Romanticism

The Snow-Storm by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Announced by all the trumpets of the sky
Arrives the snow, and, driving o'er the fields,
Seems nowhere to alight: the whited air
Hides hills and woods, the river and the heaven,
And veils the farm-house at the garden's end.
The steed and traveller stopped, the courier's feet
Delayed, all friends shut out, the housemates sit
Around the radiant fireplace, enclosed
In a tumultuous privacy of storm.
Come, see the north wind's masonry.
Out of an unseen quarry evermore
Furnished with tile, the fierce artificer
Curves his white bastions with projected roof
Round every windward stake, or tree, or door.
Speeding, the myriad-handed, his wild work
So fanciful, so savage, naught cares he
For number or proportion. Mockingly
On coop or kennel he hangs Parian wreaths;
A swan-like form invests the hidden thorn;
Fills up the farmer's lane from wall to wall,
Maugre the farmer's sighs, and at the gate
A tapering turret overtops the work.
And when his hours are numbered, and the world
Is all his own, retiring, as he were not,
Leaves, when the sun appears, astonished Art
To mimic in slow structures, stone by stone
Built in an age, the mad wind's night-work,
The frolic architecture of the snow.

During the peek of the Romantic Period, nature became a focal point in literature and arts. The poem above creates an image of a snow storm, where natures overpowering force (in this case snow) covers most of the surroundings. Nature took upon several meanings during this era. For one, nature was believed to be the act of God, and through it circulate the "currents of the Universal Being." Also, nature provided a sense of beauty. By taking appreciation in nature's beauty, it inspires man to virtue. Beauty was believed to unite man, and restore one's soul.
Individualism was another key component of Romanticism. In Emerson's poem, all aspects on nature seem to be individual and separate before the storm hits. For instance, the trees, houses, hills and farmhouse show a world that is completely separate from each other. However, once the snow storm arrives nothing seems separate, and therefore everything is connected since not a single part of nature stands out.