Emerson uses imagery to convey that he experiences joy in nature, even when nature is chilly and monotonous. This juxtaposition between a dismal external state and an elated internal one demonstrates that all nature, even nature typically associated with unpleasant moods, can be good for the soul:
Crossing a bare common, in snow puddles, at twilight, under a clouded sky, without having in my thoughts any occurrence of special good fortune, I have enjoyed a perfect exhilaration.
Emerson taps into visual imagery that is usually associated with being downcast. He invokes the sight of a clouded sky, which is typically associated with sadness. Also, by using the word “bare” to describe the area of land he walks over, Emerson makes the reader imagine a completely empty landscape dotted only by snow and clouds. This visual stimulus of bareness, like cloudiness, is often associated with the mental state of sadness.
Tactile imagery also appears in this passage. Emerson invokes the feeling of coldness. He describes having to walk “in snow puddles.” Although the fact that the snow is in the form of puddles rather than thick blankets implies that the snow is melting, it undoubtedly still conveys a sense of frigidity. Coldness, like the cloudiness and barrenness of the prior paragraph, also is often associated with sadness in literature.
However, Emerson invokes such imagery to subvert those expectations. Emerson’s internal state is not cloudy, barren, or cold. He is instead filled with “perfect exhilaration.” Even though Emerson recognizes the human tendency to project one’s internal state upon the landscape, Emerson’s imagery is meant to reveal to the reader that nature can be beneficial to anyone, regardless of what type of landscape it is (i.e., sunny or cloudy, barren or lush, warm or cold) or what mental state they are in.
Emerson uses rich imagery to communicate the beauty of dawn that he witnesses every morning from his house:
I see the spectacle of morning from the hill-top over against my house, from day-break to sun-rise, with emotions which an angel might share. The long slender bars of cloud float like fishes in the sea of crimson light. From the earth, as a shore, I look out into that silent sea.
I seem to partake its rapid transformations: the active enchantment reaches my dust, and I dilate and conspire with the morning wind.
This passage is a prime example of how Emerson employs imagery throughout Nature to reveal beauty in the most everyday things. Appealing to the sense of sight—particularly to highlight sublime beauty—is supposed to invoke awe and the reverence for nature that Emerson believes is essential for a healthy individual.
What's more, by appealing to the sense of hearing in calling the sea of light "silent," Emerson invokes a sense of peace and unity. One has a pure visual image of beauty without the disruption of sound, allowing one to be immersed in nature without distraction. The overall effect of this passage is one of peace, beauty, and unity. Emerson aims to use senses to paint a beautiful scene that he witnessed and to share with the reader the awe that inspired him.
