American Literature & Composition

Colonial Literature to 1750J. Jordan

Unit Authors

• William Bradford• Jonathan Edwards• Cotton Mather• Edward Taylor • Anne Bradstreet

Native American Literature• The literature of the

Native Americans was entirely oral. They had not yet developed written systems. This extensive oral tradition, along with the first written works of the colonists, forms the beginning of the American literary heritage.

Historical Setting

• We have no history of North America prior to the 1500’s. No such written record exists. The Native Americans instructed the early settlers in agriculture, woodcrafts, and hunting.

Jamestown

• The first permanent English settlement was founded at Jamestown in 1607.

• John Smith will be credited with helping the colony to flourish.

Puritans

• In 1620, the Mayflower arrived at Plymouth with passengers that were religious reformers - Puritans. They were also Separatists who chose to withdraw from the Church of England.

Puritans

• The Puritans who settle the Massachusetts Bay Colony did not withdraw from the Church of England. Puritans formed a theocracy – a state under the immediate guidance of God.

Puritans

• They preached a plain, unadorned Christianity. They believed human beings existed for the glory of God. The Bible is the sole expression of God’s will.

Puritans• They believed in

predestination – God has already decided who will achieve salvation and who will not. Those chosen are members of “the elect.” They would spend time searching for signs of “grace” in their daily lives.

Cotton Mather• Cotton Mather was

the best known and most prolific Puritan writer – over 450 works.

• Best known for coverage of the Salem witch trials.

• His theory was the more information – the greater the style.

Education• Education was important.

The Puritans founded Harvard in 1636 to educate their ministers. In 1647, they founded free public schools in Massachusetts. The first book printed in the colonies was The Bay Psalm Book.

Puritans• Good is only

accomplished through hard work and self-discipline. We know this as the “Puritan work ethic.” By the early 1700’s, Puritanism was in decline. This was due to the increase in Protestant congregations.

Great Awakening

• Around 1735, a series of religious revivals known as the Great Awakening swept the colonies and was somewhat successful. By 1750, Puritanism is primarily a thing of the past.

Southern Planters• The Southern planters

were members of the Church of England. Life was more sociable and elegant. They attended plays and read books.

• The first theater in the colonies will open in Williamsburg, Virginia.

William Byrd

• William Byrd was a planter from the South known for writing The History of the Dividing Line.

• He was known as a Cavalier.

Literature

• The literature of the Native Americans included songs, hero tales, migration legends, and origin myths.

• The Puritans wrote theological studies, hymns, histories, biographies, and autobiographies. They did not produce drama or fiction, regarding both as sinful. Poetry was only written for spiritual enlightenment.

Of Plymouth Plantation

• Page 55• 1, 2, 3, 6a, 7a, CTR 1(A), 2(A)

Cotton Mather, Page 79

• Questions:• 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 and CTR 1, 2• Write all the questions separate from

answers.

Jonathan Edwards

• Page 73• 1a, 3, 5, 6a, 7a, AL 1, 2

Puritan Poetry

• Page 63• 1a, 2a, 2b, 3a