Puritan Worldview
ENGLISH 3
MRS. BARNETT
The Puritan Worldview
PURITAN WORLDVIEW PP
Puritan belief calvinist in their
theology, puritans believed in the
absolute sovereignty of god —the idea
that god is in complete control of events
and ultimately works all things out for a
believer’s good.
The Puritans Settle in New England
 The Puritans wanted
to “purify” the church
and their own lives.
 Argued that the
Church of England
was still too close to
the Catholic church.
 Left for America in
order to find greater
freedom to practice
their religious beliefs.
The Puritan Legacy
 The writings of the Puritans of
New England have been
central to the development of
the American literary
traditions.
 Puritan is a term referring to a
number of Protestant groups
that sought to “purify” the
Church of England, which had
been virtually inseparable
from the country’s
government since the time of
Henry VIII (who reigned from
1509-1547).
 English Puritans wished to
return to a simpler form of
worship.
The Puritan Ethic
 The Puritans believed in:
 thrift
 hard work
 self-sufficiency
 Also, they believed that
wealth was a sign of God’s
favor.
 Spiritual matters
influenced the Puritan
government.

a theocracy*
The Puritan, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Brookgreen Gardens.
Anne Bradstreet
 Anne Bradstreet focused
primarily on the realities
of her life—her husband,
her eight children and her
house. In 1650, her
brother had some of her
poetry published without
her knowledge. This book
of poetry, The Tenth Muse
Lately Sprung Up in
America, was the first
book of poetry ever
published by an American
colonist.
Anne
Bradstreet
“Here Follow Some
Verses Upon The
Burning Of Our House,
July 10, 1666” poem
“To My Dear and
Loving Husband” poem
Bradstreet reveals that
belief by interpreting
her personal subject
matter through a
religious lens.
Anne Bradstreet literary devices
 A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two things by
saying that one thing is another. Sometimes a writer will use an
extended metaphor, which develops a metaphor beyond a
single line.
 Both “To My Dear and Loving Husband” and “Upon the
Burning of Our House” are written in couplets, or pairs of lines
whose final syllables rhyme. To maintain this rhyme scheme,
Bradstreet occasionally inverts the word order of her lines.
 A paradox is a situation or statement that seems to be
impossible or contradictory but is nevertheless true, literally or
figuratively.
 A hyperbole is a figure of speech that uses exaggeration to
express strong emotion, to make a point, or to evoke humor.
Here Follow Some Verses Upon The
Burning Of Our House, July 10, 1666
 Questions to consider as you read her poem p. 95-97:
 What
made Anne Bradstreet’s poetry unusual
compared to traditional verse of her day?
 Paraphrase lines 1-6 in “Upon the Burning of Our
House, July 10th 1666. How does Bradstreet use
contrast to convey a sense of fear?
 Bradstreet creates an extended metaphor in
“Upon the Burning of Our House”. Re-read lines
43-50. Summarize in your own words what you
think the speaker is describing in this extended
metaphor.
The Puritan
Legacy cont.
They did not believe
that they clergy or
government should act
as an intermediary
between the individual
and God.
Many Puritans
suffered persecution in
England.
Some were put in jail
and whipped, their
noses slit and their
ears chopped off.
Puritan Beliefs: Sinners All?
 At the center of Puritan theology
was an uneasy mixture of
certainty and doubt.
 The certainty was that because of
Adam’s and Eve’s disobedience,
most of humanity would be
damned for all eternity.
 However, Puritans were also
certain that God in his mercy had
sent his son Jesus Christ to earth
to save particular people.
 People hoping to be among the
saved examined their inner lives
closely for signs of grace and tried
to live lives that were free of sin–
self-reliance, industriousness,
temperance, and simplicity.
Jonathan Edwards
 Jonathan Edwards’s sermons helped
trigger the Great Awakening, a
religious revival that swept through
New England from 1734 to 1750. The
movement grew out of a sense among
some Puritan ministers that their
congregations had grown too selfsatisfied.
 As a Calvinist, Jonathan Edwards
believed that some people were
favored by God and others were not.
This belief was interpreted by some
to mean that worldly success was a
sign of God’s favor. Many believed
that one way God rewarded people
for their repentance and pious
behavior was with earthly goods.
coffeeteabooksandme.blogspot.com
“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
 Abhor: v. to regard with
disgust
 Prudence: n. an
exercise of good and
cautious judgment
 Appease: v. to bring to a
state of peace or quiet;
sooth
 Wrath: n. extreme
anger; vengeful
punishment
 Emotional appeals are messages
designed to persuade an audience by
creating strong feelings rather than by
providing facts and evidence. Examples
of emotional appeals include:
 Appeal to fear: taps into people’s
fear of losing their safety or security
 Appeal to pity: takes advantage of
people’s sympathy and compassion for
others
 Appeal to vanity: relies on people’s
desire to feel good about themselves
 Imagery is the collection of mental
pictures, or images, in a literary work.
Visual imagery is the most common but
an author can also use other sensory
details that appeal to the reader’s sense
of sound, taste, smell and touch.
“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
 Take notes on Jonathan Edwards p. 104-105 and to help
answer the question: “How is Jonathan Edwards an
important Puritan?” .
 As students watch/listen to a recording of Jonathan
Edwards’ sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,”
write down five expressions that are used to describe
unsaved people used the sermon.

Example: hateful
 http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch
?v=hXOOPsgvC94
 http://www.slideshare.net/SilvanaSalerno/sinnersintheha
ndsofanangry-2
“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
 Turn to page 111. Read the 1st column, 1st
paragraph silently. Write in notes (answer
individually) this question – “In paragraph 1 on
page 111, what comparison does Edwards make
between those who have accepted Christ’s love and
those who have not?”
 Students will discuss the content of Jonathan
Edwards’ sermon by writing down their insights.
 Draw pictures of the images created in this sermon
before submitting their work on Edwards
Can Kids Be SCARED Straight? article
 Read a short article called "Can Kids Be Scared
Straight?" by Kathy Feinstein.
 Answer a response sheet asking the students to
compare and contrast the two readings.

Use examples and cite your work
How Evil Are You?
 Watch a documentary about film director Eli Roth
who recreated Milgram's Experiment from the early
1960's. You can (and certainly should) watch the
video here: How Evil Are You?
 http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/how-evilare-you-videos
 Complete the Socratic Seminar to get us prepared for
The Crucible.
Write Like a
Puritan
Students will
synthesize the
Puritan
literature by
writing a
creative piece of
writing called
“Write Like a
Puritan.” See
the handout for
details.
http://ed101.bu.edu/StudentDoc/current/ED101fa10/rajensen/Content_2.html
TEST #1 September
COVERING:
UNIT 1 – NATIVE AMERICAN LITERATURE
UNIT 2 – PURITAN WORLDVIEW LITERATURE
Problems With A Theocracy*
 Political views were often
uncompromising and harsh.
 Example: Salem,
Massachusetts, 1692.




Witch Hill, Thomas Slatterwhite Noble, 1869.
Around 150 people were
accused of witchcraft.
Officials feared that the
community’s moral
foundation was in danger
and felt that they needed to
take extreme action to save
political unity.
20 people were executed.
The girls who started the
accusations later recanted,
admitting they had lied.