‘The Rhodora’ by Ralph Waldo Emerson is one of the poems from ‘Poems’, a collection of his poetic works, published in the year of 1847. In ‘The Rhodora’ the poet seems to be enraptured by the rhodora, a common flowering shrub in New England. It is to be noted that though the poet is charmed by the beauty of the flower, he does not ignore the other elements of nature, especially the pleasant weather of the month of May. In fact this is the first thing that he mentions in the poem (Emerson, 1847, line: 1). The beauty of the flower along with the pleasant wind of May inspires the poet to take a walk. The wish of the poet for some activity that is inspired by what he saw testifies to the intensity as well as the trueness of the impression that the beauty of the rhodora flower had on the poet. Though the attention of the poet seems to be focused on the flower, he pays heed to the red birds and the black water. There seems to be an abrupt change of tone from the ninth line of the poem when the poet is found to address the rhodora flower. He even seems to be very passionate while conversing with the flower. The phrases or the words that he uses to address or to describe the rhodora, such as ‘dear’ or ‘rival of the rose’ make clear hoe intense is the feeling of the poet after he had come across the rhodora (Emerson, 1847, line:11 - 13).
It is very interesting to find the way in which the poet portrays the flower. In fact, the portrayal of the flower by the poet reveals how the poet sees himself in relation to the rhodora. For Emerson the rhodora is as it is with its existence in the nature. However, it is to be noted that the rhodora itself is “introduced when (in line four) it is imbued with the poet’s own emotions” (Martin, 1991, p. 15). The persona of the poem observes the beauty of the rhodora in its contrast to the dark and muddy surroundings. In this respect, this poem stands in sharp contrast to ‘The Daffodils’ (1804) by William Wordsworth, one of the greatest English romantic poets. It is necessary to mention in this regard that The Daffodils by William Wordsworth is often referred to while discussing ‘The Rhodora’ by Emerson. There is another contrast that can be cited here. The poet in ‘The Rhodora’ is passionate but does not seem to be carried away by the beauty of the flower, while William Wordsworth does. However, the realistic way of viewing of the rhodora by the poet does not suppress the emotion of the poet. Neither does it put up any kind of hindrance before the poet to use his imaginative faculty. “He imagines a bird coming and challenging the rhodora flower for outshining its red plumage” (Bussey, n.d.). He is also passionate enough to describe the rhodora as the rival of the rose.
There are mainly three themes in ‘The Rhodora’. Beauty is the primary theme in this poem. It is not only the beauty of the fresh rhodora flower that the poet observes. He also goes to the extent of thinking how this flower can change its setting that takes into account the ‘black water’, ‘damp nook’ and ‘sluggish Brook’. So far the concepts of beauty is concerned with this poem, though the poet seems to try to be a bit unconventional, he does not appear to be totally revolutionary, though his effort to come out of the traditional concepts of beauty is evident. When he describes the rhodora as the rival to the rose, his quest for a new image for beauty becomes obvious. At the same time it has also t be noted that he has not been able to denounce the traditional and conventional idea of using rose as an image for something extraordinarily beautiful. Divinity is also another theme of the poem. That the poet believes in a divine power that guides the events of the nature is quite obvious in the final lines where the poet says, “But, in my simple ignorance, suppose/ The self-same Power that brought me there brought you.” (Emerson, 1847, line:15-16). However, the way Emerson has indicated the theme of divinity in the poem is quite appreciable. He never refers to the words like ‘God’ or ‘divinity’. He makes it comprehensible by making P of ‘Power’ capital (Emerson, 1847, line 16). ‘The Rhodora’ also takes poetic inspiration as one of its themes. The poem is a result of the inspiration that the poet got by seeing ‘The Rhodora’ and by the experience that he had during his walk after seeing the flower.
So far as the style and diction of the poem is concerned, the rhyme scheme of the poem needs special mention. First, it has to be noted that though there is no stanza break in the 16 line poem, the flow of the poem indicates the division after the eighth line. The rhyme schemes of both the parts are the same aabbcdcd. The dominance of the Iambic Pentameter with stray variations over the poem seems to be in keeping with the romantic tempo of the poem. Let us now examine the diction of Emerson in this poem. The dominance of monosyllabic and disyllabic words is so obvious that it can be easily marked. Words like ‘sluggish’, ‘damp’, ‘fallen’ and ‘dark’truly stand in contrast to the ‘beauty’ of the ‘fresh’ rhodora. The phrase ‘rival of the rose’ is not only thematically revolutionary but also has a poetic touch in it, making it perfectly match with the joyous mood of the poem. Use of alliterations like ‘purple petals’ (line: 5) and ‘same-self’ (line: 16) adds to the musicality of the poem. The poet has also used words like ‘thee’ and ‘thou’ instead of ‘you’ and ‘your’. It has also to be noticed that the poet has maintained an easy flowing casual narrative style. When he addresses the rhodora, the slight light-heartedness seems to be absolutely absent. Rather his consciousness of his own appreciation of the beauty of the rhodora makes him appear more serious and even more passionate. The poem also carries an argumentative attitude though Kris Fresonke demands that ‘The Rhodora’ “presents an early analysis of the design argument by Emerson characterized by only mild skepticism”, the way in which the poet established the excuse of the existence of beauty in the tenth and eleventh line is really appreciable (Fresonke, 2003, p.137). Here it becomes similar with the Metaphysical poems of the 17th century.
The structure of the poem is also to be appreciated. In fact, it seems to have a circular pattern. The subtitle of the poem is “On Being Asked, Whence Is the Flower?”. The subtitle makes it appear that it is one of those poems that are “occasioned by direct or implicit questions” (Porte and Morris, 1999, p.224). However, if the readers keep the query in mind while reading through the poem, they can expect a climactic situation followed by the answer being given. The narrative style in the first part of the poem and the passion in the second part offers a dramatic effect. ‘The Rhodora’ also reveals some very essential features of romanticism such as use of imagination, an expression of strong, passionate and powerful feeling, use of imageries and focusing on the natural beauty. The narrative style at the beginning makes it appear that the poet unfolds in this poem is the reminiscence of what the poet experienced sometime in the past. This also adds to the romantic features of the poem. The intensity of the passion with which the poet addresses the rhodora makes the poem even more romantic. The second pat that begins from the ninth line starts with a direct exclamatory address, ‘Rhodora!’. He again addresses the flower saying ‘o rival of the rose’’ in the twelfth line. The simplicity of theme as well as of diction and imagery, the easy flow and argumentative attitude of the poem makes it one of the most lovable poems.
References
1. Bussey, J. (nd.), “‘The Rhodora’, Criticism”, Available at: http://www.answers.com/topic/the-rhodora-poem-7
2. Emerson, R.E., (1847), ‘The Rhodora’ Available at http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/1183/
3. Fresonke, K. (2003), West of Emerson, University of California Press, Available at http://books.google.co.in/books?id=1ar_OqzDUJAC&pg=PA161&dq=3.+Fresonke,+K.+(2003),+West+of+Emerson,+University+of+California+Press&lr=&ei=qE3WSeDpMZGIkASquZn-Ag#PPA136,M1
4. Martin, R.E. (1991), American literature and the destruction of knowledge, Duke University Press, Available at http://books.google.co.in/books?id=jxqI_b61X64C&pg=PA15&lpg=PA15&dq=rhodora+itself+is+introduced+when+(in+line+four)+it+is+imbued+with+the+poet%E2%80%99s+own+emotions&source=bl&ots=6lGyDPhZg9&sig=L1sNl4dfo0tENFhDVwlwbkE7YPo&hl=en&ei=i0zWSba1IcOIkAWymLHLBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#PPA15,M1
5. Porte, J. and S. Morris, (1999), The Cambridge companion to Ralph Waldo Emerson, Cambridge University Press, Available at http://books.google.co.in/books?id=04NPax82MZQC&pg=PA224&dq=The+Rhodora%E2%80%99+by+Ralph+Waldo+Emerson+criticism&ei=1EjWSZ2SGpWolASj2djvAg&client=firefox-a
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