This passage relates to Emerson's central theme of nonconformity. He defines greatness as the ability to think apart from the crowd and to not give into certain ideas just because the majority believes in them. Of course, to think differently is to risk being viewed with hostility—to be "misunderstood," as Emerson puts it.
People do not always respond well to change or to new ideas. Often, fresh or revolutionary views are misunderstood by the greater public and rejected at first, such as Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. This theory was initially mocked and miscomprehended, with some even thinking that Darwin literally believed human beings had once been monkeys. It took decades for the greater public to grasp the nuances of his ideas and for evolution to be accepted by the larger culture.
In "Self-Reliance," Emerson references several revolutionary thinkers familiar to people from his own time, such as Jesus of Nazareth and Isaac Newton. By mentioning these famous and admired historical figures, Emerson hopes to make his audience less frightened of being different from the crowd. Emerson is essentially saying that even if one is misunderstood or shunned by the masses for believing differently from everyone else, one is in good company.
In "Self-Reliance," what does Emerson mean by "to be great is to be misunderstood"?
In "Self-Reliance," as the title indicates, Emerson tries to persuade young people just graduating from college to follow their own hearts and souls in seeking their paths through life. He is encouraging them to reject conforming to conventional expectations, because he believes that everyone alive has been equipped with a special destiny. He is convinced that the world will advance and become a far better place if people soul-search and do what God meant them to do in life rather than what their parents or society expects them to do.
Emerson is aware that young people will be ridiculed for following their hearts and listening to their souls. Therefore, he wants to prepare them for the opposition they will inevitably meet in attempting to be their own people. He reminds them that pursuing greatness won't be easy. He tells them bluntly that to "be great is to be misunderstood" so that they will not be surprised when they are misunderstood. He is trying to persuade them to embrace the pain they will encounter as a confirmation that they are on the right path, and he brings up a list of great people who suffered for the truth, such as Socrates and Jesus. He hopes his listeners will group themselves with these great men and not accept mediocrity.
In "Self-Reliance," what does Emerson mean by "to be great is to be misunderstood"?
Emerson is commenting on how many great men followed their own intuition in spite of criticism or misunderstanding from society. He says, "Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh." To that he adds "To be great is to be misunderstood." In context, Emerson also says that great men are not always consistent....
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In fact, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines". Thus, if one is not always consistent, one may be misunderstood. But, since many great men have not be understood by society, then you are you have great company when people don't understand you. What is important, according to Emerson, is that one not violate his or her own nature. You must be true to yourself, even if it mean saying one thing one day and saying something else the next day. That way we show that we trust ourselves and not others to dictate our beliefs.
In "Self-Reliance," what does Emerson mean by "to be great is to be misunderstood"?
It might be easier to understand what he meant if you read the whole paragraph:
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said to-day. — 'Ah, so you shall be sure to be misunderstood.' — Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.
The "great" person is great because he or she is in some way different from others, and that difference is often misunderstood. Socrates taught young people to think for themselves, and he was executed for corrupting minors. Copernicus taught that the earth revolved around the sun and was branded a heretic. Martin Luther declared that the Bible was the only infallible source of religious authority and was excommunicated and labeled an outlaw. Yet each one of these men, and the others Emerson names, in some way changed the world.
Another quotation might help: "To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment."
In "Self-Reliance," what does Emerson mean by "to be great is to be misunderstood"?
This quote from Emerson's "Self-Reliance" is preceded by a list of individuals who are considered great including Socrates, Pythagoras, Jesus, Copernicus - all people who, in their time, were misunderstood. Emerson asks before this list if it is so bad to be misunderstood. His point is that we often do not understand someone at first; it is only after time that we come to understand what a person says and then, that misunderstood person's words and ideas, are seen from a clearer perspective (that of the distance of time) and the person is considered great. Ultimately, Emerson says, if a person is not understood by others because the person thinks differently from the masses, perhaps that person is actually a great thinker and innovator.
How does Emerson support his last line, "To be great is to be misunderstood"?
In his essay "Self-Reliance," Emerson purports that a state of individualism is the highest level to which man can rise:
To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, — that is genius.
But, Emerson contends, man is "clapped into jail by his consciousness." Once he has acted or spoken on his own, he is viewed with sympathy or with antipathy, and these opinions now enter his consciousness. If he allows the world to tell him what to do and say, he loses the "voices which we hear in solitude"; his genius leaves him. To be great, the man must "avoid all pledges" and speak his own opinions, opinions that "sink like darts into the ear of men" and make them fearful. Nevertheless, a man must speak his mind, and, if necessary, tomorrow contradict what he has said the day before, for often consistency is foolish.
Emerson states that others may say,
"Ah, so you shall be sure to be misunderstood"--
However, it is the great--those who speak their minds, those individuals who think their own thoughts, realizing that "imitation is suicide"--who do not enter the "conspiracy" of society; they are the great because they are individuals of high thought.