Introduction
The central theme of this anthology is religion in early American literature up until 1865. This is inclusive of any and all religions that were presented in early texts. From Native American writings all the way up to Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman in the mid 1800’s, this collection is capable of holding it all. This specific edition of this anthology ranges from the years 1630 up to 1865. However, if it were to be expanded to include more sections, it would be able to span from early years all the way up to the end of the Civil War. The religious views that are included in this anthology are primarily Christianity. However, as previously stated, if this were to be expanded into a much larger and broader collection of texts and published, it would be capable of holding any religious ideas even outside of the normalized Christian beliefs that we typically think of today. The works over time in early American literature were not only limited to the views and beliefs of Christianity, so there is no reason to limit this collection to strictly Christianity. There are quite a few different works that were not published novels, rather sermons that were given by well-known ministers and preachers that became famous and published as the short speech. Most of the sermons that are provided in this anthology are given by Puritan ministers which is explained further into this introduction with each piece. It has been really interesting to see the way that religious views and customs have changed over time. Literature has been a really good way of not only creating these pieces but also documenting history to a certain extent. The way that religion is carried out over time has been fascinating to learn about from more than just a history class, but through the eyes of these different authors and preachers. Each piece also contains footnotes to assist in the reader’s comprehension of the text. These older texts have the tendency to be a bit more difficult to read for some people due to the diction that was considered normal at the time. As this text continues, I have provided a short preview to each individual piece in this collection as a preview of what is in the pages to come.
The very first chapter to start off this anthology begins Anne Bradstreet and her poem “To My Dear and Loving Husband”. I initially found this poem during our Bradstreet unit out of the Bedford Anthology used for this class. The religious tie in this poem has a lot to do with her direct reference to the Song of Solomon in the seventh line. The Song of Solomon is a part of the Old Testament in the Bible about a woman in love with a man. There is also a reference in the second to last line of the poem about persevering which connects to her ideas that they must persevere through their marriage no matter what because divorce is wrong in the eyes of God.
The second chapter is over Emily Dickinson and her famous poem “’Faith’ is a Fine Invention”. This poem connects to my theme by what Dickinson is trying to get across. It was also one of the poem’s by Dickinson that was included in our Bedford Anthology for this class. In this poem, she uses some different words to contradict each other. The poem seems to be short and simple. While it is short, it means much more than the words on the page. Dickinson is showing how religion and science are so different in this short four-line poem.
Chapter three we have our final poem which is by Edward Taylor and titled “Huswifery”. Written in the 17th century, this poem is addressed directly to God Himself. It is supposed to be a type of prayer or plea through an extended metaphor where God is a cloth maker and Taylor is God’s tools, he is using to make the cloth. He makes himself out to be God’s humble earthly servant and to spread His word throughout the land.
In the next chapter we start with our more extended texts with a piece by John Winthrop. This is a bit different, however, as Winthrop was not technically titled as an author, but as a puritan leader. Although, his text “A Model of Christian Charity” became very well-known in his time and fits the religious side of this anthology. It is clearly a piece dealing with Christianity as displayed by the title. This piece was actually a sermon given by Winthrop in April of 1630. This sermon expressed how Puritan settlers should treat one another to ensure survival of the people and the colony. Winthrop was one of the major leaders in the first Puritan settlement in the United States.
Next up in chapter five we find a text by Cotton Mather. Mather was indeed considered an author of his time in the late 1600’s. His piece “The Wonders of the Invisible World” was published in 1693 and was commonly well-known in his time. Mather was a famous preacher and Puritan minister as well as being an author which is what made his pieces so influential and credible to the people. This piece shows just how extreme the religious communities in New England had become by this time in the end of the seventeenth century through display of the Salem witch trials.
Finally, in the last chapter we have a very well-known piece by Johnathan Edwards that is also seem in our Bedford Anthology as used in class. “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” was actually not originally written out as a novel, but preached to a large group of people in July of 1741 in a small town in Connecticut. Edwards was trying to make sinners understand that they can and will be judged by God Himself for their actions and He will become so angry that this judgement and anger will be much more painful than they can comprehend.