American Literature for the CSET English Exam

Literature of America denotes written work or literature made in the geographical area of the U.S.A.

In its early years, America was a group of British settlements on the east coast of the United States of America. Hence, its literary origin starts out as coupled to the encompassing tradition of English literature. Notwithstanding, unequaled American features and the prolificacy of its output usually now make it a distinct course and tradition.

Puritanism and Early American Literature

Two Crucial British Colonies:

Plymouth Colony

Flagship Mayflower arrives in 1620
Leader - William Bradford
Colonists acknowledged as Pilgrims and Separatists
The Mayflower Compact establishes economic, social, and religious freedom, while keeping connections to Great Britain.

The Massachusetts Bay Colony

Arbella arrives in 1630
Leader - John Winthrop
Colonists are largely Congregational Puritans
Arbella Covenant clearly establishes a spiritual and theocratic settlement, without ties to Great Britain.

Puritan Beliefs

Complete Corruption - because of the fall of Adam and Eve every person is sinful - concept of Archetypical Sin.

Categoric Election - God redeems those He chooses - only a few are chosen for salvation - concept of preordination.

Restricted Propitiation - Jesus died for the elected only, not for the people.

Resistless Grace - The Lord's grace is given freely, it cannot be earned. Grace is characterized as the delivering and transfiguring force of God.

Relapsing - The belief that saved believers, those manifesting seeable marks of grace, can descend into temptation and transform into sinners. To keep this from happening, followers were expected not to become smug, engage in steadfast self-evaluation, and prayer. Lucifer was very interested in trapping such church members.

The Function of Puritan Authors

To lift up God.

To transform a mysterious Lord - mysterious because He is detached from the world.

To make God more applicable to the cosmos.

The Style of Puritan Writing

Puritan writing mirrored the image and setting of the reading public, which was literate and well-schooled in theology.

Protestant - against elaborateness; awe of the Bible.

Writers of the Period

William Bradford (March 19, 1590 – May 9, 1657) was the chief of the separatist settlers of the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, and was picked thirty times to be the Governor. William was the main architect of the Mayflower Compact. He is credited as the first to proclaim what current American society now holds as the first Thanksgiving.

Anne Bradstreet (1612 – September 16, 1672) was the first American female author to have her works promulgated. Nearly all of Anne Bradstreet's poems are founded on observation of the environment around her, focusing mainly on domestic and religious themes. Long considered mostly of historical interest, she won critical acceptance in the 20th century as a writer of imperishable rhyme, particularly for her series of religious poems called "Contemplations", which was written for her family and not published until the mid-19th century.

John Smith (1580 – June 21, 1631), was an English soldier, sailor, and author. John Smith is remembered for his role in founding the first permanent English settlement in North America at Jamestown, Virginia, and his brief association with the Native American girl Pocahontas during a fracas with the Powhatan Confederacy and her father, Chief Powhatan. John's books were as important as his deeds, for they encouraged more English men and women to start a new and better life in the New World. John gave the name New England to that region, and encouraged people with the comment, "Here every man may be master and owner of his owne labour and land...If he have nothing but his hands, he may...by industrie quickly grow rich." It was a mighty message, which attracted millions of people to America over the next four centuries.

Samuel Sewall (March 28, 1652 - January 1, 1730), was a Massachusetts judge, known for his involvement in the Salem Witch Trials, for which he later apologized, and his denouncement of slavery in "The Selling of Joseph".

Michael Wigglesworth (October 18, 1631 - June 10, 1705) was a Puritan preacher and poet writer whose "The Day of Doom" was a best seller in early New England. Michael believed that he was basically not worthy of believing in God as a result of merely being human. When he underwent a series of nocturnal emissions in his early life, he was thereafter confident of his own damnation. Through his diaries, he reports his struggle to remain good and pure, despite continually reverting into what he regarded as man's instinctive degeneracy.

This report is an extract from ACE the CSET English study guide and online course. In the course, we analyze all 13 authors of the Puritan period and continue on through the late twentieth century postmodernism literary period. The CSET English course has computer generated chronology, fill-in, and matching exercises that enable you to rapidly memorize the information you need to pass the American literature section of the CSET English exam.

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