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Puritan Literature PowerPoint

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32 views10 pages

Puritan Literature PowerPoint

Uploaded by

vixen073
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Puritan Literature

in America
The
Puritans
Definition: Group of Protestants who
wanted to “purify” the Church of
England.
Suffered persecution in England.
Small group led by William Bradford
came to the New World on the
Mayflower in 1620. Upon their arrival,
they were met with harsh winters and
unfamiliar terrain.
Established the first printing press, free
public grammar schools, and the first
American college (otherwise known as
Puritan
Beliefs
Most of humanity “damned” by the sin of
Adam and Eve.
Predestination – God had already decided,
before birth, whether someone would go to
heaven or to hell
Values: self-reliance, hard-working,
moderation, simple living, industrious,
sobriety/temperance
Hard work resulted in material wealth,
which indicated that a person was devoted
to God.
The Puritans were considered Pilgrims
Puritan
Politics
Rather undemocratic - felt that the
“saintly elect” (in other words, religious
leaders) should have had the most
influence in politics

Church elders were also political leaders


– any church rule violation was also a
social one, and Puritan ministers always
preached fear.
Puritan Politics
They used a Bible verse to justify
when they needed something from the
Native American people:
“Whosoever therefore resisteth the
power, resisteth the ordinance of
God: and they that resist shall
receive to themselves damnation.”
Romans 13:2
Characteristics of Puritan Writing
Bible provided model - individual life is
a “journey to salvation.” Connections
between Biblical events and their own
lives.
Used writing to explore their inner and
outer lives for signs of God’s work.
Diaries and histories were most
common.
Plain style stressed clear expression
and avoided complicated figures of
speech
William Bradford
1590-1657
Of Plymouth
Plantation
Described
hardships of
journey to New
World;
unshakeable
belief in God.
Plain Style of
writing - few
figures of speech
Jonathan Edwards
 1703-1758
 Famous sermon: “Sinners in
the Hands of an Angry God”
 “Fire and brimstone”
imagery – everyone was
going to hell!
 Helped bring about the
Great Awakening
 Increased religious
enthusiasm
 Mass hysteria due to
power of the messages
 Accused prominent
church members—by
name—of sinning
 Tyrannical pastor - extreme
and strict – thought of
humans as “lowly sinners.”
Anne
Bradstreet
1612-1672
Came to America on one of the
first ships from England
Her father and her husband were
governors of Massachusetts
Her works explore religion, a personal
relationship with God, and her husband
(even though the love between a husband
and wife was supposed to be repressed so
that there was no distraction from a
relationship with God)
Anne Bradstreet
Puritan society said that Anne’s “place” in
life was “to be domestic, separated from
the affairs of church and state,” getting
her ideas from God and from her husband.
Anne was bothered by the Puritan bias
toward women that was common in her
time.
When her work was published, her
brother-in-law had to tell people she was
still a “good” woman, meaning that all her
free time was still devoted to religious
activities, and she wrote her poetry when

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