Emerson, Ralph Waldo - Concord, MA

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Concord, MA

N 42° 27.884 W 071° 20.494

Author's Ridge contains the graves of the four elite members of the Boston literary world of the 19th century. In sequential order you will find the family plots, including the graves, of these four famous contemporary authors: Henry David Thoreau ( July 12, 1817 – May 6, 1862), Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864), Louisa May Alcott (November 29, 1832 – March 6, 1888), and Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882).

Ralph Waldo Emerson was a poet, essayist, and lecturer who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He published numerous essays and and gave more than 1,500 public lectures. His most famous works include the poem Concord Hymn and the essay Self-Reliance. His poem the "Concord Hymm" is part of the canon of high school courses in English Literature. Emerson is buried under a large boulder with a bronze plaque containing an epitaph he wrote for himself. It is inscribed:

RALPH WALDO

EMERSON

BORN IN BOSTON MAY 25 1803

DIED IN CONCORD APRIL 27 1862

THE PASSIVE MASTER LENT HIS HAND

TO THE VAST SOUL WHICH O'ER HIM PLANNED

Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson:

Poems:

"Concord Hymn"
"The Rhodora"
"Brahma"
"Uriel"
"The Snow-Storm (poem)"

Essays

"Nature" (1836)
"Self-Reliance" (Essays: First Series)
"Compensation" (First Series)
"The Over-Soul" (First Series)
"Circles" (First Series)
"The Poet" (Essays: Second Series)
"Experience" (Essays: Second Series)
"Politics" (Second Series)
"The American Scholar"
"New England Reformers"

Setting