Squidmek

Scott Cheshire
American Poetry: Colonial Period to 1700

—The primary concern for the writer of the period is self-definition. America has no distinct personality, at the time. So while certain themes are prevalent—slavery, Puritanism, Native Americans—most poets, of which there were many (thankfully, only three of consequence for us), were more concerned with self-definition within these contexts. Context is of particular importance in early American poetry because poets recorded their experienced reactions to new contexts, yet old ideologies (Bible, Bible, Bible) framed the new experience. Within the three poets mentioned there is this wrestle between ideology and the desire to re-define one’s self. In the case of Anne Bradstreet: the wrestle between the Puritan feminine ideal and Bradstreet’s own emerging sense of individual femininity. In the case of Michael Wigglesworth: the wrestle between personal worldly desire and public service to God and community. Edward Taylor: the wrestle between faith and art.

Anne Bradstreet: 1612-1672

The first in the British colonies to have a book published. Described by Cotton Mather as a “gentlewoman whose extract and estate were considerable. She arrived in Mass. in 1630, of nonconformist Puritan heritage. The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America, her first book, was published in 1650. It was famously forwarded with a preface by a man guaranteeing that (astonishingly!) her womanly and family duties had not been neglected while composing poetry. Early work still highly influenced by European writers like, Spencer, Sydney and Dudley—mostly elegies and dialogues. In 1678 posthumous work is published, all of which exceeds her older material, and is far more personal. In her work she explores the “tension between convention subject matter and her own experience, between rebellion against and acquiescence to frontier life and between her love of this world and her concern for the afterlife of Puritan doctrine.” Works of particular interest: “The Author to Her Book,” “Before the Birth of One of Her Children,” “To My Dear and Loving Husband,” “ A Letter to Her Husband, Absent Upon Public Employment”

Michael Wigglesworth: 1631-1705

Wigglesworth served as Maulden Mass.’ physician and minister for over fifty years. His diaries candidly document his struggle to refrain from sexual desire, while reflecting on the Puritan conception of God and grace. In 1662, he publishes The Day of Doom, North America’s first bestseller. The long poem is a form of “jogging verse” called a fourteener, lines consisting of 14 syllables, usually having 7 Iambic feet. It’s anapestic galloping pace made it easier to remember for many Puritans, and it was recited often publicly. It centers on the Day of Judgment, and serves as a response to rising materialism in the colonies and a decline in spirituality. Works of particular interest: “The Day of Doom,” “Meat Out of the Eater,” “A Song of Emptiness”

Edward Taylor: 1642-1729

“Colonial America’s…most prolific and inventive poet.” Taylor wrestled with a post–romantic influence on his orthodox and plain subject matter—Puritan faith. His work is often infused with lush metaphor, and approaches something closer to metaphysics rather than Puritan orthodoxy. His acknowledged influences are Wigglesworth, Milton and John Bunyan. A chief concern was the Lord’s Supper, explored in his greatest work of 271 poems, Preparatory Meditations Before My Approach To the Lord’s Supper. Works of particular interest: “Upon Wedlock, and Death of Children,” Preparatory Meditations Before My Approach To the Lord’s Supper

Bibliography

Heath Anthology of American Literature: Vol. A—Colonial Period to
1800. Ed. Paul Later. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006.

Lawson, Stephen. “Fire and Ice: Puritan Reformed Writings.” Puritan
Sermons Page. 1 March, 2006. <
http://www.puratisermons.com/poetry/wigglife.htm>

VanSpanckeren, Katheryn. “An Outline of Early American Literature.”
From Revolution to Reconstruction Page. 1 March, 2006.
< http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/LIT/wiggle.htm >

Anne Bradstreet Page. 1 March, 2006.

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My apologies to everyone. This should have been up 3 days ago.

American Prose 1700-1820
Again, what matters here is identity. There is no “American,” as of yet. There is only the American experience, which can be described as either an indigenous experience (as in Native Americans, and first generation American writers) and the experience of the non- native responding to his/her environment. And again--Bible, Bible, Bible. The average person of the day regularly reads the Bible, and holds it as a benchmark for almost everything. But, as one would imagine, there are those who critique the book, and in response to Puritanism, take a stand against organized Christianity. Notably, Jefferson does this and explicitly takes a deistic stance. Some writers use the Bible as source of metaphor, though not necessarily from a Christian perspective. A good example is Crevecoeur, who uses the Eden myth to explore what “the American man is,” while critiquing established Christian norms.
Look for stilted language, preoccupation with slavery, didactic voice and tone, and a preoccupation with the individual. There are slave narratives (as in Jacobs, on our prac exam), and captivity narratives—most famously, Mary Rowlandson’s Narrative. Also look for sermons. Texts are often much more complex and modern than one might expect. There is an exploration with narrative voice in many texts from this period, epistles, faux-autobiography, mode-splicing. Some critics find this to be an extension of the American search for self-identity.
Below are the important texts. Unfortunately, many of them have equal chance of showing, since the perspectives represented within the texts are all very different. I’ve thrown in some poetry, too. And some texts that predate the period but need to be mentioned.

Mary Rowlandson A Narrative of the Captivity and Restauration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, 1682 (the account of her 3-month captivity by Algonquin Indians, one of the first bestsellers in American lit.)
Cotton Mather, The Wonders of the Invisible World, 1692
John Locke Essay concerning Human Understanding, 1690 (Yes, I know he’s English, but a big influence on much at the time, especially on Jefferson)
Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanac, (1733-1738), Autobiography of…, (1771)
J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur, Letters from an American Farmer, 1782 (specifically letters 3 and 9)
Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 1776
Thomas Jefferson, Autobiography of…,(1821) Declaration of Independence
Phillis Wheatley, “To His Excellency George Washington,” 1776, “On Being Brought From Africa to America,” 1773
Phillip Freneau, “The Indian Burying Ground,” 1787
Royall Tyler, The Algerine Captive, 1797
Susanna Rowson, Charlotte Temple, 1791 (also an early bestseller)
Washington Irving, Rip Van Winkle, 1819
James Fenimore Cooper, Last of the Mohicans, 1826
William Cullen Bryant, “Thanatopsis,” 1817

Bibliography

American Literature. Ed. William E. Cain. New York: Pearson Longman, 2004
Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Later. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006.