English Traits
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1856
- Form
- Essay
- Language
- English
- Length
- Medium · 200 pp120 to 300 pages
- Difficulty
- Moderate2 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendEnglish TraitsHarvard University PressThe Collected Works volume, with the notes that identify Emerson's many English acquaintances.
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Emerson's book about England, written after his lecture tours of 1833 and 1847 and published in 1856. In short chapters he takes up the land, the race, the national character, manners, truth, wealth, aristocracy, universities, religion, the press and the literature, and sets down what he thinks makes the English formidable: physical stamina, stubborn practicality, a genius for machinery and trade, and a distrust of ideas. He admires their solidity and doubts their spirit. The opening and closing chapters describe his visits to Carlyle, Wordsworth and Coleridge.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns English Traits are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
