Handout 1
1. History, Poetry and Religion in Early Colonial Literature
(Seventeenth and Early Eighteenth c.)
Accounts of the founding of America: John Smith, The True relation of…Virginia (1608)
[Jamestown was founded in 1608)]; A Description of New England (1616); The Generall Historie
of Virginia, New England and the Summer Isles (1624).
The major genres of Puritan literature:
1. historical narratives (accounts of the founding) e. g.: William Bradford, Of Plimouth
Plantation (written between 1630-1646); John Winthrop, The History of New England from
1630 to 1649;
2. Puritan religious texts (discourse and debate on belief)
Based on Calvin’s theology: man is saved to virtue rather than by virtue. Main tenets of
Calvinism: 1. total depravity 2. unconditional election 3. limited atonement 4. irresistible
grace 5. perseverance of the saints. (Puritans: literate and hard-working people, most of
them were intolerant concerning religious pluralism.)
 Thomas Shepard “Covenant of Grace”
 Increase Mather “What Sinners can do towards their own Conversion”
 Roger Williams (founder of Rhode Island)
 Jonathan Edwards “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”
3.
Diaries and Journals -- the diaries and journals of mainly Puritan gentlemen (and women)
Diaries (inward, subjective): Michael Wigglesworth; Cotton Mather; Samuel Sewall;
Journals (meant for the public): John Winthrop; Mary Rowlandson; Sarah Kemble
Knight.
4.
Poetry -- the only traditional imaginative genre
Anne Bradstreet (The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America, 1650, Several Poems
1678)
Michael Wigglesworth (The Day of Doom)
Edward Taylor (Preparatory Meditations 1882-1725)
Ebenezer Cooke (The Sot-Weed Factor) – from the South (not a New England Puritan).
5.
Captivity narratives -- Mary Rowlandson
Jeremiad -- a rhetorical structure employed in Puritan writing applied to Puritan biographies,
historical narratives, sermons and letters which were written at the time. It usually has a
tripartite structure: 1) praising the piety and courageousness of the founders 2) lamenting and
detailing the reason for the present troubles 3) offering a solution: returning to the original
pious conduct of the founders.
King Philip's War (1675-1676) -- Metacomet (King Philip) leader of the allied Indian tribes who
fought against the New England settlers. 300 Indians, 600 colonists were killed by the end of
the war.
captivity narrative -- a narrative (17-19th century) usually written by a woman in which the
captured victim represents the whole of Christian colonial society and patiently awaits her
fate. The captive is redeemed by the grace of Christ and is released. A promise of similar
salvation could be offered to Puritan readers.
Handout 1
Mary Rowlandson (1737-1711) -- A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mary
Rowlandson pays homage to the jeremiad form. The first captivity narrative is the longest
piece of prose written by a woman in the 17th century. Rowlandson was captured on Feb 10,
1676. A party of Wampanoags attacked Lancaster killing a dozen citizens and taking 24
persons as hostages. Released in May 1676 for ransome.
Samuel Sewall (1652-1730) -- The Selling of Joseph (1700). The first anti-slavery tract. Sewall is
best known for his diary which reflects the life of a devout Puritan who was at the same time
a leading figure of his community. Publicly apologized for his role in the witchcraft trials.
William Byrd (1674-1744) -- A wealthy landowner from the South. The Secret Diary of William
Byrd of Westover reflects the life and thoughts of a southern gentleman. Different from
Puritan lifestyle and
convictions, much more worldly. Published only in the 20th century after the text was
decoded.
Cotton Mather (1663-1728) -- the most famous Puritan. Author of 444 works. Best remembered as
author of Wonders of the Invisible World (1693), which relates the Salem witchcraft trials of
1692, and Magnalia Christi Americana (1702), the ecclesiastical history of New England. A
jeremiad in structure. Defended the purpose of the Salem witch trials throughout his life.
The Great Awakening -- a religious revival in the 1730s and 40s in New England focusing on the
importance of conversion, and personal religious experience. Jonathan Edwards was the most
famous representative.
Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) -- Minister for 24 years in Northampton Mass. Combined the
rational and intuitive faculties in his writing “A Divine and Supernatural Light” (1734); “A
Narrative of the Surprising Conversions”(1736); “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
(174 1). Wrote very passionate sermons that were to a great extent responsible for the wave of
conversions in his congregation, launching the “Great Awakening.” Twentieth-century poet
Robert Lowell wrote poems on Edwards: “Mr. Edwards and the Spider”, “After the
Surprising Conversions.”