In his essay "The Poet" (1844), Ralph Waldo Emerson makes frequent and eloquent use of Neoplatonic philosophy. A deeper investigation of Neoplatonic metaphysics, particularly of the philosopher Plotinus, gives insight into some of the ideas the Emerson was trying to convey. The acknowledgment of Emerson´s Neoplatonic influence is widely accepted; however, little work seems to have been done in analysis of this particular essay. For this reason I will draw on more general criticisms of Emerson´s work and relate those ideas to my thesis. Emerson drew on the metaphysical teachings as well as the aesthetic teachings of Neoplatonism for his ideas. He employed great effort to imbue every part of his writing with this philosophy. Emerson's philosophic influence was vital in driving Romanticism in the United States. This influence can still be felt in the arts today.

Neoplatonism is a school of philosophy that is usually attributed to the Greek, Plotinus. The metaphysics of Plotinus focuses on the idea of unity of being. He taught that the primary form was a "self-caused" being called "The One". Other forms were derived from The One by a process of emanation. This unity of being means that everything is an integral part of The One. As The One emanates it loses potency, like light shining into a dark room. The further a thing is from The One, the less properties of The One it has. Generally, this is thought of in a ranking from spirit to material. The One is pure spirit and the further it emanates the more material laden it becomes. Another important aspect of Plotinus´ philosophy is his concept of beauty, which Emerson draws from heavily. Beauty was a primary property of The One; the dividing of The One into the forms dispersed the beauty throughout the forms. Material beauty is the lowest form because the material world is the furthest removed from The One. (Gerson) This is a monistic or pantheistic philosophy and everything that exists is seen as a microcosm of the totality of existence. Augustine, the Christian philosopher, as well as a secret sect of Christians called the Gnostics drew heavily on Neoplatonic philosophy. As I will demonstrate, Emerson draws on some Gnostic ideas in his essay in addition to the more traditional Greek version of the teaching.(Kung 137)

Ralph Waldo Emerson employs several versions of what Plotinus would call The One. Emerson refers to the unity of being as The Beauty, Nature, the divine, Unity, and The Deity, to name a few. The varieties of names all refer to the concept that the Neoplatonic philosophers used to describe the Unity of Being. He is insistent that the poet is able to experience this Unity and that is his inspiration for poetry. He quotes the Neoplatonic philosopher Jamblichus who says "Things more excellent than every image are expressed through images." (Emerson 554) This means that everything contains a greater intrinsic value than what is seen externally. This is Emerson´s defense for the commonality of items used in what we would now call Romantic Poetry. The poets of earlier times did not recognize the value of ordinary objects because they failed to realize that all objects are united in existence and each is representative of that unity. Poetry has a special significance in its ability to express this divinity to others. A. Bronson Alcott made this point when he said "...belonging as they (eloquent words) do to the essence of man´s personality, and partaking of the qualities of the Creator, they are of spiritual significance." (14) Even the words describing the world contain the divinity implied by Neoplatonism.

Emerson makes references implying that The One is poetry in itself. The poet's job is to hear the original poetry and copy it accurately.

"For poetry was all written before time was, and whenever we are so finely organized that we can penetrate into that region wehre the air is music, we hear those primal warblins, and attempt to write them down, but we lose ever and anon a word, or a verse, and substitute something of our own, and thus miswrite the poem." (Emerson 552)

Emerson equates poetry with beauty, a primary property of The One. Any natrual beauty is symbolic of the divinity of The One. This point is made in several passages from a large section about symbols. First he says, "Nature offers all her creatures to him as a picture-language." (Emerson 554) Language is symbolic of the real world, not descriptive of the real world. Emerson is stating that the language of nature is one that is seen rather than heard. Emerson also reveals that, "It is nature the symbol, nature certifying the supernatural, body overflowed by life, which he (the poet) worships, with coarse, but sincere rites." (555) Nature is something more than just what we see, nature is supernatural and divine. The poet worships this divinity with his poetry.

Most of the time Emerson clearly explains what he is saying; however, sometimes he seems to take for granted what his audience may or may not know about this philosophy. Emerson makes a few references to Neoplatonism that are not fully developed and whose meanings may be lost to the reader. Emerson claims that "science always goes abreast with the just elevation of the man, keeping step with religion and metaphysics; or, the state of science is an index of our self-knowledge." ( 554) Pantheist philosophers such as Baruch Spinoza believed that if God was the only substance and everything was part of God, then science was a matter studying the self. (Sprigge 889) Emerson also seems to feel that the advancements of our science are a product of self knowledge. The self is representative of the totality of the Universe, to know the self would be to know of everything. Another quote that stands out is "We are...children of the fire, made of it, and only the same divinity transmuted, and at two or three removes, when we know least about it." (Emerson 551) This is a reference to the Gnostic interpretation of the Neoplatonic creation story. The Gnostics believed that the further The One emanated the less perfect the being became. The material world is the furthest thing from The One. It is so far away that humans often do not see the connection. (Kung 140)

Creation references are throughout the essay. Emerson places the poet in a divine role, he is creating poetry which is symbolic of The Beauty. For Emerson the poetic process is no less divine than the creation of the universe. This idea is expressed when he says, "The thought and form are equal in the order of time, but in the order of genesis the thought is prior to the form." (Emerson 553) The first part of the quote is part of a basic theory of epistemology, that we perceive forms and think of those forms simultaneously. The second part refers to the creation or "genesis" of forms. The One is pure spirit, or pure thought that became form by process of emanation. This process was not accidental, so in a sense The One thought of something and then created that form. The poet takes part in this creation process by creating poetry from his thoughts of a form, just as God created the universe from His thoughts of forms. Another creation reference is made with the statement, "Being passes into Appearance, and Unity into Variety." (Emerson 554) Emerson is referring to the transition from spirit or thought into form, and from the singularity of The One to the variety of all the things we see on earth. Emerson refers to creation and Plotinian aesthetics when he states, "God has not made some beautiful things, but Beauty is the creator of the universe." (552) Here he is referring to God as Beauty. God has not made some things that are beautiful and other things that are not; but, Beauty, who is God, has made everything and is everything. This is another defense of the Romantic Ideal. Everything is beautiful; therefore, everything is worthy of becoming poetry. A. Bronson Alcott says of Emerson that he is "a true believer in the world, dealing with men and matters as if they were divine in idea and real in fact."(19)

"Emerson attempted to get his whole philosophy into every essay, and even into single sentences." ( Franklin, Gura, Krupat, Klinkowitz, Levine, Loeffelholz, Reesman, Wallace 492) Emerson was highly influenced by the Neoplatonists and this is evident in his work. At times Emerson is more subtle with his reference to Greek thought. Jay Bregman feels that Emerson has contributed to an aesthetic that is unique to the United States. The transcendentalists and their interest in "Hellenic Neoplatonism as such has formed a backdrop to elements in American thought and art."(Bregman 185) A basic understanding of this style of Greek thought goes a long way in deciphering some of the hidden meaning implanted in Emerson's work and understanding the work of the transcendentalists. The work of these early Americans has affected art and literature in all spheres. Emerson wished to inspire the poets of the United States to sing the "songs unsung", those things that were unique to this part of the world. His work has succeeded in doing so by inspiring artists in all mediums to do so for the next 250 years.

Alcott, A.Bronson. Ralph Waldo Emerson: an Estimate of his Character and Genius. (1882). Appears at The American Verse Project. Available online at Accessed 6/2008. University of Michigan Humanities T ext Initiative. Ann Arbor, MI.

Bregman, Jay. Neoplatonism and American Aesthetics. Appears in Neoplatonism and Western Aesthetics by Alexandrakis, Aphrodite (ed). (2002). State University of New York Press. New York, NY

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. The Poet. (1844). Appears in The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Seventh Edition by Franklin, Gura, Krupat, Klinkowitz, Levine, Loeffelholz, Reesman, Wallace. (2002). W.W. Norton & Company. New York, NY

Franklin, Gura, Krupat, Klinkowitz, Levine, Loeffelholz, Reesman, Wallace.The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Seventh Edition. (2008). W.W. Norton & Company. New York, NY

Gerson, Lloyd. Plotinus. Appears in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Available online at (2003). Accessed 6/2008. Stanford University Press. Stanford,CA

Kung, Hans. Christianity:Essence, History, and Future. (1995). Continuum Press. New York, NY

Sprigge, T.L.S. Baruch Spinoza. (2005). Appears in The Oxford Guide to Philosophy. Oxford University Press. Oxford, England