The Poets Soul as Described in Emersons The Poet :: Emerson Poet Essays

The Poet's Soul as Described in Emerson's The Poet Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay, entitled " The Poet", takes the reader into a new awareness concerning an artistic writer. This essay created new insight about a writer's handicraft. Emerson shows us how a poet uses his gift to connect a non-artist of words to feelings that he is unable to express. A poet uses his God-given ingredient, the soul, to describe the things that engulf our lives. We, that do not have this talent, are given this connection by the writings in "The Poet". Emerson resigned his position as a minister to concentrate his life work as a writer. His education and upbringing was rich in matters relating to theology. He describes the poet in terms of religion. He points out the theological term called Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and then equates a poet to this using triple increments. Emerson calls the poet the Knower, the Doer and the Sayer. A poet's soul knows what is going on around us. He expresses himself by picking up a pen and saying what's going on. Most people know what senses they are experiencing in their world We are unable to write and/or say in words these experiences. The poet has this unexplainable talent or gift to share with the world. Emerson describes the poet as having scientific knowledge. He takes language and creates the words to enlighten us about our surroundings. He uses his God-given imagination to create thoughts in the reader's mind that were not present there before. These thoughts activate ideas in a non-poetic person. The reader then produces questions and inventions in areas that he shows expertise. Emerson shows the reader how a person without this knowledge of writing is omitted from expressing the beauty of nature. He tells us that the poet has the incredible ability to create images by his words to illustrate the things that we observe. Emerson believes that the poet uses his words to represent beauty (1648). The world is beautiful and it is the poet's job to paint his view of this in his words. "... but it is from the beginning beautiful; and God has not made some beautiful things, but beauty is the creator of the universe..." (1648).