In its early years, America was a series of Great Britain colonies on the eastern coast of the present-day United States. Consequently, its literature starts out as linked to the wider custom of English literature. Notwithstanding, unique American features and the fullness of its production now cause it to be considered a independent route and custom.

Early American Literature

Two Significant New England Settlements:

The Plymouth Colony

Mayflower arrives in 1620
Leader - William Bradford
Colonists identified as Separatists and Pilgrims
The Mayflower Compact institutes economic, social, and religious freedom, at the same time still maintaining relations to England.

The Massachusetts Bay Colony

Arbella arrives in 1630
Leader - John Winthrop
Colonists are mostly Congregational Puritans
The Arbella Covenant distinctly institutes a pious theocratic settlement, without connections to England.

Puritan Beliefs

Turpitude - with the fall of Adam and Eve all are sinful - concept of Derivative Sin.

Total Selection - The Lord redeems those He chooses - only a very few are chosen for salvation - concept of predestination.

Constricted Expiation - Jesus died for the chosen only, not for the populace.

Supine Grace - God's grace is freely given, it is not earned. Grace is characterized as the delivering and life changing power of The Lord.

Relapsing - The belief that delivered believers, those with conspicuous marks of grace, can stumble into enticement and become sinners. To stop this from happening, believers were expected not to become smug, do unfailing self-evaluation, and constant prayer. Lucifer was particularly interested in trapping such church members.

Function of Lettered Puritans

To glorify The Lord.

To transform a mysterious Lord - mysterious because He is removed from the world.

To declare Him more crucial to the cosmos.

Puritan Authors Style

Puritan literature echoed the persona and scope of the reading public, which was literate and versed in religion.

Protestant - offended by ornateness; awe of the Bible.

Famous Literary Writers of the Time

William Bradford (March 19, 1590 ? May 9, 1657) was the chief of the separatist colonists of the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, and was elected thirty times to be the Governor. He was the main designer of the Mayflower Compact. Bradford is credited as the first to promulgate what modern American society now views as the first Thanksgiving.

Anne Bradstreet (1612 ? September 16, 1672) was the first female American writer to have her works promulgated. Much of Bradstreet's poems are founded on reflection of the world around her, centering heavily on housewifely and religious themes. Once considered mostly of historical interest, she won critical acceptance in the 20th century as a writer of imperishable rhyme, specially for her sequence of religious poems called "Contemplations", which was not published until the mid-19th century and written for her family.

Captain John Smith (1580 ? June 21, 1631), was an English soldier, sailor, and author. Smith is remembered for his part in founding the first permanent English colony in North America at Jamestown, Virginia, and his brief meeting with the Native American girl Pocahontas during an altercation with the Powhatan Confederacy and her father, Chief Powhatan. His books may have been as significant as his actions, for they encouraged more English men and women to come to America to colonize the New World. Smith gave the name New England to that region, and encouraged people with the comment, "Here every man may be master and owner of his owne labour and land...If he have nothing but his hands, he may...by industrie quickly grow rich." It was a strong sentence, which attracted millions of people to America over the next four centuries.

Samuel Sewall (March 28, 1652 - January 1, 1730), was a Massachusetts judge, legendary for his involvement in the Salem Witch Trials, for which he later apologized, and his traducement of slavery in "The Selling of Joseph".

Michael Wigglesworth (October 18, 1631 - June 10, 1705) was a Puritan minister and poet whose "The Day of Doom" was a best seller in early New England. Michael Wigglesworth thought that he was fundamentally not holy enough to believe in The Lord as a result of merely being human. When he had a series of nocturnal emissions as a young man, he was thenceforth convinced of his own damnation. In his diaries, he accounts his battle to remain pure and good, despite repeatedly reverting into what he considered as man's instinctive depravity.

This article is an excerpt from ACE the CSET English study guide and online course. In the class, we analyze all 13 authors of the Puritan period and continue on through the late twentieth century postmodernism literary period. The CSET English class has computer generated chronology, fill-in, and matching exercises that enable you to rapidly memorize the information you need to pass the American literature section of the CSET English examination.

This valuable free article is provided to students by ACE the CSET. Visit our website for more information and thank you for your continued support.