Discontinuity in Self-Reliance and When I Consider How... Moses, Plato and Milton is that they did not take traditions into account but said... what they thought" (515). Emerson declares that Milton's greatness is not attributed to conformity but rather to originality. Milton's break with consistent expectations is epitomized in his use of a Petrarchan sonnet in the poem "When I consider how my light is spent." Nonconformity and discontinuity in a man's approach to life are the doctrines espoused by Emerson in his work "Self-Reliance", and Milton embodies an Ememerian vision as he searches inwardly for personal truth in his sonnet. The lack of formal structure in the two authors' works enhances rather than inhibits the reader's understanding of the literature. Although both Emerson and Milton utilize a discontinuous literary style in their respective works, Emerson revels in his lack of continuity to further promulgate his ideology of nonconformity and incoherence while Milton's use of discontinuity is procured in an attempt to understand the its place before God. The basis for the comparison between the two works will be based on the following definition of discontinuity: any literary approach that deviates from the standard structural form. The absence of formal structure in Emerson's "Self-Reliance" has been derided by some critics as an "insurmountable handicap." " to an adequate understanding of the work (Warren 200). A close examination of the work, however, evokes two fundamental claims: Emerson provides a basis for a semblance of structure, and complete continuity is antithetical to the foundations of "If.. .... middle of paper ....." by Emerson. ." The American tradition in literature. Eighth edition. Ed. George Perkins. New York. McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1994.Milton, John. “When I consider how my light is spent.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Sixth edition. MHAbrams et al. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1996. Nicolson, Marjorie Hope. John Milton: A Reader's Guide to His Poetry. New York: Octagon Books, 1983. Packer, B. L. "Emerson's Fall: A New Interpretation of the Major Essays." Nineteenth-Century Literary Criticism 38 (1993): 200-208. Robinson, David M. "Grace and Work: Emerson's Essays in Theological Perspective." Nineteenth-Century Literary Criticism 38 (1993): 223-230. Warren, Joyce W. “Transcendentalism and the Self: Ralph Waldo Emerson.” 19th CenturyLiterary Criticism 38 (1993): 208-213.Wilson, A. N. The Life of John Milton. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983.

Topic > Discontinuity in Self-Reliance and When I Consider How... Moses, Plato and Milton is that they did not take traditions into account but said... what they thought" (515). Emerson declares that Milton's greatness is not attributed to conformity but rather to originality. Milton's break with consistent expectations is epitomized in his use of a Petrarchan sonnet in the poem "When I consider how my light is spent." Nonconformity and discontinuity in a man's approach to life are the doctrines espoused by Emerson in his work "Self-Reliance", and Milton embodies an Ememerian vision as he searches inwardly for personal truth in his sonnet. The lack of formal structure in the two authors' works enhances rather than inhibits the reader's understanding of the literature. Although both Emerson and Milton utilize a discontinuous literary style in their respective works, Emerson revels in his lack of continuity to further promulgate his ideology of nonconformity and incoherence while Milton's use of discontinuity is procured in an attempt to understand the its place before God. The basis for the comparison between the two works will be based on the following definition of discontinuity: any literary approach that deviates from the standard structural form. The absence of formal structure in Emerson's "Self-Reliance" has been derided by some critics as an "insurmountable handicap." " to an adequate understanding of the work (Warren 200). A close examination of the work, however, evokes two fundamental claims: Emerson provides a basis for a semblance of structure, and complete continuity is antithetical to the foundations of "If.. .... middle of paper ....." by Emerson. ." The American tradition in literature. Eighth edition. Ed. George Perkins. New York. McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1994.Milton, John. “When I consider how my light is spent.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Sixth edition. MHAbrams et al. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1996. Nicolson, Marjorie Hope. John Milton: A Reader's Guide to His Poetry. New York: Octagon Books, 1983. Packer, B. L. "Emerson's Fall: A New Interpretation of the Major Essays." Nineteenth-Century Literary Criticism 38 (1993): 200-208. Robinson, David M. "Grace and Work: Emerson's Essays in Theological Perspective." Nineteenth-Century Literary Criticism 38 (1993): 223-230. Warren, Joyce W. “Transcendentalism and the Self: Ralph Waldo Emerson.” 19th CenturyLiterary Criticism 38 (1993): 208-213.Wilson, A. N. The Life of John Milton. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983.