Shot Heard Round The World

"The shot heard 'round the world" is a famous phrase in United States History that refers to the beginning of the American Revolutionary War . The phrase comes from the opening stanza of Ralph Waldo Emerson 's '' Concord Hymn '' ( 1837 ), and describes the impact of the Battle At Old North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts on April 19 , 1775 . The entire stanza is:

:By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
:Their flag to April's breeze unfurled;
:Here once the embattled farmers stood;
:And fired the shot heard 'round the world.

Emerson used Hyperbole as a Rhetorical Tool in the phrase "shot heard 'round the world." He wrote ''Concord Hymn'' for the dedication of a battle monument very close to his family's home, and the words are meant to emphasize that a critical event happened at this location that triggered something of global importance.

The phrase is an were Transcendentalists first, perhaps Romantic Nationalists second, and American exceptionalists third. Such distinctions are worth remembering if we are to see the tremendous variety and disorderliness of American thought, as opposed to seeing those diverse strands as neatly woven parts of a coherent exceptionalist fabric." ('' The Complexities of American Exceptionalism '')

To a modern reader there seems to be a number of disagreements between ''"farmers"'' (plural) firing ''"the shot"'' (singular). This could be interpreted as an Understatement by Emerson to emphasize the hyperbole at the end of the phrase. Alternate definitions of ''shot'' as an ''attempt'', a ''guess'', or a ''bet'' may also be considered (e.g., "give it your best shot," "that bet is a long shot"). A more likely explanation is that Emerson is simply using ''"shot"'' in the collective sense (i.e., "volleys of shot"). The hyperbole, of course, is that the battle itself was not loud enough to be heard around the world. Thus some Figurative use of "fired the shot" and perhaps of "heard" must be meant.

In popular culture, the phrase is often connected with the mystery of the Literal first musket shot of the war. This occurred in Lexington earlier on the morning of April 19. It is not known whether a soldier of the British Army or a colonial Militia man fired this first shot of the Battle Of Lexington And Concord .

The '' Schoolhouse Rock! '' educational shorts included an "America Rock" piece on the American Revolutionary War entitled "The Shot Heard 'Round the World." Written and performed by Bob Dorough , it attributes the first shot to the British.

OTHER USES

In Europe and the Commonwealth Of Nations , the phrase "The Shot heard around the World" is also often associated with the Assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria , an event usually considered as one of the Main Causitive Factors of the First World War .

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Shot Heard Round The World