Untitled Quiz

Course Information

• ACL 343: Origins of American Poetry
• AMER 373: American Poetry I
• Fall Semester 2024-2025

General Introduction

• Trans-Atlantic Explorations and Colonization
• European explorations from 1492 onwards
  • Columbus sought a new route to India and China
  • Amerigo Vespucci recognized America as a new continent
  • Early Spanish and Portuguese explorers
• Various English expeditions (1550s-1580s)
  • Searching for a northern sea route to Asia
  • Geographical observation
  • Territorial exploration
  • Colonization and settlement

The Virginia Colony

• Sir Walter Raleigh's failed attempt to establish a colony in 1585 on Roanoke Island
• Captain John Smith's colony (1607/1608)
  • Established by the London Virginia Company
  • Located on the eastern shores of America
  • Originally named "Virginia" by Sir Walter Raleigh after Queen Elizabeth I

The London Virginia Company

• Had the King's authorization to monopolize trade and colonization along the Atlantic coast of North America
• The original settlers were about 140 farmers, craftsmen, and labourers

The Plymouth Colony

• The second English colony in America
• Established in 1620, south of Boston
• Settled by Puritans, commonly called the Pilgrims
• Led by the Pilgrim Fathers
• Their ship, the Mayflower, became legendary

Puritan Mindset and Psychology

• Puritans compared themselves to the Jews in the Book of Exodus
• Believed their suffering in England was similar to the Jews' suffering under Egyptian pharaohs
• Saw their departure from England as an exodus

Puritan Mindset and Psychology (Continued)

• Considered their arrival in New England as the settlement in the Promised Land
• Called New England "New English Canaan"
• Believed they were God's chosen people
• Modeled their lives and work on the patriarchs of the Old Testament

Puritan Idea of God and Nature

• Every occurrence in life was seen as evidence of God's intervention
• Incidents/situations were described as God's providence or the just hand of God

Puritan Idea of God and Nature (Continued)

• William Bradford's remarks stressed divine intervention and presence
• Any trouble, suffering, etc. was God's punishment for sins
• Nature was believed to be a reflection of God's power and absolute authority

Puritan Idea of God and Nature (Continued)

• The natural world was harmoniously constructed by God
• The beauty of nature mirrors God's infinitely greater beauty and glory

Puritan Poetry

• Puritan poets in the early colonial period (1630s-1700s) had no literary connection
• Their poetry was completely personal
• Expressed religious feelings, spirituality, hopes, joys, fears, daily life
• Moral values, attitudes towards natives, wilderness as a paradisical landscape

Puritan Poetry (Continued)

• Thematic variety limited except for Anne Bradstreet
• Viewed their task as expressing truths and mysteries embodied in nature
• Puritans valued/practiced polysemous poetry of natural facts as a mode of instruction/edification

Puritan Poetry (Continued)

• Spiritual poetry as means to equip for living a spiritual life
• Common themes: God's mercy/anger, man's struggle for salvation, corruption of world

Puritan Poetry (Continued)

• Individual absent in most Puritan poetry, except in Bradstreet's
• Common forms: elegies, historical narratives, and allegorical narratives from the Bible

Poems for Study

• Anne Bradstreet: "The Prologue," "Contemplations," "To My Dear and Loving Husband"
• Michael Wigglesworth: "The Day of Doom"
• Edward Taylor: "Meditation 22"

Anne Bradstreet (Continued)

• Originally born in England in 1612, emigrated to America in 1630
• Her husband was a political member of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
• She was well-known in the colony, previously brought up in an English aristocratic family circle
• Home-educated; well-read in classical Greek and Roman literature, history, and philosophy
• Strongly held Puritan belief that God is reflected in nature

Anne Bradstreet (Continued)

• Viewed nature as a book inscribed by God, a reflection of God's divine beauty
• Her poem "Contemplations" reflects the beauty of the autumn landscape in New England

Anne Bradstreet (Continued)

• Perceived harmony between God, nature, and man
• Saw an intimate relationship between man and God in nature
• Believed nature was a book inscribed by God for humans to read

Anne Bradstreet (Continued)

• Her poetry displayed self-reliance and feminine self-reliance
• Her poetry was a protest poem against gender inequality but accepted female submission to male supremacy in social life

Michael Wigglesworth (Continued)

• Puritan preacher
• Demonstrated poetic talent
• Wrote the long spiritual poem "The Day of Doom."

Edward Taylor (Continued)

• Puritan minister
• Deeply committed to Puritan theology and its interpretations

Lydia Sigourney (Continued)

• Prominent female writer during a time when women's role was limited
• Her writings featured diverse genres (poetry, travel, prose)
• Active participant in the social and political life of the time, advocating for racial integration
• Used her influence to advocate for the rights of the Indians in the face of westward expansion

Lydia Sigourney (Continued)

• Spoke out against the Indian removal policies
• Focused on the importance of recognizing and honoring the Indians' values, culture, and identity

Lydia Sigourney (Continued)

• Published "Traits of the Aborigines" in 1822
• Wrote the famous poem "The Indian Names" in 1834, voicing political, moral, and social protest

William Cullen Bryant (Continued)

• Post-Revolutionary poet, preceding the American Renaissance poets
• Became popular with the public for his Romantic and moral sensitivity in his poetry
• Influenced considerably by the English Romantic poet John Keats

William Cullen Bryant (Continued)

• Also influential on Emerson
• Political activist for the abolition of slavery
• Wrote the famous poem "To the Waterfowl"

Sarah W. Morton (Continued)

• Woman poet dedicated to American nationalism and democratic values
• Deeply aware of the social and political issues facing the new nation at a time of significant changes
• Passionate supporter of the revolution, with respect to democratic ideals like equality, justice, and freedom
• Her works reflected her awareness of the American landscape

Sarah W. Morton (Continued)

• Supported racial diversity and defended the American Indians

Sarah W. Morton (Continued)

• Her poem "The African Chief" highlighted her opposition to slavery in the Americas;

Phillis Wheatley (Continued)

• African slave who excelled in poetry and literary expression

Phillis Wheatley (Continued)

• Despite the circumstances of her background, she regarded slavery as an opportunity for her good
• Wrote about the benefits of her slave life and expressed positive sentiments about slavery

Phillis Wheatley (Continued)

• Showcased her proficiency in English and Latin languages, as well as her devout Christianity
• Featured her poems in regional newspapers

Phillis Wheatley (Continued)

• Showed pride in her adopted Christian identity through writings
• Her anti-slavery sentiment and humanistic perspective are clearly visible in her literary works