READING "EXPERIENCE"
At the risk of repeating myself, this, too, is a difficult and in some ways painful essay. In it, Emerson considers, among other things, the death of his young son Waldo. And at many points, the essay seems despairing in tone. It’s tempting to see Waldo’s death as the source of that despair, but once again, the actual history of the essay’s composition complicates that reading. As the note on page 1088 of the Norton Anthology points out, "David Hill has shown that some of the more optimistic passages derive from journal entries made after Waldo’s death, while some of the darker passages were first drafted before 1842, so no simple autobiographical reading is tenable." Pay attention, as you read, to the contrast between the gloomier passages and the more positive ones. Do these passages simply alternate, or does the essay move from gloom to redemption?
Consider the essay’s opening carefully. How does the poem that stands as an epigraph relate to the body of the essay? Examine the images of the essay’s first paragraph. How are they similar to those that we’ve seen in the other Emerson texts that we’ve studied? Does this essay seem to mark a significant departure from positions we’ve seen Emerson take elsewhere?
We’ve talked about the problem of isolation in Emerson’s other texts. How does it appear here? Pay attention to the first paragraph on page 1090, and to the first paragraph on page 1100 as well.
Watch for other images we’ve encountered before. Circles and spheres abound, as you’ll see on page 1100. Are they the same circles we’ve seen before?
Note also that there are many images of vision and optics. Perception and problems of perception are very much at issue in this essay. What things affect perception here? Pay attention to Emerson’s discussion of mood and temperament. What’s the relationship between temperament and the self in this text? What about the relationship between temperament and mood?
You’re doing very well with Emerson so far. Don’t hesitate to see me with questions, and avail yourselves of the newsgroup, too. It’s fine to post specific questions about particular passages.