. Ironically these are all things which we as humans have little control. The poem is infused with optimism in the final two stanzas, which assures the reader that a strong nation can only be created by strong people. Emerson shows that each person can decide the type of person he wants to be. He says they should strive to be hardworking and honest men. People can control these factors. Not only are they controllable, but they also motivate people. The prospect of building a great and strong nation can be a powerful incentive to men who are demotivated.
Only if the ideas are shared and unwaveringly strong can a nation’s consciousness become universal. Emerson’s work “A Nation’s Strenght” fosters the growth of this concept, by creating the concept of an ideal nation. By ignoring the factors of wealth, pride and violence that can divide people, Emerson creates a vision of a great nation which is based on the human spirit. This not only helps to unite a nation but also opens the door for tangible growth. A Nation’s Strength is an example of a poem that can unite a nation and improve its consciousness.