1. AP English 11 American Puritanism

2. Puritans—The people and their beliefs
American Puritanism
Puritans—The people and their beliefs
Characteristics of Puritan Literature
Listing of texts we will cover

3. The People and Their Beliefs
Who were the Puritans?
The Puritans were members of a religious movement that began in England in the 1500s and lasted into the first half of the 1600s, when it spread to the American colonies.
The Puritans decided that the Church of England was beyond reform. Escaping persecution from church leadership and the King, they came to America.

4. The People and Their Beliefs
TULIP
Taken from Paul Reuben, Perspectives in American Literature (American Puritanism)
Total Depravity—Concept of Original Sin; through Adam and Eve’s fall, every person is born sinful and must struggle to overcome this sinful nature (contrast with Emerson and Thoreau later on).
Unconditional Election—God saves those he wishes, and only a few people chosen for salvation (concept of predestination); individual effort does not matter, but we must try nonetheless.

5. The People and Their Beliefs
Limited Atonement—Jesus died for the chosen only, not for everyone.
Irresistible Grace—God’s grace is freely given; it can not be earned or denied (God’s grace defined as the saving and transfiguring power of God).
Perseverance of the Saints—those elected by God have full power to interpret the will of God, and to live uprightly.

6. The People and Their Beliefs
Additional Important Beliefs
The belief that God's intentions are present in human action and in natural phenomenon.
Manifest Destiny—”…for we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us”
–John Winthrop told his followers to carry on God’s mission and be a shining example for the rest of the world
“The Bible is the supreme authority on earth.”
Taken from pg. 135 of textbook

7. The Function of Puritan Writers
To transform a mysterious God - mysterious because he is separate from the world.
To make him more relevant to the universe.
3. To glorify God.

8. The Style of Puritan Writing
Protestant - against ornateness; reverence for the Bible.
Purposeless- there was a purpose to Puritan writing (glorify, transform, and make more relevant God)
Puritan writing reflected the character and scope of the reading public, which was literate and well-grounded in religion.

9. Characteristics of Puritan Literature
Strenuous and Serious
Attempt to Represent Life Truly
Every Event Represents a Double Reality:
The Event as a Natural Occurrence
The Event as a Significant Message from God
Examples:
A snake found under a person’s porch may be seen as the presence of evil.  This could be a warning from God or a visit from the devil.
A woman accidentally burning a shirt may represent the fact that God was preparing her for the future death of her husband.
-taken from

10. Texts we’ll be covering
Poems: “To My Dear and Loving Husband” and “Upon the Burning of Our House”
Anne Bradstreet (1666)
Sermon: From “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
Jonathan Edwards ( )
Play: “The Crucible”
Arthur Miller (1953)

11. Significant Writers
William Bradford Anne Bradstreet Anne Hutchinson Cotton Mather Thomas Morton Mary Rowlandson Samuel Sewall
Thomas Shepard John Smith Edward Taylor Michael Wigglesworth John Williams Roger Williams John Winthrop

12. Credits
Reuben, Paul P. "Chapter 1: Early American Literature to A Brief Introduction." PAL: Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide. WWW URL: 13 November 2012.