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摘要：This paper aims at analyzing and exploring in what way this inspiring speech gains the real key to success and why it wins the admiration of people
关键词：Profound background；Distinct theme； Eloquent language； Great significance
中图分类号：H31文献标识码：A 文章编号：1009-0118（2011）-02-0-02
Ⅰ.Introduction
Emerson is regarded as one of the most stimulating American minds and transcendentalism’s most seminal force in the 19th century，his prominent achievement, “The American Scholar’’, which has been called “American’s Declaration of Intellectual Independence’’, this inspiring speech owes its greatness to the fact that it can be admired on all age levels all the time and always regarded as a masterpiece in American literature.
This thesis intends to explore in what way this speech gains the real key to success and why it wins the admiration of the fellow countrymen and captures their general feeling one generation after another.
1. Profound social background．This inspiring speech was a special product of special social conditions. At that time, American were fighting for “Literary Nationalism’’, asking for a literature independent from that of the Great Britain and fighting for the battle to create a true national literature. On the other hand, in 1837, there was fully sanguine about the literature and the future of America.
2. Distinct theme．In this speech, patriotic theme could be found and effectively conveyed everywhere. In the firm tone of this declaration, one may hear a voice of resolution, a wish for freedom, and a passion for liberty and revolution.
In his masterpiece, Emerson tried in every possible way to persuade that Americans should write here and now instead of imitating and importing from foreign lands.
I ask not for the great, the remote, the romantic, what is doing in Italy or Arabia; what is Greek art, or provencal mistrelsy; I embrace the common, I explore and sit at the foot of the familiar, the low. Give me insight into today. And you may have the antique and future worlds.
Emerson advocated the American scholars that they should write about American in a peculiarly American. Everything common and low was worth writing about, for we are great in our own way—what Emerson was trying to get across to his countrymen was actually this. In this address, he defined the scholar’s obligations for all ages and appealed all levels that they would face the contemporary age, pay close attention to the common, absorb extensively the strong points of others and create the new literature of the new continent.
This confidence in the unsearched might of man belongs, by all motives, by all prophecy, by all preparation, to the American scholar.
From these sentences, we can hear Emerson’s unshakable voice that he called for spiritual independence of the individual and broke from the shackles s of tradition. He made an urge to break away from the past and drew pictures of recognizing and developing the enormous cultural potential power of the American experience. Also, he showed his desire to establish a complete set of principles of experience and a forward-looking philosophy which was based on spontaneous action, creative intuition and self-reliance.
We’ve listened too long to the courtly muses of Europe…We’ll walk on our feet; we work with our own hands; we’ll speak our own minds.’
We can see clearly his contempt to meditate on the past, uphold elegance and have blind faith in the other lands. These sentences also reflected the progressive spirit of the developing capitalism. Through his ideology and work, the national spirit of American was established and developed.
This address was a plea for casting off European models and confronting life as free men in a new island. Further more, it attacked the money worship in American society and emphasized the value as a man. Freely and bravely, the assignment to the scholars should be exposing the truth instead of imitating and following blindly the tradition. Full of highly symbolic and metaphorical value, the theme was distinct, it warned that pedantry should be avoided from seeking the spiritual power within so as to encourage man, improve man and guide man.
3. Eloquent and forceful language．Emerson had excellent skills to make proverbs and philosophy in his speech.. He could explain the profound in simple terms and always convincing. His language in it was characterized by the frequent use of fresh and imaginative expressions. His style of writing was clear, plain, refined and fluent. Through his eloquent and forceful appeal, Emerson expressed his strong patriotic emotion which attracted and aroused the fighting will of the masses. All of these gave charms to the American scholar.
4. Great immediate significance．Emerson’s brilliant contribution to American literature and culture can not be exaggerated. His call for independence culture in the American Scholar played a very important part in the intellectual history of the nation.
He exercised a most seminal influence on the development of American cultural independence. He asserted that even the commonplaces of American life were worth of the highest art.
Emerson’s importance lied in the fact that he reflected a new nation’s desire and struggle to assert its own identity in its formative period.
Obviously, Emerson was an eternal optimist, always predicting a bright future, always speaking for the great and good power of the spirit, of the soul, in human life. He emphasized individualism, independence of mind and self-reliance. The audiences were deeply impressed and encouraged by this masterpiece.
This splendid speech sounded a bugle call for the independence of ideology and literature and the funeral bell depended on European tradition in American. The idea of self-reliance had a deep impact on the young generation at that time; it played a very important role and made great immediate significance.
Conclusion．Generally speaking, The American Scholar deeply reflected the ardent pursuit and desire for American cultural independence; it greatly improved the development of the movement in American art and literature. Fresh and eloquent expressions used in this speech came into the bottom hearts of American; most of them could be deeply impressed and inspired.
Through his speech, Emerson, the first ideological giant in the intellectual history of American, prophesied the coming of a great age in American literature. And today, his works still spread in the spiritual world of many intellectuals, most American will always remember his wise proverbs.
…We will walk on own feet
We will work with our own hands
We will speak our own mind…
参考文献：
[1]常耀信.美国文学简史(第二版)[M].南开大学出版社,2003,(12).
[2]程爱民.20世纪英美文学论稿[M].上海外语教育出版社,2002,(2).
[3]吴伟仁.美国文学史及选读[M].外语教学与研究出版社,1990,(6).
[4]吴定柏.美国文学大纲[M].上海外语教育出版社,1998,(9).
关键词：Profound background；Distinct theme； Eloquent language； Great significance
中图分类号：H31文献标识码：A 文章编号：1009-0118（2011）-02-0-02
Ⅰ.Introduction
Emerson is regarded as one of the most stimulating American minds and transcendentalism’s most seminal force in the 19th century，his prominent achievement, “The American Scholar’’, which has been called “American’s Declaration of Intellectual Independence’’, this inspiring speech owes its greatness to the fact that it can be admired on all age levels all the time and always regarded as a masterpiece in American literature.
This thesis intends to explore in what way this speech gains the real key to success and why it wins the admiration of the fellow countrymen and captures their general feeling one generation after another.
1. Profound social background．This inspiring speech was a special product of special social conditions. At that time, American were fighting for “Literary Nationalism’’, asking for a literature independent from that of the Great Britain and fighting for the battle to create a true national literature. On the other hand, in 1837, there was fully sanguine about the literature and the future of America.
2. Distinct theme．In this speech, patriotic theme could be found and effectively conveyed everywhere. In the firm tone of this declaration, one may hear a voice of resolution, a wish for freedom, and a passion for liberty and revolution.
In his masterpiece, Emerson tried in every possible way to persuade that Americans should write here and now instead of imitating and importing from foreign lands.
I ask not for the great, the remote, the romantic, what is doing in Italy or Arabia; what is Greek art, or provencal mistrelsy; I embrace the common, I explore and sit at the foot of the familiar, the low. Give me insight into today. And you may have the antique and future worlds.
Emerson advocated the American scholars that they should write about American in a peculiarly American. Everything common and low was worth writing about, for we are great in our own way—what Emerson was trying to get across to his countrymen was actually this. In this address, he defined the scholar’s obligations for all ages and appealed all levels that they would face the contemporary age, pay close attention to the common, absorb extensively the strong points of others and create the new literature of the new continent.
This confidence in the unsearched might of man belongs, by all motives, by all prophecy, by all preparation, to the American scholar.
From these sentences, we can hear Emerson’s unshakable voice that he called for spiritual independence of the individual and broke from the shackles s of tradition. He made an urge to break away from the past and drew pictures of recognizing and developing the enormous cultural potential power of the American experience. Also, he showed his desire to establish a complete set of principles of experience and a forward-looking philosophy which was based on spontaneous action, creative intuition and self-reliance.
We’ve listened too long to the courtly muses of Europe…We’ll walk on our feet; we work with our own hands; we’ll speak our own minds.’
We can see clearly his contempt to meditate on the past, uphold elegance and have blind faith in the other lands. These sentences also reflected the progressive spirit of the developing capitalism. Through his ideology and work, the national spirit of American was established and developed.
This address was a plea for casting off European models and confronting life as free men in a new island. Further more, it attacked the money worship in American society and emphasized the value as a man. Freely and bravely, the assignment to the scholars should be exposing the truth instead of imitating and following blindly the tradition. Full of highly symbolic and metaphorical value, the theme was distinct, it warned that pedantry should be avoided from seeking the spiritual power within so as to encourage man, improve man and guide man.
3. Eloquent and forceful language．Emerson had excellent skills to make proverbs and philosophy in his speech.. He could explain the profound in simple terms and always convincing. His language in it was characterized by the frequent use of fresh and imaginative expressions. His style of writing was clear, plain, refined and fluent. Through his eloquent and forceful appeal, Emerson expressed his strong patriotic emotion which attracted and aroused the fighting will of the masses. All of these gave charms to the American scholar.
4. Great immediate significance．Emerson’s brilliant contribution to American literature and culture can not be exaggerated. His call for independence culture in the American Scholar played a very important part in the intellectual history of the nation.
He exercised a most seminal influence on the development of American cultural independence. He asserted that even the commonplaces of American life were worth of the highest art.
Emerson’s importance lied in the fact that he reflected a new nation’s desire and struggle to assert its own identity in its formative period.
Obviously, Emerson was an eternal optimist, always predicting a bright future, always speaking for the great and good power of the spirit, of the soul, in human life. He emphasized individualism, independence of mind and self-reliance. The audiences were deeply impressed and encouraged by this masterpiece.
This splendid speech sounded a bugle call for the independence of ideology and literature and the funeral bell depended on European tradition in American. The idea of self-reliance had a deep impact on the young generation at that time; it played a very important role and made great immediate significance.
Conclusion．Generally speaking, The American Scholar deeply reflected the ardent pursuit and desire for American cultural independence; it greatly improved the development of the movement in American art and literature. Fresh and eloquent expressions used in this speech came into the bottom hearts of American; most of them could be deeply impressed and inspired.
Through his speech, Emerson, the first ideological giant in the intellectual history of American, prophesied the coming of a great age in American literature. And today, his works still spread in the spiritual world of many intellectuals, most American will always remember his wise proverbs.
…We will walk on own feet
We will work with our own hands
We will speak our own mind…
参考文献：
[1]常耀信.美国文学简史(第二版)[M].南开大学出版社,2003,(12).
[2]程爱民.20世纪英美文学论稿[M].上海外语教育出版社,2002,(2).
[3]吴伟仁.美国文学史及选读[M].外语教学与研究出版社,1990,(6).
[4]吴定柏.美国文学大纲[M].上海外语教育出版社,1998,(9).