Ralph Waldo Emerson's THOREAU & the Art of Living Well

In this presentation, we will engage in impressionist and critical analyses of Emerson’s eulogy, titled Thoreau, delivered at Concord's First Parish Church shortly after Henry David Thoreau’s death in May of 1862. It is often within eulogies wherein we may discern human values worth considering, indeed, what might inform the ethical dimensions of human or sentient wellbeing. Using mainly a biographical approach, and sprinkled with allusions to Transcendentalist ideals, Emerson’s eulogy as literary prose conveys a hagiographic yet realist narrative about Henry David Thoreau’s life that honors a noble, yet complex human being exercising free will. This talk is designed to encourage participants to consider and discuss what human ideals are worth sustaining through life and when to consider evolving our views, ultimately, to encourage greater sentient flourishing in the world.