College of Language and Communication

Language and Translation Department

Poetry 1
Supplementary Sheet 2

Good-Bye

Good-bye, proud world! I’m going home:

Thou art not my friend, and I’m not thine.
Long through thy weary crowds I roam;
A river ark on the ocean brine,
Long I’ve been tossed like the driven foam;
But now, proud world! I’m going home.

Good-bye to Flattery’s fawning face;

To Grandeur with his wise grimace;
To upstart Wealth’s averted eye;
To supple Office, low and high;
To crowded halls, to court and street;
To frozen hearts and hasting feet;
To those who go, and those who come;
Good-bye proud world! I’m going home.

I am going to my own hearthstone,

Bosomed in yon green hills alone, ___
A secret nook in a pleasant land,
Whose groves the frolic fairies planned;
Where arches green, the livelong day,
Echo the blackbird’s roundelay,
And vulgar feet have never trod
A spot that is sacred to thought and God.

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O, when I am safe in my sylvan home
I tread on the pride of Greece of Rome;
And when I am stretched beneath the pines,
Where the evening star so holy shines,
I laugh at the lore and the pride of man,
At the sophist schools, and the learned clan;
For what are they all, in their high conceit
When man in the bush with God may meet?
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 Transcendentalism is a philosophical and literary movement that arouse in
the late 1830s as a protest to the general state of intellectualism and rationality that
pervaded that time as well as the beliefs of orthodox Calvinism. In fact, the word
“Transcendental” refers to the spiritual transcending of human souls to an ideal
world above the realm of reason of the materialistic world. Transcendentalists
preached the power of human intuition and the unity of God. They also placed great
value on individualism as they believed that individuals thrive when they are self-
reliant and completely independent. Also, they condemned religion and politics of
killing the creativity and corrupting the purity of human beings. Furthermore, they
believed in the divinity of nature about which, Ralph Waldo Emerson says: “In the
woods we return to reason and faith. “In fact, Transcendentalists derived their
beliefs from Emerson himself. Accordingly, many of his works are an embodiment of
the movement; this is conspicuously depicted in his poem, Good-bye.

The Poem is divided into two separate parts. This division is significant
because it sets boundaries between the physical world and Emerson’s
transcendental world. This shows that the two worlds are inherently different and
cannot be mixed nor will they ever meet at any given point. In other words, the
structure serves to introduce the juxtaposition in the poem.

In the first part (the first two stanzas), Emerson addresses the physical world.
Notably, the first part barely has any features of transcendental beliefs. This absence
of the essence of transcendental features emphasizes that transcendentalism does
not bother with the materialistic world. In this part, Emerson intentionally excluded
the representation of any transcendental values. Thus, he reflects the fact that
transcendentalism does not align with the physical world.

In the first stanza, the poet bids the physical world a metaphorical goodbye,
signaling that he has had enough with the alienation and discontent that he feels in
this materialistic world. Accordingly, he uses poetic devices to render his ideas.
Emerson depicts his dissatisfaction with his current world through the careful
selection of words. For instance, describing the world as “proud” is significant
because pride is known to be the source of other major sins in the world. He does
not describe the world as envious, narcissistic or gluttonous…etc but he rather chose
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the deadly sin of pride, because the worldly life is about nothing but vanity. In
addition, the frequent repetition of the word “proud” alludes to proud people’s
frequent and repetitive talk about themselves. Moreover, Emerson uses Figures of
speech in his favour. For instance, the personification in “Good-bye, proud world!”
(L1) serves to emphasis that this world is as sinful as the men living in it. Linking the
world to the negative attributes of humans shows Emerson’s disdain for the physical
world. “A river ark on the ocean brine” (L4) here, Emerson illustrates his struggle in
dealing with the hardships of the physical world. This metaphor describes Emerson
as a boat which is designed to sail in fresh water, sailing in the salty water of the
ocean. Logically, the salt of the ocean would eventually ruin the base of the boat and
drown it. Similarly, Emerson feels that he is a misfit in this world -the boat is in the
ocean- and trying to fit in does nothing but drain him and lade his soul. “Long I have
been tossed like the driven foam” (L5) in this simile, the poet again, highlights his
struggle in the physical world. The use of “foam” shows the poet’s existence in his
current world is insignificant and ineffective. “I have been tossed” shows that the
poet has been challenged feverishly without having the virtue of choice. Instead, he
has been toyed with like a helpless, insignificant puppet. “But now, proud world! I’m
going home. “(L6) The use of “but” in this line signals a shift in tone. Here, the poet
personifies the world as if it is a person to whom he speaks. This personification
serves to highlight the persistence of the poet. It is as if he is telling the world that he
is no longer going to tolerate its hardships, and that he is no longer going to be toyed
with, he is taking conscious actions on his own free-will.

In the second stanza, the poet lists all the aspects he despises about the
physical world. Throughout the stanza, there is a frequent use of personification.
This is evident in “Flattery’s fawning face”, “Grandeur with his wise grimace”, and
“upstart Wealth’s averted eye” The poet personifies these attributes of the proud
world as if he is summoning them to blame each of them in person. “Frozen hearts”
(L6) this is a metaphor alluding to the wide-spread of rationality at the time. This
shows that people lost touch with their emotions when they got so wrapped up in
the wave of intellectualism. In (L6), the poet also says: “Hasting feet” which is a
metonymy referring to the fast-moving pace of humans to achieve their ambitions.

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This emphasizes that the world he physically lives in is all about achieving
materialistic goals.

In the second part of the poem (third and forth stanzas), the poet talks about
his ideal transcendental world. This part embodies the features of
transcendentalism. First, there is a frequent reference to nature as a source of
divinity. Second, Individualism is conspicuously depicted. Third, idealism is touched
upon in this part. In short, this part of the poem lines up with transcendental beliefs.

In the third stanza, the poet introduces the reader to the “home” he
mentions in the first part. He describes his wondrous world, where nature is the
heroine, and fairies are not fantastical, where night never dares to show and day is
as eternal as the sun. Emerson opens the stanza with “I am” instead of the prevailing
“I’m” in the first part. “I” here is given more attention. This highlights that in his
transcendental world, he is comfortable to be his true, authentic self and that he is
not marginalized anymore. Also, it puts emphasis on the importance of individualism
to transcendentalists. Individualism is also evident in the use of “my own”, “alone”
and “echo”. In “bosomed in yon green hills” (L2) the poet personified nature to be a
woman, embracing him both physically and emotionally. This signifies his deep
connection with nature and highlights the divinity of nature in transcendental
beliefs. In this case, “green hills” is a synecdoche referring to nature as a whole. Also,
The Poet used diction and imagery to create a peaceful mood in the stanza, giving
the reader a glimpse of how he feels in this transcendental world. First, the use of
words like “hearthstone, “,”home” and “nook” indicates the comfort that the poet
feels in this place. It also adds an aura of relaxation to the stanza. Second, The
Imagery in “Echo the blackbird’s roundelay” emphasis the peaceful mood of the
stanza by adding the sense of hearing to the whole visual scenery present in the
stanza.

In the forth stanza, the poet is no longer be troubled by worldly trifles,

because his connection with nature in this wondrous place suffices him with spiritual
enlightenment that puts every piece of human knowledge to shame. This is depicted
through, diction, sound devices and figures of speech. First, the poet uses words like
“Holy” (L4) and “God” (L8) to emphasize the holiness of the place. Also, the
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repetition of the /s/ sound in “safe” and “sylvan” (L1) reflects the composure and
security that the poet feels and adds internal music to the poem. Furthermore, there
is two figures of speech in “I tread on the pride of Greece and Rome” (L2) first, it is a
metaphor that describes the pride of Greece and Rome as something tangible that
could be stepped on. This signifies the degradation and insignificance of these
civilizations in comparison to where he stands spiritually. Also, “Greek and Rome” is
a synecdoche referring to human civilization as a whole. This alludes to the
transcendental refute of the general state of rationality that pervaded at the time.
Also, “For what are they all, in their high conceit/ When man in the bush with God
may meet?” is a biblical allusion to when God appeared to Moses in the burning
bushes. This allusion serves to emphasis the fact that the spiritual knowledge that
Man acquires from connecting with God through nature is the peak of human
knowledge. This aligns with the transcendental value of idealism as they placed great
value on intuition viewed the value of the age of reason as confining and restricting.

To conclude, Good-bye is a manifestation of transcendental beliefs. Emerson

represented transcendental values implicitly, emphasizing them through the use of
poetic devices throughout the poem.