Poem of the Week: Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The Snow-Storm"

I've never much cared for Emerson as poet or essayist--perhaps it is time to return and examine those old the threadbare prejudices.  Too often what I have not liked in the past yields wonderful new things to love in the present, and judging from the excerpt below, Mr. Emerson's verse may reveal some interesting tidbits.

from "The Snow-Storm"
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Come see the north wind's masonry
Out of an unseen quarry evermore
Furnished with tile, the fierce artificer
Curves his white bastions with projected roof
Round every windward stake, or tree, or door.

Comments

  1. Thomas DNovember 1, 2010 at 11:16 AM

    This poem has always been one of my favorites. Always, since my first close reading at about age 20 or 21.

    Having said that, I think Emerson is generally much better as an essayist than as a poet.

    ReplyDelete

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