Pan
The mythological figure of Pan is the title character in one poem and appears by name in several others, including “Alphonso of Castile,” “Woodnotes II,” and “Monadnoc.” Pan is the mythic figure associated with the spiritual belief of Pantheism which sees God in everything, thus he become the ideal symbol for the Transcendentalist philosophy of the interconnectedness of all things in the universe.
Pine Tree
What Pan is to the spiritual side of Transcendentalism, the pine tree is to the natural side. In “The Problem” even this divergence is unified when Emerson writes of “how the sacred pine-tree adds / To her old leaves new myriads.” In “Woodnotes II” the pine tree is even endowed with the power of speech, calling itself “the giver of honor.” The Transcendentalist movement is intensely associated with New England where pines are so plentiful as to be taken for granted while at the same time so integral to daily life as to be uniquely connected to the people living there and thus is another symbol of the unity in all things.
Uriel
The poem which his name borrows an archangel from Milton’s Paradise Lost for the purpose of transforming the symbolism of his rebellion into yet another Transcendentalist trope. Uriel represents a rebellion against conventional Christian belief in a god of morality to argue for a god capable of connecting all things for a purpose without investing the individual parts any specific ethical dimension.
Concord
As the center of Transcendentalist thought in America, the Massachusetts city of Concord carries profound symbolic significance for the poet as metaphorical location for philosophical brotherhood. Concord’s seminal importance in the story of the American Revolution connects its rebellion of philosophy to political rebellion, thus setting the stage for Concord to be a symbol for revolutionary change for the better.
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster becomes for Emerson the ultimate figure of betrayal of one’s principles and conscience. At the height of Webster’s fame and influence Emerson was referring to him as a beacon of freedom. Following the disastrous personal compromise of his principles in taking part in the various aspects of the Compromise of 1850 which many felt was an unforgivably treacherous back-stabbing of the Abolitionist cause, Webster had been reduced to a nameless part of the spineless rabble Emerson collectively termed “little men.”
