Is Edward Taylor the Poet of Ralph Waldo Emerson?

Fitting The Poet into Real People

Taken from: theosophy-nw.com

Ralph Waldo Emerson composed his essay The Poet in the mid-1800s, and in this work, he listed numerous qualifications for the ideal poet.  After reading Emerson though, one wonders if there was—or if there ever will be—such a poet to achieve such high standards.  There is one poet, named Edward Taylor (1642?-1729), and he may meet these idealistic credentials (Perkins 155).  Of course, Emerson would have never been exposed to Taylor’s works as they were hidden in Yale’s Library until 1937 yet modern readers can still evaluate Taylor by the rules of The Poet (Reuben).  

Taken from: papermasters.com

To begin with, one should examine Emerson’s standards as regards to a good poet.  According to him, expressive and beautiful writing stems from the divine inspiration of the Over-Soul, for though he visits all, only the poets can truly express his ideas (Perkins 1362-63).  Then, a true poet writes creatively and from himself.  Emerson argues, “[f]or it is not meters, but a meter-making argument that makes a poem,—a thought so passionate and alive that like the spirit of a plant or an animal it has an architecture of its own, and adorns nature with a new thing” (1364).  Likewise, good poets should have ample symbols and allegories, and they are able to find their inspiration (or muse) everywhere, which includes mechanical and modernized objects (1367, 75).  Henceforth, they give humanity the innovative, as Emerson writes, “we love the poet, the inventor, who in any form, whether in an ode or in an action or in looks and behavior, has yielded us a new thought.  He unlocks our chains and admits us to a new scene” (1372).

Taken from: poemhunter.com

        Then, after looking at Emerson’s standard, one should return to Edward Taylor.  Taylor, first of all, was not expressively inspired by the “Over-Soul,” but he definitely could have been inspired by God and the Bible.  Symbolism, inspiration from mechanical objects, and metaphysical writings were also prevalent in his poetry.  One good example, which combined all of the above, is “Huswifery” as he declares,

“Make me, O Lord, thy Spin[n]ing Wheele complete.

Thy Holy Worde my Distaff make for mee.

Make mine Affections thy Swift Flyers neate

And make my Soule they holy Spoole to bee.

My Conversation make to be thy Reele

And reele the yarn thereon spun of thy Wheele” (Perkins 160).

Taken from: jlargedream.blogspot.com

Taylor was also very original in content, and he employed unusual meters to communicate his message(s).  I think that Emerson would particularly enjoy the poem “Upon a Spider Catching a Fly” for Taylor writes in an engaging manner, discusses nature, and incorporates theology into the examples found in nature.  The middle section of this poem reads,

“Whereas the silly Fly,

Caught by its leg

Thou by the throate tookst hastily,

And ‘hinde the head

Bite Dead.

This goes to pot, that not

Nature doth call.

Strive not above what strength hath got

Lest in the brawle

Thou fall” (162). 

Taken from: battellemedia.com

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s last—and perhaps greatest—requirement for a good poet was one who “yielded us a new thought” and thus liberated the gods in their writing (1372).  I found that two of Taylor’s works, “The Preface” and “A Fig for Thee Oh! Death,” were especially thought-provoking and, with the first, creatively retells both Creation and the Fall of Man (156-57, 163-64).  After reading Taylor, I did feel like I had a new perspective in both the creation of the world and Adam’s sin as well as the role of death in a Christian’s life.  The ending of “A Fig for Thee Oh! Death” sums it perfectly, by exclaiming,

“And going hand in hand thus through the skies

Up to Eternall glory glorious rise.

Is this the Worst thy terrours then canst, why

Then should this grimace at me terrify?

Why camest thou then so slowly?  Mend thy pace.

Thy Slowness me detains from Christ’s bright face.

Although thy terrours rise to th’highest degree,

I am still where I was, a Fig for thee” (164).

Taken from: botanicalfeast.com

         All in all, I have found that the poet Edward Taylor is the very culmination of Emerson’s The Poet.  Taylor even meets one of my personal standards, which is the ability to be easily remembered, and thus I appreciate him even more.  Perhaps if Emerson had known of Edward Taylor, he would have included him as a prime example in The Poet.

Works Cited

Perkins, George B., and Barbara Perkins. The American Tradition in Literature. 12th ed. Vol. 1. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.

Reuben, Paul P. "Chapter 1: Edward Taylor." PAL: Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide. 1 Oct. 2011. Web. 10 Nov. 2012. http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap1/taylor.html