1. The Great Awakening

2. 1730-1750 Focused on Salvation of the “Natural” or unsaved
Greatly influenced the Middle and Southern Colonies
Literature was focused on the mission of recruiting Christians

3. Literary Connection “Sinners…” by J. Edwards
The sermon was given in Enfield, CT on July 8, 1741 to a relatively small congregation
The fervor of the speech made Edwards a well known orator during the Great Awakening
The sermon’s main purpose was to inform of the Hell that awaits the unsaved.
Literary Connection

4. The Great Enlightenment (Age of Enlightenment)

5. Was a response to the religious fervor created by the Great Awakening and the American and French Revolutions
Focus shifted from God to creation, reason, and science
Inventors were plentiful in the time and scientific knowledge compounded

6. Literary Connection The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Franklin was the embodiment of the Enlightenment – smart, worldly, and a lover of both art and science
His autobiography was a reflection on his life looking for meaning, growth and faults
His tone is humorous and secular – something that would never have happened in Puritan writing
Literary Connection