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157 Terms
What document did the Pilgrims create upon landing, and what was its significance?
The Mayflower Compact; it established a self governing "Civil Body Politic" rooted in religious community.
Who led the larger group of Puritans to Massachusetts Bay in 1630?
John Winthrop.
What was the dual perception Puritans had of the New World?
As both a “hideous and desolate wilderness” and a “Promised Land” or “New Jerusalem.”
What typological worldview did the Puritans use to interpret their experiences?
They saw events and nature as symbolic of Biblical history and divine promises, shaping their understanding.
How did Bradford emphasize the “otherness” of America?
He described it as a “hideous and desolate wilderness,” vastly different from Europe, highlighting hardship to define identity.
What was the significance of the “City upon a Hill” metaphor?
It presented the Puritan colony as a model Christian society under global scrutiny, fulfilling a divine mission.
Where did the “City upon a Hill” idea originally come from?
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew.
How did Winthrop connect the Puritans to Biblical Israel?
He compared their journey to that of the Israelites going to Canaan, framing their settlement as a divine mission.
Who were the two key leaders and chroniclers of Puritan settlements?
John Winthrop and William Bradford.
How did Winthrop and Bradford shape Puritan identity through writing?
By using typological interpretation, Biblical parallels, and emphasizing divine providence in historical narratives.
What type of government did Puritan society establish?
A theocracy closely linking civil authority to religious governance.
What internal and external challenges tested Puritan ideals?
Conflicts with Native Americans and dissenters like Thomas Morton, along with growing materialism.
What is a Jeremiad?
A literary form that laments societal decline and urges return to original spiritual purity.
What are examples of early Puritan literary forms?
Histories, sermons, theological treatises, poetry, diaries, Jeremiads, and Captivity Narratives.
Who was William Bradford and what did he write?
A leader of the Plymouth Colony who authored Of Plimoth Plantation.
What were Bradford’s reasons for leaving Holland before sailing to America?
Economic hardship, cultural anxiety, fear of losing religious zeal, and threat of war with Spain.
How did Bradford justify Puritan resistance to Native Americans?
He framed their actions as self-defense and divine justice, portraying the land as their rightful inheritance.
What genre does Bradford’s lament over community dispersal exemplify?
The Jeremiad.
What is typology and how did Bradford use it?
Typology interprets current events as Biblical foreshadowings; Bradford used it to liken the Pilgrims to Israelites.
What does Bradford call the settlers and what Biblical passage does it reference?
“Pilgrims,” referencing Hebrews 11:11–16.
What is Magnalia Christi Americana and who wrote it?
A massive ecclesiastical history of New England by Cotton Mather.
How does Mather portray Winthrop in Magnalia Christi Americana?
As ‘Nehemias Americanus,’ a Biblical
What did Cotton Mather write about the Salem witch trials?
The Wonders of the Invisible World; he defended the trials as a necessary battle against the Devil.
How did Mather describe witches in The Wonders of the Invisible World?
As proud, ignorant, malicious beings seduced by the Devil into diabolical sacraments.
What kind of spiritual perspective does Anne Bradstreet’s poetry reflect?
A deeply personal chronicle of faith, doubt, love, and submission under Puritan doctrine.
What was Bradstreet’s first published collection of poems?
The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America (1650).
Why was Bradstreet displeased with the publication of The Tenth Muse?
It was published without her knowledge or consent by her brother
How does Bradstreet challenge gender norms in her poetry?
In “The Prologue,” she defends women’s right to write and participate intellectually.
What themes appear in Bradstreet’s later, more personal poems?
Love, grief, spiritual struggle, and resignation to God’s will amid loss and suffering.
What tension is central to Bradstreet’s work?
The conflict between material/earthly attachments and the Puritan ideal of spiritual detachment.
What is Bradstreet’s view on possessions in “Upon the Burning of Our House”?
She accepts the loss as God’s will, viewing all possessions as His.
What was Edward Taylor’s profession in colonial America?
He was a Puritan minister and physician in Westfield, Massachusetts.
What is the title of Taylor’s major poetic work?
Preparatory Meditations.
Why did Edward Taylor write Preparatory Meditations?
As spiritual exercises before administering communion.
How is Edward Taylor’s poetic style described?
Baroque sensibility with elaborate metaphors, intellectual complexity, and spiritual ecstasy.
What metaphor does Taylor use to describe himself in “Prologue”?
As a ‘crumb of dust’ and God’s pen.
What is the theme of “Meditation 8” by Taylor?
The soul’s nourishment through Christ, portrayed using Eucharistic and domestic metaphors.
How does Taylor describe divine grace in “Meditation 16”?
As a snowball turned into a radiant ‘sunball’ by God’s love.
What is the tone of Taylor’s later poems?
Simpler in metaphor but intense in emotion, often showing fear of damnation and hope in Christ.
How does Taylor describe the Devil in his later poetry?
As a barking dog, symbolizing constant spiritual threat.
Anne Bradstreet – A Letter to Her Husband
Main conceit: Bradstreet and her husband as sun and earth—she mourns in “black” while he, the “Sun,” is away “in's Zodiack.” This extended metaphor develops the emotional and physical intensity of their union.
Veiled sexual allusion: “Within the Cancer of my glowing breast / The welcome house of him my dearest guest”—a clever combination of astrological imagery and physical longing.
Logical paradox: “I here, thou there, yet both but one”—the metaphysical idea that true love unites two into one despite physical separation.
Structure: Rhyming couplets emphasize emotional and physical union. Unlike Donne (who spiritualizes separation), Bradstreet yearns for bodily presence, tying her formal unity to her desire for physical closeness.
Edward Taylor – The Ebb and Flow
Edward Taylor’s “The Ebb and Flow” is a spiritual meditation about the rise and fall of religious feeling—how faith and devotion can burn brightly at times, then fade, leaving the believer anxious and frustrated.
Main Meaning (In Simple Terms):
The poem is about Taylor’s changing relationship with God. At first, he was full of fiery passion for God—his heart was like a “tinder box” that easily caught fire with divine sparks. Later, even though his heart is now like a religious object (a “censer” burning incense to God), the fire feels weaker, like it’s hidden in ashes. He worries his faith might be fading or false (like a misleading light, an ignis fatuus). But when God’s spirit (“bellows”) blows on him again, the fire comes back—showing that the connection to God is still there, just sometimes hidden.
Themes:
Spiritual struggle: Faith isn’t constant—it “ebbs and flows” like tides.
Divine grace vs. human weakness: Taylor recognizes that his devotion depends not just on him, but on God’s presence and action.
Fear of hypocrisy or spiritual failure: He wonders whether his weak devotion is real or just a false flicker.
Hope for renewal: Despite doubt, he ends with a sign of hope—God’s spirit can reignite his soul.
Tone and Style:
Emotional and introspective, but also rooted in religious ritual.
Uses extended metaphors (tinderbox, censer, fire, ashes) to explore invisible spiritual states.
The irregular line lengths and unsteady rhythm mirror the instability of his spiritual emotions.
Key metaphors:
Heart as a tinderbox—original fiery devotion, easily sparked.
Heart as a censer—now a vessel for ritual fire, but ironically less fiery.
Paradox: The “grander” religious image (censer, altar) is linked to diminished fervor—Taylor’s spirituality is more externally structured but internally lacking passion.
Tone and form: The irregular line length and halting rhythm mirror his spiritual instability. His rhyme scheme is less predictable than Bradstreet’s, reinforcing the “ebb and flow” of devotion.
Theme: The believer's frustration with fluctuating religious intensity, much like Donne’s or Herbert’s struggles in the Metaphysical tradition.
Benjamin Franklin – Autobiography
Tone: Pragmatic, Enlightenment rationalism—he treats moral self-improvement as a methodical experiment.
Paradox: Despite his goal of “moral perfection,” Franklin admits to persistent flaws—especially in Order and Pride. He notes with irony that pride is so enduring that even overcoming it can lead to pride in humility.
Key idea: Virtue is not religious but practical—actions are not sinful because they offend God, but because they harm human well-being.
Structure: His 13 virtues are arranged hierarchically, building one upon another like a moral ladder. Temperance leads to clarity, which enables Silence, which supports Order, etc.
Takeaway: A secularized, systematic approach to virtue rooted in self-discipline and utility, contrasting the more mystical, grace-dependent visions of Bradstreet and Taylor.
What is the main claim in “The Poetic Principle”?
Poetry should aim for Beauty, not Truth or Duty.
"The Poetic Principle" (published posthumously, 1850): Outlines his aesthetic theories, emphasizing poetry's aim as Beauty, not Truth or Duty. Rejects the "heresy of didacticism" (Definition - Didacticism: Literature intended primarily to instruct or teach a moral lesson). Criticizes the moralizing tendencies of contemporary poets (e.g., "Frogpondians" of Boston).
Which French literary movement did Poe influence?
The Symbolist and Surrealist movements, science-fiction novels, detective short stories
Who was Poe admired/hated by
admired by the French (especially Baudelaire)
hated by transcendentalists
The Purloined Letter
Genre & Significance
A foundational work in detective fiction.
Part of Poe’s “tales of ratiocination” featuring C. Auguste Dupin, the prototype for Sherlock Holmes.
Plot Summary (Brief)
Paris police are baffled: a compromising letter has been stolen from a royal lady and is being used to blackmail her.
They search everywhere using scientific thoroughness but fail.
Dupin solves the mystery not through physical searching, but through psychological insight—realizing the letter is hidden in plain sight, disguised and placed among other papers.
Key Concepts:
Ratiocination (analytical reasoning): Dupin uses logic, psychology, and understanding of human nature, rather than empirical investigation.
Critique of Empirical Methods: The police fail because they rely on mechanical methods; Dupin succeeds by thinking like the criminal.
Doubling & Role-Play: Dupin gets inside the thief’s mind by imagining what he would do. This highlights Poe’s recurring theme of psychological doubling.
Deception & Surface vs. Depth: A key idea is that what's hidden is often right in front of you, echoing the idea that the truth may be overlooked because it's too obvious.
Power & Politics: The letter’s contents are never revealed, underscoring that control and secrecy, rather than content, hold power.
Intertextual Game: The story plays with literary form—presented as a tale-within-a-tale and full of references to logic puzzles and games of strategy.
Philosophical Implications:
Shows Poe's interest in abstraction, mental analysis, and perversity (the pleasure of solving or committing a clever crime).
Challenges Enlightenment faith in reason by showing that rationality must include emotional and intuitive intelligence.
Eldorado
Form & Structure
Four six-line stanzas with a consistent meter and rhyme scheme (almost singsong).
Heavy use of internal rhyme, repetition, and a recurring word (“shadow”) that changes meaning.
Themes & Meanings
Unattainable Ideal
Eldorado is never found, symbolizing the endless human quest for perfection, happiness, or truth.
The knight's journey becomes a metaphor for existential or spiritual striving.
Refrain & Shifting Symbolism
The word “shadow” evolves:
1st: literal darkness
2nd: depression or despair
3rd: ghost or death
4th: allegorical space between life and death
Echoes “Nevermore” from “The Raven”—a refrain with shifting emotional resonance.
Poe’s Poetic Theory in Action
Music > Meaning: The poem prioritizes sound, rhythm, and incantation over clear narrative or didactic message.
It exemplifies Poe’s rejection of the “heresy of didacticism”—he believed poetry should evoke emotion and beauty, not teach morals.
Puritan Critique
By resisting clear morals, Poe counters Puritan legacies of using literature as moral instruction (compare with Cotton Mather’s lion/honey metaphor).
The knight’s search ends in the afterlife (“Valley of the Shadow”), suggesting that ideal beauty or fulfillment may lie beyond earthly reality—not in pragmatic goals.
French Influence & Poésie Pure
Shares rhythmical and thematic DNA with Baudelaire’s “Invitation au voyage.”
Both suggest poetry as a dreamscape or escape to a mythic, idealized place.
Poe’s prioritization of atmosphere and sound profoundly influenced the poètes maudits like Baudelaire and Mallarmé.
Melancholy & Mortality
The hero’s failure reflects Poe’s lifelong themes: death, longing, and the futile search for transcendence.
He rides “gaily bedight” into oblivion—beauty wrapped in despair.
Note 
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