The Sphinx by Ralph Waldo Emerson

What one believes and does it in the world, has to do with what has happened in the past. History effects what happens today and it never ends. Understanding what someone does can only occur by looking at their past. This very controversial poem, "The Sphinx" written by Ralph Waldo Emerson, displays the religious aspects of his life, but also the mystery and sorrow of his life. Throughout the poem, the reader sees that the all knowing Sphinx has seen history past, yet still struggles to understand. Ralph Waldo Emerson writes "The Sphinx" and reflects this theme within his work through symbolism and figurative language.

First, the symbolism in "The Sphinx" allows the reader to understand the poem. The main symbol is the sphinx herself. The sphinx, an allusion, comes from Greek mythology and is portrayed as a lion with the head of a woman and wings at her sides. She has a riddle which travelers attempt to solve to gain passage. The sphinx symbolizes the knowledge, the age, and the unchanging aspect of history. As she sits for centuries, the sphinx accumulates knowledge and only she knows the answer to the riddle, or the answer to history over the ages. But at the same time the sphinx, stuck in her ways, cannot accept a traveler solving her riddle and kills herself after this happens. This symbolism, shown throughout the poem, begins when the Sphinx talks about nature as if she has seen everything happen. But when a man comes and changes the ways, she disappears into the sky. With this symbol, the poem ties together why the author begins with a narrative about nature and why the Sphinx states, "Who taught thee me to name?/I am thy spirit, yoke-fellow;/Of thine eye I am eyebeam" which represents her puzzlement when someone has sol...

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...n the reader and to intensify the imagery, occurs just as frequently and has the same importance as the symbolism. And the theme of a change in life or course of history is not the only theme pulled from the context of the poem, but it relates to both the symbolism and the figurative language in the poem. "The Sphinx" written by Ralph Waldo Emerson has an intricate theme and the reader must dig through the symbolism and figurative language of the poem to reach the poem's true meaning.

Works Cited

Lewis, Jone J. "History." Ralph Waldo Emerson Texts. 2002. Web. 5 Mar. 2014.

Morris, Saundra. "The Threshold Poem, Emerson, and "The Sphinx"" American Literature 69.3 (1997).

"Ralph Waldo Emerson Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, 2013. Web. 06 Mar. 2014.

Whitaker, Thomas R. "The Riddles of Emerson's "Sphinx"" American Literature 27.2 (1955).