Many periods and movements helped shape literature to what it is today. These movements changed how people acted and how one saw the world around them. Some of these movements seem bizarre and quite crazy when we look at them today, but back in the day they were part of a literary movement that people never wanted to leave. Led by many famous people and public figures, they contributed to how the country was ran and operated. There are so many ways that a country, or even a small group of people can be influenced by, but in the opinion of many literacy has to be one of the most influential. Without these five periods, the literature that we know today would be completely different, and in the opinion of many, much worse. The Colonial Period had two movements in it, the Puritan Plain style and the Classical style. The Puritans liked to keep things simple with their literature. Puritan plain style used commonly used words that everybody knew the meaning of. Among these writers was Anne Bradstreet with her famous piece of literature “To my Dear and Loving Husband”. In this poem Anne expresses her love and affection for her husband, along with talking about the everyday difficulties of the Puritan lifestyle. This really opened up the eyes of the world, because she explained the harsh life that the Puritans fought through every day. The Classical movement liked to express the ideal, perfect concept, along with stressing reason, balance, and clarity. “Of Plymouth Plantation” by William Bradford is a story about the hard times that the Puritans survived through courage and amazing faith. This story showed the world how devoted the Puritans were to living the life that they wanted to, and how they did whatever they could to achieve that... ... middle of paper ... ...uate and attain a good job where I can support my family with no problems at all. Some people may call me crazy for wanting to wake up at 4 O’clock in the morning just to run in college, but that’s my dream and it has been for my entire life. Not everyone in my life has told me that it is achievable, most people actually telling me that I should consider other options in lower divisions, but that is where I must believe in myself. As my teacher Mr. Tagg once told me “if you aim for the stars and you fail you won’t go anywhere, but if you aim for the moon and you fail, then you will only fall back down to the stars.” I need to tell myself that I can do it, and then show everybody else, including me, that I can do it. This period in time is about setting goals, and doing everything humanly possible to achieve those goals; and that’s exactly what I am going to do.
First, both of the main speakers within each of the following Puritan literary works were ministers during the 1700s, which was around the time of the Puritans. These works were also written within third person point of view. Now, both of these ministers then express their concerns for their congregation
Comparing the Writing Styles of Bradford to Byrd In the Elements of Literature English book the excerpts from the stories of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford and The History of the Dividing Line by William Byrd can be compared and contrasted in many ways. Whether it's the difference in writing styles, the difference purposes for writing the stories, or simply each writer's tone, this paper will give examples of each comparison or contrast.
Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford and A Description of New England by John Smith are essentially irrelevant to one another in the way that each piece has a very different point of view. The author John Smith was a pilgrim who arrived in the Americas and wrote a description of the new land. William Bradford was also a pilgrim who arrived at Plymouth and wrote more about the realities of his personal journey. The purpose of this essay is to contrast the purposes of the writers, their intended audiences, and how each writer gives out a specific feeling.
William Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation differs from William Byrd’s The History of the Dividing Line in the cases of purpose, tone, and style. The main purpose of Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation is to show how the colonists in Plymouth colony were struggling and dying due to the lack of food, and how the Native Americans in the area came and helped them. Natives like Squanto “directed them how to set their corn, where to take fish and to procure other commodities” (Bradford, 33). The lessons taught by the Natives saved the colonists and they formed a mutual friendship, as evidenced by the first Thanksgiving. Bradford was trying to show how the colonists were suffering and dying, but survived with the help of the Natives. Byrd, on the other hand, showed that the Virginians
Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford, The General History of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles by John Smith, and The Tempest by William Shakespeare, seem to have one thing in common in that they all touch upon the aspect of life in the new world. While The Tempest alludes to the new world and focuses on an imaginary concept of a Utopian society, The General History of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles and Of Plymouth Plantation offer first hand accounts of life in the new world. John Smith tells us about life on the new land and his experiences with natives while William Bradford emphasizes the difficulties and hardships that the people had to endure in building a colony.
Religion was the foundation of the early Colonial American Puritan writings. Many of the early settlements were comprised of men and women who fled Europe in the face of persecution to come to a new land and worship according to their own will. Their beliefs were stalwartly rooted in the fact that God should be involved with all facets of their lives and constantly worshiped. These Puritans writings focused on their religious foundations related to their exodus from Europe and religions role in their life on the new continent. Their literature helped to proselytize the message of God and focused on hard work and strict adherence to religious principles, thus avoiding eternal damnation. These main themes are evident in the writings of Jonathan Edwards, Cotton Mathers, and John Winthrop. This paper will explore the writings of these three men and how their religious views shaped their literary works, styles, and their historical and political views.
Anne Bradstreet is seen as a true poetic writer for the seventeenth century. She exhibits a strong Puritan voice and is one of the first notable poets to write English verse in the American colonies. Bradstreet’s work symbolizes both her Puritan and feminine ideals and appeals to a wide audience of readers. American Puritan culture was basically unstable, with various inchoate formations of social, political, and religious powers competing publicly. Her thoughts are usually on the reality surrounding her or images from the Bible. Bradstreet’s writing is that of her personal and Puritan life. Anne Bradstreet’s individualism lies in her choice of material rather than in her style.
Burnham, Michelle. "Merchants, Money, and the Economics of "Plain Style" in William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation." American Literature. no. 4 (2000).
Anne Bradstreet starts off her letter with a short poem that presents insight as to what to expect in “To My Dear Children” when she says “here you may find/ what was in your living mother’s mind” (Bradstreet 161). This is the first sign she gives that her letter contains not just a mere retelling of adolescent events, but an introspection of her own life. She writes this at a very turbulent point in history for a devout Puritan. She lived during the migration of Puritans to America to escape the persecution of the Catholic Church and also through the fragmentation of the Puritans into different sects when people began to question the Puritan faith.
Born in Austerfield England in 1590, William Bradford, orphaned at an early age, raised by several relatives, and with no formal education, became one of the most influential men of the original American Colonists, and is credited as the “Father of American history,” with his diaries of the Pilgrims’ journey and struggles to America. “Of Plymouth Plantation” the journals of William Bradford are still one of the major resources used for historians for this time in history. (Schoenberg, 2001)
In the early American writing, Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford, accounts the beginnings of an isolated colony in Massachusetts. In the documentation, a strong feeling of community is established among the settlers.
In the New World Bradford and Morton were both important men of our history. The stories of both great men give us an insight into the way religion and influence affected Puritan life.
The Puritan life, although simple, demanded diligence both mentally and spiritually which put stress on even the most faithful of followers. Although the common practice entailed brushing religious struggles under the rug, few writers bravely wrote of their religious doubts and endeavors to become better Puritans. Author Anne Bradstreet shows in her work “Here Follows Some Verse upon the Burning of Our House, July 10th, 1666” that religious struggles are often met by Puritans and it takes brave souls to admit their difficult time with their religion. This poem shows a woman dealing with a religious crisis and how even though she struggles her faith still holds strong in the end. Bradstreet’s poem displays a crisis of faith in her content and reflects her struggle with the Puritan beliefs, however, the form and structure of the poem reflect her internal religious solidarity.
Up until the early 17th century, American literature was chiefly about politics, religion, and recorded events. These writings were very dry and lacked insight into the everyday lives of the authors. To put into writing any individual spiritual reflections that strayed away from the religion of the colony could be dangerous at that time; possibly resulting in banishment from the colony or worse. Likewise, any writing that did not serve at least one of the purposes listed above was considered to be a waste of time that would be better spent praising God. Anne Bradstreet defied the rules of her time by writing about whatever she wanted including personal thoughts, reflections, emotions, and events. Bradstreet was the first to write about personal matters, which is her greatest literary contribution in early American literature.
The Victorian era was more about social class and the economy; on the other hand, the Modern Literature was about showing what the world really looked like. Each era wanted to make a change in the world, they wanted to make an impact on the readers. Therefore, they wrote about politics, gender equality, economics, and social class. The Victorian age was from 1837 to 1901, it was a time of change during the ruling of Queen Victoria. The Modern Literature era also known as the twentieth century and after was from 1910 's to 2000 's in which increased popularity in literature due to the increasing of industrialization and globalization. Both of these eras made an impact towards world of literature, they showed either how the world was really like or they showed how the economic and social class. They may be different eras but they still had a chance to impact the world with there themes, subjects, purposes, and