Sufi Poets as Ideal Poets in the American Transcendentalist Imagination

Abstract

This research paper examines the philosophical and aesthetic ideas of the Transcendentalists Ralph Waldo Emerson and Margaret Fuller regarding the criterion of an ideal poet. The paper tries to demonstrate how the transcendentalist’s notion of the ideal poet was greatly impacted by Sufi thought by illustrating a common vision of artistry based upon spiritual freedom, depth of feeling, imaginative capability, and a commitment to free thought and expression. The paper draws heavily from Emerson’s and Margaret Fuller’s Transcendentalist philosophy to delineate the Transcendentalists’ value of freedom of thought and spirit, sincerity, self-sufficiency, and a heightened perception of beauty both in the natural world and in humanity as fundamental traits of an ideal poet. The paper focuses on key components of the idea of the ideal poet and demonstrates how transcendentalists’ thoughts parallel Sufi thoughts. It examines key areas such as solitude, the beauty of nature, imagination, free expression, and noble thought.