Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Unit 1
Unit 1
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OBJECTIVES
After the lesson, the students will have an overview of American literature in the Colonial period. The content
includes:
• The historical background of the period
• The characteristics of American literature in the Colonial period
• Some typical authors and literary works
• The students will be able to explain the relation between historical events and their influences on literature
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OVERVIEW
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Introduction to American literature
Modernism and
The birth of
Colonial period Romanticism Realism Post-
modernism
(1582-1789) (1790-1860) (1861-1914) modernism
(1915-1949)
(1950-1999)
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WARMING UP
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1.1. AMERICAN INDIANS LITERATURE
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1.1. AMERICAN INDIANS LITERATURE
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1.2. THE APPEARANCE OF THE PURITANS
Timeline of events
• 1492: Christopher Columbus lands in the Bahamas
• 1500s: Exploration of the new land, colonists arrive and settle in the late 1500’s
• 1607: First permanent English settlement at Jamestown, Virginia
• 1619: First black slaves brought to Virginia
• 1620: Plymouth Colony was established in Massachusetts
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1.2. THE APPEARANCE OF THE PURITANS
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1.2. THE APPEARANCE OF THE PURITANS
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1.2. THE APPEARANCE OF THE PURITANS
Puritan Belief
• Human beings exist for glory of God
• Bible is sole expression of God’s will
• Predestination
• “Puritan Ethic”: accomplish good only through continual
hard work and self-discipline
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1.2. THE APPEARANCE OF THE PURITANS
Education
• Education was for men & women
• 1636 founded Harvard College
• Printing Press developed in 1639
• 1647 free public schools established in Massachusetts
• New England Primer published in 1690 combining instruction in spelling reading and moralistic teachings,
such as “In Adam’s Fall/We sinned all”
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1.3. LITERATURE OF THE PERIOD
Puritan Literature
• Religious writings:
▪ Theological studies
▪ Hymns
▪ Histories
▪ Biographies
▪ Autobiographies
• Purpose of writing to provide spiritual insight, instruction, or self-examination
• Poetry just for spiritual enlightenment
• Neither fiction nor drama was produced. Both were considered sinful.
• Famous writers: Anne Bradstreet, Edward Taylor
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1.4. PURITAN LITERARY STYLE
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1.5. AUTHORS OF THE PERIOD
• Anne Bradstreet
• William Bradford
• John Smith
• Cotton Mather
• Jonathan Edwards
• Mary Rowlandson
• William Byrd
Jonathan Edwards Captain John Smith
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1.5. AUTHORS OF THE PERIOD
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SUMMARY
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GLOSSARY
1. American Indian /əˈmer·ɪ·kən ˈɪn·di·ən/ : someone who belongs to one of the groups of people that
originally lived in North America before the Europeans arrived
2. Puritan /pjʊrɪtən/: any member of a Protestant group in England and the American colonies that in the 16th
and 17th cent., wanted to make the Church of England simpler in its services and stricter about morals
3. Myth /mɪθ/: A myth is a well-known story which was made up in the past to explain natural events or to
justify religious beliefs or social customs
4. Theocracy /θiɒkrəsi/: A theocracy is a society which is ruled by priests who represent a god
5. Hymn /hɪm/: a song or ode in praise or honor of God, a deity, a nation, etc
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