Colonial+Period1

**Of Literatures Colonial ** Upon this continent newly inhabited by our fathers, a new tradition literary has been gifted to us by our all-knowing father in His attempt to bless this land and those who live upon it. Ye who takes pen to paper is inspired by the Lord and feels compelled and obligated to bless this lord whom has granted him such a gift. This, as it stands, is the basis for the words put forth by man. And so, He hath inspired the great men of the cloth to grand writings of both prose and verse, all thanking Him for his greatness. God hath delivered what man as a whole had asked for. Though direct praise was the way, many used their lord’s gift to take to their knees and take in the wonders of the abundant land God hath created before them. But not only to praise Him did the great men write, but also to do his work. Many hath taken in the Holy Spirit and channeled Him into sermons of warning or salvation to sinners, both adulterous and murderous, and all of which are weak before our god. In this New World, we who seek purity and salvation from the corruptions of England can find refuge in the fact that our Earthly laws exist only as extensions of the great inspirations of the Bible, as how man should act is clearly set forth in the Good Book. In this, the holiness of the land's politics and leaders is secured. **The Great Minds ** Using images of both holy and mortal magnitudes, the men of quill created a world within their works, deep in their imaginations of a world hereafter. These men shall here-forth be known to history as the "[|New Light]" preachers, who have been capable of forcing their parishioners to fear their lord should they not choose to love Him, beginning what hath became this new land's Evangelical tradition. Such a type of writing heavily appealed to the good, Christian public, and this audience further compeled these men to write. With dark diction, the frightening world of sin is illuminated through the many sermons issued by men such as [|Jonathan Edwards]. Edwards was born October 5, 1703 in East Windsor, Connecticut, and thirteen years later, was admitted to Yale University, eventually entering the ministry. Edwards' primary thoughts surrounded the Sovereignty of the Lord, the dirty, sinful nature of man, the terrible reality of Hell, and the need of rebirth in Christ for any hope of salvation. Edwards was so important to the colonies that when he was eventually thrown from his position as a minister, the classic "New England Way" of Puritanism came to a close. In his sermons, Edwards sought to combine Puritanism with Isaac Newton's new discoveries in the field of physics, Locke's psychology and radical political ideals, and the ideals of [|Shaftesbury] and [|Malebranche]. The content of his sermons typically centered around the wickedness of man and God's ability to cast those who sin into hell. To capture the spirit of literatures of the time, Edwards is quoted, **"Prayer is as natural an expression of faith as breathing is of life."** media type="custom" key="6849375" Click play to listen to Jonathan Edwards' powerful sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," or [|here] to read it. Such inspiration was not limited to the work of a man, for a lowly woman hath also felt the warm guidance of the Lord, and ye hath produced many a great stories of value to the salvation to the land. [|Anne Bradstreet], as is her married name, succeeds in this. Anne was born Anne Dudley in Northhampton, England before moving to the New World with her husband and parents. She, as a woman, achieved her education because of her father's imminent position as the future Earl of Lincoln. In 1666, the poor woman suffered two tragedies in her home burning and her daughter dying of disease. She was the first woman in the Americas to have her [|poems] published. Bradstreet used her tragedies to teach us not to blame the Lord for hardships, but to thank Him for surviving the hardships of life. This helped many through the tough adjustment into colonial life. Worth mentioning is the valiant life of [|Captain John Smith], whose heroics hath inspired many a man to take residence in this newly found land. This man's experiences know no bounds, having served as a soldier which led to his bondage as a slave to the heathen Turks, which--thank the Lord--he hath escaped by killing his oppressor. After such a life of excitement, it serves to be no wonder that such a great man would be bored by the day-to-day life of Mother England and sought to become one of the first to venture onto this new continent. He joined those of the Virginia company and, of course, was quickly decided upon to be a leader of the colony of Jamestown. The man wrote of his many adventures, including the defense of his colonial charge from those native barbarians that would have seen it destroyed. These memoirs went on to inspire countless men to come to the benefit of the land that is their mother and to work and live in her colonies. Eventually, he made a final journey to the New World, in which he gained credit for naming the land, where I currently set quill to paper, New England. Shortly after finishing his memoirs and advice to all those who would read it, the great man died in 1631 at the wise age of fifty-one. **Important Events ** As we, Pilgrim and Puritan alike, free ourselves from the corruptions of the Church of England and move west to this New World, we can finally turn ourselves to our Lord further. Not only have we turned from the Church of England and formed colonies, but also others such as Roger Williams have turned from us for religious differences. But we of English descent are not the only Europeans that have gained access to this virgin land, for the [|Spanish Catholics]have occupied Florida and the wealthy lands of the Southern Natives. Also occurring, as I speak, are the hangings of witches by the good Puritans of Salem; this is a just punishment for those who enchant their neighbors. Good Governor Winthrop many times hath purged this God-fearing land of Massachusetts of other types of heathens and those of less pure faiths. And those terrible Indians continue to threaten us of the Lord at every turn, but at the end of these times, the hostilities are slowing. All the while, the Anglicans have been setting up colonies far to the South with their sinful, fiscal reasons being paramount. And so, the beginning of this expansive land's literary history is lightly helped along by the details of my history, the fiery and scornful diction of the New Light preachers, the sweet and hopeful tones of poetry, and a great devotion to our Lord. It can be said that this short period of time has built the foundation for the New World's literary traditions as a whole, leading to it being referred to as the last bastion of high religion and the prime institution of these times in what will be the civilized world. This is the legacy of our times and shall be forever written so, as ink dried on paper. -//William Bradford//

1. Bradford's blog, [|Preserve the Literature] 2. Bradford's journal, [|Of Plymouth Plantation]