Background Information Literary Terms “Of Plymouth Plantation” “Upon the Burning of Our House” “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
What did the Native Americans’ literature consist of?
Children’s stories, chants, songs, and fairytales
What did the Puritans mostly write?
Diaries, histories, and spiritual poetry
Puritans believed that people fell into two categories. What were these categories?
“The elect” and “The damned”
What was the time period range of the Puritan period?
1620 – 1765
Each Puritan was trained to view his/her life as what?
A journey to salvation
Inversion
When words of a sentence or line of poetry are arranged out of normal English language order
Puritan Plain Style
A way of writing that stresses simplicity and clarity of expression
Parallelism
The repetition of words or phrases that have similar grammatical structures
Archaic words
Words belonging to an earlier period
Extended metaphor
A metaphor that is extended or developed over a number of lines or with several examples
Who wrote “Of Plymouth Plantation”?
William Bradford
How does the author describe the Native Americans?
with a mixture of fear and respect
What did the colonists do first when they arrived in North America?
They fell to their knees and blessed God
How do you know that the Puritans valued fairness?
A small group of colonists cared for all of the others when they were sick
What is a good summary of “The Starving Time” section?
Many people died, and the few strong people took care of the weak
Who wrote “Upon the Burning of Our House”?
Anne Bradstreet
What does the author criticize herself for?
Valuing material possessions too much
In addition to the things she lost, what else does the author emphasize?
Her memories of happy occasions in the house
What does the author mean by “I blest His name that gave and took…”?
Her material objects were ultimately God’s and not hers
What does the author say that God will provide for her?
Everything that she needs
Who wrote “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”?
Jonathan Edwards
The author taps into his audience’s fear of what?
Burning forever in a fiery pit
How is God presented?
As angry and vengeful
The author builds a sense of urgency and peril by suggesting what?
That death and damnation may occur at any moment
What must people do to escape God’s anger and experience peace in Heaven?
Experience a “change of heart” and accept God