A Nation’s Strength -William Ralph Emerson

A Nation’s Strength

-William Ralph Emerson

What makes a nation’s pillars high

And its foundations strong?

What makes it mighty to defy

The foes that round it throng?

It is not gold. Its kingdoms grand

Go down in battle shock;

Its shafts are laid on sinking sand,

Not on abiding rock.

Is it the sword? Ask the red dust

Of empires passed away;

The blood has turned their stones to rust,

Their glory to decay.

And is it pride? Ah, that bright crown

Has seemed to nations sweet;

But God has struck its luster down

In ashes at his feet.

Not gold but only men can make

A people great and strong;

Men who for truth and honor’s sake

Stand fast and suffer long.

Brave men who work while others sleep,

Who dare while others fly...

They build a nation’s pillars deep

And lift them to the sky.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882) was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champion of individualism and a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society, and he disseminated his thoughts through dozens of published essays and more than 1,500 public lectures across the United States.

Emerson gradually moved away from the religious and social beliefs of his contemporaries, formulating and expressing the philosophy of transcendentalism in his 1836 essay "Nature". Following this work, he gave a speech entitled "The American Scholar" in 1837, which Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. considered to be America's "intellectual Declaration of Independence".^[3]

Emerson wrote most of his important essays as lectures first and then revised them for print. His first two collections of essays, Essays: First Series (1841) and Essays: Second Series (1844), represent the core of his thinking. They include the well-known essays "Self-Reliance", "The Over-Soul", "Circles", "The Poet" and "Experience". Together with "Nature",^[4] these essays made the decade from the mid-1830s to the mid-1840s Emerson's most fertile period.

Emerson wrote on a number of subjects, never espousing fixed philosophical tenets, but developing certain ideas such as individuality, freedom, the ability for mankind to realize almost anything, and the relationship between the soul and the surrounding world. Emerson's "nature" was more philosophical than naturalistic: "Philosophically considered, the universe is composed of Nature and the Soul". Emerson is one of several figures who "took a more pantheist or pandeist approach by rejecting views of God as separate from the world."^[5]

He remains among the linchpins of the American romantic movement,^[6] and his work has greatly influenced the thinkers, writers and poets that followed him. When asked to sum up his work, he said his central doctrine was "the infinitude of the private man."^[7] Emerson is also well known as a mentor and friend of Henry David Thoreau, a fellow transcendentalist.^[8]

American poet, essayist, and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson was born on May 25, 1803, in Boston, Massachusetts. After studying at Harvard and teaching for a brief time, Emerson entered the ministry. He was appointed to the Old Second Church in his native city, but soon became an unwilling preacher. Unable in conscience to administer the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper after the death of his nineteen-year-old wife of tuberculosis, Emerson resigned his pastorate in 1831.

The following year, he sailed for Europe, visiting Thomas Carlyle and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Carlyle, the Scottish-born English writer, was famous for his explosive attacks on hypocrisy and materialism, his distrust of democracy, and his highly romantic belief in the power of the individual. Emerson’s friendship with Carlyle was both lasting and significant; the insights of the British thinker helped Emerson formulate his own philosophy.

On his return to New England, Emerson became known for challenging traditional thought. In 1835, he married his second wife, Lydia Jackson, and settled in Concord, Massachusetts. Known in the local literary circle as “The Sage of Concord," Emerson became the chief spokesman for Transcendentalism, the American philosophic and literary movement. Centered in New England during the 19th century, Transcendentalism was a reaction against scientific rationalism.

Emerson’s first book, Nature (1836), is perhaps the best expression of his Transcendentalism, the belief that everything in our world—even a drop of dew—is a microcosm of the universe. His concept of the Over-Soul—a Supreme Mind that every man and woman share—allowed Transcendentalists to disregard external authority and to rely instead on direct experience. “Trust thyself," Emerson’s motto, became the code of Margaret Fuller, Bronson Alcott, Henry David Thoreau, and W. E. Channing. From 1842 to 1844, Emerson edited the Transcendentalist journal, The Dial.

Emerson wrote a poetic prose, ordering his essays by recurring themes and images. His poetry, on the other hand, is often called harsh and didactic. Among Emerson’s most well known works are Essays, First and Second Series(1841, 1844). The First Series includes Emerson’s famous essay, “Self-Reliance," in which the writer instructs his listener to examine his relationship with Nature and God, and to trust his own judgment above all others.

Emerson’s other volumes include Poems (1847), Representative Men (1850), The Conduct of Life (1860), and English Traits (1865). His best-known addresses are The American Scholar (1837) and The Divinity School Address, which he delivered before the graduates of the Harvard Divinity School, shocking Boston’s conservative clergymen with his descriptions of the divinity of man and the humanity of Jesus.

Emerson’s philosophy is characterized by its reliance on intuition as the only way to comprehend reality, and his concepts owe much to the works of Plotinus, Swedenborg, and Böhme. A believer in the “divine sufficiency of the individual," Emerson was a steady optimist. His refusal to grant the existence of evil caused Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry James, Sr., among others, to doubt his judgment. In spite of their skepticism, Emerson’s beliefs are of central importance in the history of American culture.

Prose

Essays: First Series (1841)
Essays: Second Series (1844)
Addresses, and Lectures (1849)
Representative Men (1850)
The Conduct of Life (1860)
English Traits (1865)
Society and Solitude (1870)

A Nation's Strength by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

A Nation's Strength by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

Class VIII

Stanza 1: “What makes a nation’s pillar high

And its foundations strong?

What makes it mighty to defy

The foes that round it throng”

In this poem, the poet makes several questions to clarify what he wants to say. In the very beginning he equates a country to a big building. Then he puts a question as to what are the things which make its pillars high and foundation very strong. What are the things that can challenge its enemies who have crowded around it?

Paraphrase: What are the things that make a nation’s pillars high and its foundation strong? What are the things that make a nation strong enough to defy or challenge its enemies that have surrounded it in a large number?

Stanza 2

“It is not gold. Its kingdoms grand

Go down in battle shock;

Its shafts are laid on sinking sand,

Not on abiding rock.”

Paraphrase : In the second stanza, the poet himself answers. He says that it is not gold that makes a country great.  Here gold stands for material progress of a nation. A nation may have large treasures of gold, money, natural resources. It may be having very high per ca-pita income. Material progress is not permanent. Wealth is also not permanent. It may come and it may go. The riches also make a person or a nation proud and rash.  So any battle can ruin the material progress of a person or a nation. We have so many examples in modern world in this context. Even the mighty and richer country may be destroyed. So the riches and material progress do not provide strong foundation to a nation. The building which stands on weak foundation may fall any time. The foundation made on the basis of wealth is like that made on sinking sand, not on durable rock. It may fall any time. It may be defeated by its enemies any time.

Stanza 3

Is it the sword? Ask the dust

Of empires passed away;

The blood has turned their stones to rust,

Their glory to decay.

Paraphrase: In this stanza, the poet again puts a question. Is it the sword that makes a nation strong? Here the sword stands for power. The people who are economically strong threaten others of dire consequences. They even fight and terrorize them to accept their supremacy. Similar is the case with the nations who are strong and powerful. They bully other nations to accept defeat. History is replete (full of) with examples of the fierce battles fought between such rulers. The poet suggests to us to ask the dust of the empires which are no more now about the result of such fierce battles. The bloodshed made the strong pillars of those empires weak as rust forces iron to decay.  The glory of the powerful empires never lasted for long.

Stanza 4.

And is it pride? Ah, that bright crown

Has seemed to nations sweet;

But God has struck its luster down

In ashes at his feet.

Paraphrase: After explaining that battles never made a nation strong, the poet proceeds to say that the pride of wearing glittering crowns also never made their nations powerful. Emperors and kings in the past had been very fond of wearing bright crowns on their heads. They also felt proud of being powerful and owning great empires. But their pride had to fall down. Their glory had to fade away with the passage of time. Kingdoms may have achieved glory by making victories over weak kingdoms. But that glory was not permanent.

Stanza 5.

Not gold but only men can make

A people great and strong;

Men who for truth and honour’s sake

Stand fast and suffer long. Brave men who work while others sleep,

Who dare while others fly…

They build a nation’s pillars deep

And lift them to the sky.

Paraphrase: In stanza five, the poet explains his points clearly in a straight forward manner. He says that it is not gold or wealth that makes a nation strong. Only the people who can stand by truth and honesty and who can suffer long for these great virtues can make their country great and strong.

These are the brave men who are always alert and active. These are the men who sacrifice their sleep for the safety and security of their country. These are the men who dare to challenge the enemies of their country and never run away from their duty. These are the men who make the pillars of their nation’s deep, strong and take them high in the sky. They provide strong foundation to the edifice of their nation. 

1. What makes a nation strong?

Ans. Brave men who stand firm for the sake of truth and honor during periods of hardship are what makes a nation strong.

2. According to you, what makes India a strong and powerful nation?

Ans. Any country must overcome many of the economic, social, and political problems before it can be considered a superpower. India is also not yet influential on the international stage as compared to the USA or the former Soviet Union.

3. Write down the rhyme scheme used in the extract.

Ans. Rhyme scheme: abab

4. What does the phrase ‘others fly .....’ mean?

Ans. ‘Others fly ...’ refers to the people who don’t have the courage to face difficult situation and run away from them.  

Q. 4. B. Read the following extract and answer the questions given below: (4 marks)

(1) Why, according to the poet, are wealthy kingdoms unstable? (1)

Ans. According to poet wealthy kingdoms are unstable because wealthy kingdoms can be destroyed in battles.

(2) What aspects of life in India are you proud of? (1)

Ans. In a secular country like India we have freedom of speech. Unity in diversity is the main aspects of life in India in which I am proud of.

(3) Note down the pairs of rhyming words from the extract.  (1)

Ans. high - defy, strong - throng, grand - sand, shock - rock.

(4) What purpose does the use of questions serve in the extract? (1)

Ans. In this poem the poet asks the readers many questions in the rhetorical manner. In this way the poet does not require answers from the readers but he can convey his message to us.

Q. 4. C. Read the following extract and answer the questions given below: (4 marks)

Q. 1 How should be the foundation of nation?

Ans The foundation of nation should be strong.

Q.2 How can we make our nation strong?

Ans: Neither wealth nor strength makes the nation strong. Hard work with honesty and devotion can make our nation strong.

Q. 3 What figure of speech is used in "it is not gold"?

Ans: Metonymy: The word "gold" is used to mean wealth.

Q. 4 What is the rhyme scheme followed in the poem?

Ans: abab

1 What makes a nation’s pillars high
2 And it’s foundations strong?
3 What makes it mighty to defy
4 The foes that round it throng?

5 It is not gold. Its kingdoms grand
6 Go down in battle shock;
7 Its shafts are laid on sinking sand,
8 Not on abiding rock.

9 Is it the sword? Ask the red dust
10 Of empires passed away;
11 The blood has turned their stones to rust,
12 Their glory to decay.

13 And is it pride? Ah, that bright crown
14 Has seemed to nations sweet;
15 But God has struck its luster down
16 In ashes at his feet.

17 Not gold but only men can make
18 A people great and strong;
19 Men who for truth and honor’s sake
20 Stand fast and suffer long.

21 Brave men who work while others sleep,
22 Who dare while others fly…
23 They build a nation’s pillars deep
24 And lift them to the sky.

______________________________________________
In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s poem, A Nation’s Strength, the author uses vivid imagery and metaphors to convince the reader that the strength of a nation, is not in its wealth or military prowess, but its people.
Emerson begins the poem with a metaphor, comparing a nation to a building; “pillars” creates an image of a massive municipal structure (1). What keeps this foundation from cracking? Not wealth – the foundation is “laid in sinking sand and not on abiding rock” (7-8). Wealth comes and goes; to be able to withstand the struggles of time one must have a more substantial foundation than money. He asks a rhetorical question: “Is it the sword?” (9). Does strength in battle equate to a strong nation? The author uses an image of this building that represents a nation, its stone is stained with blood, reduced to rubble from its endless wars (11). Its “glory [turns] to decay” (12); history looks upon the nation’s battles as slaughter rather than glorious conquest.
Again Emerson asks a rhetorical question to grab the reader’s attention: “And is it pride?” (13). He compares pride to a “bright crown” which connotes an arrogant king. (13) But in the end, it is not gold, or pride, or battle prowess that makes a nation strong, it’s those “brave men who work while others sleep [and] dare while others fly” (21-22). It’s the hearts and minds of those who toil everyday to build our hospitals and teach our children. Without the strength of the people a nation has no foundation and is doomed to collapse. “The high stands on whats below. The root of the noble is in the common.” (Lao Tzu)

Imagery and rhythm and rhyme

In this section of the study guide, we will discuss the imagery and rhythm and rhyme of “A Nation’s Strength” by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Imagery

Imagery and metaphors are usually employed to enhance the meaning of a text and have the purpose of embellishing it. In “A Nation’s Strength” by Ralph Waldo Emerson, several other figures of speech are also employed:

• Symbols
• Rhetorical questions
• Personification
• Alliteration

Metaphors

The first metaphor employed in the poem appears in the first stanza, particularly in the first line of the poem. The word “pillars” (l. 1) creates the metaphor of a building; the poet associates a nation with a building which needs to have a strong foundation in order not to collapse:

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Symbols

In the poem, several elements symbolize the decay of past nations. For instance, the “sword” (l. 11) symbolizes war and the thirst for blood. History has witnessed many nations that fought only for the sake of conquering others and destroying; eventually, those warrior nations have disappeared for good, turning “their glory to decay” (l. 14).

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Rhythm and rhyme

The poem “A Nation’s Strength” by Ralph Waldo Emerson is a six-stanza poem, each stanza having four lines. The poem follows the rhyme scheme ABAB, which is also called alternate rhyme. In the following example, the first line rhymes with the third while the second line rhymes with the fourth:

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Language and style

The language and style of “A Nation’s Strength” by Ralph Waldo Emerson are very important, as they can tell you a lot about the poet and his beliefs, but also because they can strengten your understanding of the text.

Playing with the language

Ralph Waldo Emerson plays with language in his poem, as he never reveals which nations he describes. First of all, the poet never reveals that he talks about the United States of America in the poem and that he encourages his

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Tense of the verbs

The poem “A Nation’s Strength” is written in a combination of present and past tenses. For instance, the poem begins with verbs in the present simple [“makes” (l. 1, l. 3)] especially to indicate permanence and something eternal.

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The style of the poem

Written in 1847, the poem might seem rather old-fashioned for modern readers. The poem is quite solemn, as it resembles a call to action for the fellow citizens of the author. Even if the direct address is never used in the poem, it is

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The mode of expression

The poem takes the form of an appeal towards the poet’s fellow citizens, even if the direct address is never used. What is more, the first four stanzas of the poem enumerate the wrong deeds of past nations which have failed to rise

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The sentence structure

Except for the example of inverted syntax, the poem has a rather simple sentence structure. The sentences are either very short or medium-length, and they spread over one stanza at most.

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The effect of the language and style

Overall, the poem comes across as very solemn and as an invitation addressed to every citizen to change for the better and contribute to making their country great and strong. The descriptive language strengthens the beauty of the

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Characters and narrator

The most important characters in the poem “A Nation’s Strength” by Ralph Waldo Emerson are the narrator and the nation – represented as a collective character. In addition, there is the group of “brave men” which is individualized and worth mentioning.

The narrator

The narrator of the poem is also the speaker. As there are no other signs regarding the identity of the narrator, we can assume that he is a persona of the author, Ralph Waldo Emerson.

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The nation

The nation as a collective character is described through stories of the past. It is, in fact, past nations which are meant to teach people not to repeat the mistakes of the ancient times.

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The brave men

Opposite the nations that failed are the brave men who can make their nation great and strong. Such brave men do not focus on gathering riches, with leading wars or with being proud. Instead, they are brave, and they do not fear