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Steven Bernhard's Wikipedia Brahma article for ENGL2131.01[edit]

Analysis of Article[edit]

I have found that there is almost nothing within my article of choice. Anything can be added to the article to make it better. I have chosen to add a couple literary devices found in the poem, as well as adding original content to the introduction.

Reading List[edit]

A numbered list of all your readings go here. Use the following format:

  • Cummings, Michael. (June 2012). Brahma[1]
  • Chandrasekharan, K. R. (December 1960). Emerson's Brahma: An Indian Interpretation.[2]
  • Mclean, Andrew M. (March 1969). Emerson's Brahma as an Expression of Brahman.[3]
  • Baym, Nina. Krupat, Arnold. Robert S. Levine. (2012) The Norton Anthology of American Literature.[4]
  • Carpenter, Frederick I. (November 1929). Immortality From India.[5]

Revised paragraph from article[edit]

Original[edit]

"Brahma" is a poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson, written in 1856. It is named for Brahman, the universal principle[6] of the Vedas.

Revised[edit]

"Brahma" is an unpopular poem by American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson. First published in the Atlantic Monthly (November, 1857), Brahma gave a definite expression of Emerson's oriental interests in religion and philosophy.[7] Although titled Brahma, the poem is named after Brahman, the Absolute or the Universal Soul whom Emerson terms elsewhere the "Oversoul"[8], and is not to be confused with Brahma, an aspect of the Trinity; Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva whose roles are creation, preservation, and destruction respectively.

Original Contribution[edit]

Introduction[edit]

"Brahma" is an unpopular poem by American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson. First published in the Atlantic Monthly (November, 1857), Brahma gave a definite expression of Emerson's oriental interests in religion and philosophy.[9] Emerson's reading of Katha Upanishad in 1856 is said to have led to the writing of the poem, however it could also be a product of his reading of Bhagavad Gita, a much renowned book of Buddhism, or the Vishnu Purana.[10]

Granted many scholars believe it to be one of Emerson's best, it was still unpopular to the masses due to its riddle-like, epigrammatic language[11], as well as its philosophical ideas relating to Hinduism, a topic that is not prevalent in western countries. Some scholars believe that Emerson's poem is merely a paraphrased set of passages from Hindu Scripture[12] that completely Americanized the abstract ideas, which caused the eventual loss of the foreign origins.

Despite being titled Brahma, the poem is named after Brahman, the Absolute or the Universal Soul whom Emerson terms elsewhere the "Oversoul"[13], and is not to be confused with Brahma, an aspect of the Trinity; Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva whose roles are creation, preservation, and destruction respectively.

Literary Devices[edit]

Meter[edit]

The dominant meter in Brahma is iambic tetrameter. Each line contains eight syllables and is broken into four pairs. Each pair consists of an unstressed first syllable and a stressed second syllable. Lines one, five, and six deviate from this pattern by placing stress on the first syllable of the line.[14] 

    They KNOW  |  not WELL  |  the SUB  |  tle WAYS          I KEEP  |  and PASS  |  and TURN  | a GAIN
Rhyme Scheme[edit]

Brahma follows a rhyme scheme known as Alternate Rhyme, in which the first line rhymes with the third, and the second line rhymes with the fourth. The rhyme scheme follows this pattern for the entirety of the poem.

A,B,A,B | C,D,C,D | E,F,E,F | G,H,G,H

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Cummings, Michael. "Brahma". cummingsstudyguides. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  2. ^ Chandrasekharan, K. R. (December 1960). "Emerson's Brahma: An Indian Interpretation". New England Quarterly. 33 (4): 506–512. doi:10.2307/362679. JSTOR 362679. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  3. ^ Mclean, Andrew M. (March 1969). "Emerson's Brahma as an Expression of Brahman". The New England Quarterly. 42 (1): 115–122. doi:10.2307/363504. JSTOR 363504. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  4. ^ Baym, Nina; Levine, Robert S.; Krupat, Arnold (2012). The Norton anthology of American literature (8th ed.). New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 9780393934779.
  5. ^ Carpenter, Frederick I. (November 1929). "Immortality from India". American Literature. 1 (3): 233–242. doi:10.2307/2920134. JSTOR 2920134. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  6. ^ http://hinduism.about.com/od/basics/a/brahman.htm
  7. ^ Mclean, Andrew M. (March 1969). "Emerson's Brahma as an Expression of Brahman". The New England Quarterly. 42 (1): 115–122. doi:10.2307/363504. JSTOR 363504. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  8. ^ Chandrasekharan, K. R. (December 1960). "Emerson's Brahma: An Indian Interpretation". New England Quarterly. 33 (4): 507. doi:10.2307/362679. JSTOR 362679.
  9. ^ Mclean, Andrew M. (March 1969). "Emerson's Brahma as an Expression of Brahman". The New England Quarterly. 42 (1): 115–122. doi:10.2307/363504. JSTOR 363504. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  10. ^ Mclean, Andrew M. (March 1969). "Emerson's Brahma as an Expression of Brahman". The New England Quarterly. 42 (1): 116. doi:10.2307/363504. JSTOR 363504. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  11. ^ Chandrasekharan, K. R. (December 1960). "Emerson's Brahma: An Indian Interpretation". New England Quarterly. 33 (4): 508. doi:10.2307/362679. JSTOR 362679.
  12. ^ Carpenter, Frederick I. (November 1929). "Immortality from India". American Literature. 1 (3): 233–242. doi:10.2307/2920134. JSTOR 2920134. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  13. ^ Chandrasekharan, K. R. (December 1960). "Emerson's Brahma: An Indian Interpretation". New England Quarterly. 33 (4): 507. doi:10.2307/362679. JSTOR 362679.
  14. ^ http://cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides6/Brahma.html#Top

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