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What is literature?
a record of man’s experiences & words
Purpose of studying American Lit
learn who were are as Americans (national identity)
vividly picture
share in the experience
What’s a literary classic?
a written work of superior excellence that has stood the test of time for all people of all ages
Why study the classics?
a. opportunity to confront great literature with God’s Word
b. brings fuller appreciation for God’s truth
c. shows God’s dealings with mankind
d. encourages us to apply God’s truth/avoid error
e. helps us to better communicate God’s Word
Major Lit periods
Early American Lit: 1607-1820
Romantic Lit: 1820-1865
Realism and Naturalism: 1865-1915
Modern American Lit: 1914-present
Amerigo Vespucci
16th century, named New World America (Leif Ericson)
What is the dominant theme of the colonial age?
change
What was the first permanent settlement in 1607?
Jamestown
What is The Great Migration?
from 1630-1640, 20,000 settlers came to America
What happened to the separatists?
they left first & moved to Holland
What were some of the contributions of the Puritans?
work ethic, government by moral/ biblical principals
Writers ____________ English authors and styles
immitate
What was the primary purpose of literature?
to instruct didactic (to teach)
Who wrote Of Plymouth Plantation?
Bradford
What is the theme of Bradford’s work?
God’s providence
What were some of the difficulties during the Plymouth Plantation?
cold whether, diseases and sickness, lack of shelter & food, death of friends and family
How did the settlers act during the hardships?
they helped one another and continued to work hard
What was the first book printed in America?
The Bay Psalm Book
What was America’s first school book?
The New England Primer
What is the theme of Mary Rowlandson’s work?
God’s providence
Who wrote The tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America, Author of Her Book, On the Burning of my House, & To My Dear and Loving Husband?
Anne Bradstreet
Who was Anne Bradstreet?
An American writer and the first published woman
What is the theme of Anne Bradstreet’s work?
weaned affection
What is the metaphor Anne Bradstreet use in Author to Her Book?
parent to child
What are the different ways the child (her writing) is described in Author to Her Book?
irksome sight
has blemishes
dressed in raggs
friends exposed to public view
unfit for light
rambling brat
What was the poem To My Dear and Loving Husband about?
Anne Bradstreet was describing the deep love between her and her husband
What was the poem Upon the Burning of Our House about?
It was about Anne Bradstreet describing the night her house burned down and her eyes being opened to how much more God is worth that her physical items
Who wrote On Being Brought from Africa to America and To His Excellency General Washington
Phillis Wheatly
Who was Phillis Wheatly?
An African American woman and writer, America’s first African American poet
What does Phillis Wheatly’s writing use?
Latin vocabulary, inversions, & elevated diction
On Being Brought from Africa to America: Why was Phillis Wheatly thankful that she was taken to America?
If she hadn’t, she never would have met God
On Being Brought from Africa to America: What did Phillis Wheatly say were some Christian’s thoughts about her race?
Some Christians said her race was “diabolic” (from the devil)
On Being Brought from Africa to America: What is the descriptive technique (simile, metaphor, personification, etc.) of “black as Cain”?
simile or biblical illusion (Cain from the Bible)
On Being Brought from Africa to America: What does “sable race” mean?
sable = black, “black race”
On Being Brought from Africa to America: What does “benighted soul” mean?
benighted = “lost soul”
“night” referring to it being dark
-Phillis intended to use it as a pun and it isn’t an actual word
To His Excellency General Washington: Who is Columbia supposed to be?
America
To His Excellency General Washington: What do the olive and laurel symbolize
olive - peace
laurel - victory
To His Excellency General Washington: What does it mean that America’s hair is “bound by olive and laurel”?
It means that America isn’t afraid to fight but still wants peace
To His Excellency General Washington: Who is the Muse?
The Holy Spirit
To His Excellency General Washington: What does “leaves in Autumn’s golden reign” mean?
that change is coming to America (the war)
To His Excellency General Washington: Who does Phillis Wheatly give all the credit to?
Washington
What is the theme of Phillis Wheatly’s To His Excellency General Washington
honoring and admiring all that Washington has done in the past and will do in the future
Who wrote Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God?
Jonathan Edwards
Who was Jonathan Edwards?
A puritan pastor and writer
Where did Jonathan Edwards become a pastor?
North Hampton University, Massachusetts
When and why was Jonathan Edwards kicked out of the church?
In 1750, he was “too zealous for the lost”
What university does Jonathan Edwards become president of?
Princeton University
How does Jonathan Edwards die?
small pox
What is the theme of Jonathan Edward’s works?
religion must be in the heart, not just in the head
What is the first roman numeral of Sinners In the Hands of an Angry God about?
It’s about how man is condemned to hell and how wages of sin is death and that God hates sin and his wrath burns over man. It also says that God has only one way to save man from hell, Jesus Christ.
What is the main verse in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
Deuteronomy 32:35
What does Deuteronomy 32:35 say?
“Their foot shall slide in due time”
What was the main cause of decline in Puritanism?
materialism
What was the nickname Yankee used to describe?
a colonial businessman
What is something Bradstreet is thankful for in her poem Upon the Burning of Our House?
her family & her memories
What does a deist believe?
That God created the universe but isn’t involved in his creation
What is another name for separatist?
pilgrim
How old was Johnathan Edwards when he wrote his treatise Of Insects
11 years old
Where did the first Great Awakening begin?
North Hampton, Massachusetts
How many times was Bradford elected president?
30
When was the Plymouth Plantation?
1620
Did Puritanism decline before or after The Great Awakening?
before
What is the Half-Way Covenant?
covenant that allowed people to become members of the church without having to give a testament of conversion
Why did they establish the Half-Way Covenant?
to encourage people to come back to the church
Why did the Half-Way Covenant fail?
because it allowed unsaved people be members and vote in the church; also was allowing homosexuals become pastors and priests
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God: God has only ONE WAY out of hell - by __________
grace
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God: What are some analogies of man’s sin? (examples of nature)
heavy as lead
falling rock into a spider web
black clouds of wrath
dreadful storm
chaff in a whirlwind
flood waters
bow of God’s wrath is bent
furnace of wrath
(don’t need to know all of these, just a few)
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God: What are some analogies that describe the fierceness of God’s wrath?
like a whirlwind
a wine press
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God: Man has no __________ from hell
security
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God: There is little time, destruction doesn’t ____________
slumber
(meaning don’t wait to be saved, you could die at any moment)
Who was an American novelist and won the 1st Nobel Prize in 1930?
Sinclair Lewis
__________ themes dominated at first, but were replaced by ____________ _______________
Religious, scientific description
What was the style of American literature during the Colonial Age?
plain & simple
What are some genres of literature during the Colonial Age?
journals, diaries, sermons, meditations, devotions
How did God provide in Of Plymouth Plantation?
He kept some people healthy so they could help & he led the Indians to help the settlers & they knew how to speak English
Why did most settlers come to the colonies?
God, gold, glory
What were some of the reasons why the English colonies were the 1st successful colonies?
rich merchants - business
sent criminals - asylum
religious motivations - freedom from persecution & evangelistic zeal
Classicism is characterized by……
a definite concept of God, not necessarily Christian
an emphasis on the individual
a belief that man is basically evil
an approach to life which might be paraphrased as, “The world as it should be.'“
To My Dear and Loving Husband: What are some details that suggest the intensity of Bradstreet’s love for her husband?
she “prizes her love more than mines of gold”
“rivers can’t quench”
more than “all the riches that the East doth hold”
Upon the Burning of Our House: What are some examples of Bradstreet’s deep sense of loss?
she was looking down at the ashes of her home
she couldn’t bear to watch her home go up in flames
she was thinking of all the good memories she made there
she looked at the ruins of her home with sorrow
What are two emotional viewpoints of Bradstreet in her poem about the burning of her house?
Her mourning over the loss of her house and her possessions
Her thankfulness to God for protecting her family
What are some ways that John Smith exaggerated to entice settlers?
-exaggerated the fertility & size of the land
-exaggerated the amount of fish & resources
-exaggerated the quality of the weather (temperature specifically)
What are some criticisms of Puritanism?
They are very strict and hypocritical
(kicked Edwards out for being too zealous for the lost)
What were some positives about Puritanism?
They contributed good work ethic & religious governments
