The shot that was heard around the world
The gunshot that was heard around the world is a popular phrase in the United States that refers to the beginning of the American Revolutionary War . The phrase comes from the first stanza of Ralph Waldo Emerson's " Concord Hymn " from 1837 and describes the effect of the Battle of Lexington and Concord on the Old North Bridge in Concord (Massachusetts) on April 19, 1775 .
The stanza reads:
|
By the rude bridge that arched the flood, |
At the simple bridge that spanned the high tide, |
Emerson used as in the phrase "shot heard round the world" rhetorical device the hyperbole . He wrote the "Concord Hymn" as a dedication for a battle monument near his family's home. The words were meant to express that an important event took place in this location that triggered something of global importance.
The phrase is an analogy . Perhaps the "firing the shot" only represented that particular battle, and what was "heard" was the news of it. Or maybe it represented the beginning of the entire war, and what was heard was the news of a new nation and a defeat for the British Empire . It is often said that "firing the shot" signifies the beginning of the struggle for freedom and against tyranny and that "listening" indicates the worldwide impact of this struggle with the American independence movement as a model. This third analogy might reflect Emerson's belief in American exceptionalism . Historian David M. Wrobel wrote:
“Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were first transcendentalists , second possibly romantic nationalists, and third American exceptionalists. Such distinctions are important when looking at the vast differences and confusion of American ways of thinking, rather than seeing the various banks as carefully woven pieces of a coherent exceptionalist fabric. "
For today's reader, there seems to be an inconsistency between the “Farmer [n]” (plural) who fire “the shot” (singular). This could be interpreted as an understatement by Emerson to emphasize the exaggeration at the end of the phrase. Different definitions of “shot” as “attempt”, “estimate” or “bet” should also be considered, for example “Give it your best shot” or “That bet is a long shot” - "That's a tricky bet". A more likely explanation, however, is that Emerson simply used "shot" in its collective sense. In English it is also called "volleys of shot" - "a hail of shots", where the word "shot" is used in the singular; in German the phrase "they fired a shot" stands for it. This is to say that several people fired a shot at the same time. The exaggeration, of course, is that the battle itself was not loud enough to be heard around the world.
In popular culture, the phrase is often associated with the mystery of the first shot of the war. It fell in Lexington, Massachusetts, early in the morning on April 19th. It is not known whether a British Army soldier or a member of the Patriots Militia fired that first shot at the Battle of Lexington and Concord .
The “ Schoolhouse Rock! Educational shorts include an America Rock section on the American Revolutionary War called The Shot Heard Around The World. Written and performed by Bob Dorough , he attributes the first shot to the British.
The idiom is also used for dramatic moments in American sports history:
- Mainly in baseball , the phrase is used for Bobby Thomson's walk-off home run that secured the 1951 National League title for the New York Giants . This game was the first to be broadcast nationwide on television and also on the radio "around the world" to US troops and others. a. those in the Korean War.
- In golf it is used to describe Gene Sarazen's Albatros in the final round on the 15th hole, a par 5, at the Masters Tournament in 1935, where he was able to pocket his second shot from around 200 meters.
- In soccer , it is used to describe Paul Caligiuri's goal for the United States national soccer team against Trinidad and Tobago in Port of Spain in 1989, which qualified the team for the 1990 World Cup and returned US soccer to the international arena League helped.