Колониальная литература

5

Colonial Literature

Development of American literature has a number of features that significantly distinguish it from the European literary tradition, still sharing with it both ideology and aesthetics, so its consideration should equally take into account both the basic properties and regularities of this general model, and those specific features that are characteristic of American literature

The leading genres here are those directly responsive to the needs of reclaiming the continent: various descriptions, travel notes, memoirs, etc. As a rule, such works combined diverse features acting as historical chronicles, geographical essays, naturalist’s writings and theological treatises, including mythology and Aboriginal folklore insights. The main of them can be called the chronicles of Captain John Smith “A True Relation of Such Occurrences and Accidents of Note as Happened in Virginia” (1608), “A Description of New England” (1616) and “The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles” (1624). The latter includes a story about Smith being rescued by an Indian princess Pocahontas, which became the first American national myth (Various and Imbarato, 1994).

In prose, besides the above “notes” and chronicles, genres of theological writings dominated. For nearly a century, American social thought developed almost exclusively in the form of religious teachings. According to the American Puritans, the followers of stern Calvinism, art and literature did not make sense by themselves. The source of all life views and ultimate authority was the Bible. Therefore, Puritans experienced a feeling of exclusivity of their mission: to show the sinful and evil world an example of a society ruled by the divine law.

One of the most interesting artifacts embodying the characteristics of the time is William Bradford’s diary (1590-1657) “Of Plymouth Plantation” reflecting the views of the first settlers, the features of their thinking. The Puritans felt themselves as participants of the world of drama; and this determined the majesty of the diary. Bradford’s coeval John Winthrop wrote about all kinds of insignificant events endowed with providential significance. He also expressed the idea of chosenness of the New World colonies in his sermon “A Model of Christian Charity” (1630). Among the later Puritan writers of theological works S. Sewall (1652-1730) should be mentioned, who published the first in America treatise against slavery “The Selling of Joseph” (1700) (Various and Imbarato, 1994).

Pastoral literature was of great importance in the spiritual life of the colony. In oral sermons and theological writings of the John Eliot (1604-1690), John Cotton (1584 - 1652), Increase Mather (1639 - 1723) and Cotton Mather (1662-1727) the main provisions of the Puritan doctrine were developed, upholding the principles of theocracy. They are characterized by extreme intolerance in issues of faith, hostility to any dissent. The same role was played by numerous apologetic biographies of prominent Puritan leaders, of which the most grandiose was the work of Cotton Mather “The Great Deeds of Christ in America” (1702) (Various and Imbarato, 1994).

The first poetic works in the North American colonies appeared in the middle of the 17th century. Poetry, closely associated with Puritanism, developed mainly in two directions: in genre of didactic poem, usually religious, and meditative poetry. A clear representation of how the Puritans understood the appointment of poetry is given in a poem by Michael Wigglesworth (1631-1705) “The Day of Doom” (1662), written in the spirit of the severest Calvinism. Its topic is the inevitability of divine punishment that awaits sinners. A different impression is brought by Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672) with her collection of poems “The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America”, whose main impetus was not to express the basics of Calvinism, but to reflect her experiences and life observations (McMichael, 1999).

The peak of Puritan poetry was Edward Taylor’s (1645 - 1729) activity. His works included both leading genres of the time: the didactic poem, represented by “The Preface to God's Determination”, and meditative lyrics - two series of “meditations.” Taylor's poetry is deeply introspective, and aims to not frighten the sinner, but to achieve divine revelation in the individual experience.

Decisive shift in the consciousness of the North American colonies occurred in the 18th century and is associated with the Enlightenment and the Independence War. Theological writings were replaced by journalism, which experienced the rise it had never had in the history of American literature. The era of American Enlightenment was opened by works of Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), “A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain” (1725) filled with deism spirit, “Poor Richard's Almanac” (1732-1758), where guidance and advice were fit into witty, entertaining form, “An Historical Review of the Constitution and Government of Pennsylvania” (1759), “Examination of Dr. Benjamin Franklin in the British House of Commons” (1766), “An Edict by the King of Prussia” (1773), and “Rules By Which A Great Empire May Be Reduced To A Small One”, 1773, where the folksy humor changed to a sharp satire, etc. (McMichael, 1999).

In early 1776, Thomas Paine anonymously published the first nonfiction work - the pamphlet “Common Sense”, where he interpreted the urgent political issues in the style of educational philosophy. The same year, Payne begins publishing “The Crisis”, an irregular periodical, coming out during the war (1776-1783) and numbering 13 issues. Calls for fight against tyranny, fortitude in the time of testing, rejecting the false promises of the British authorities found lively response in the participants of the revolution, and raised the spirit of the revolutionary army (McMichael, 1999).

British enlightenment novel tradition was adopted by Breckenridge, who painted in “Modern Chivalry” a wide panorama of the American reality. He satirically ridiculed the vices of American democracy being the first to point to the rupture of the democratic ideal and its actual implementation. Charles B. Brown was also influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment on the one hand, and by popular in Europe in the late 18th century "gothic novel", on the other hand. He was attracted by the dark side of human psyche and the fantastic horrors, but in Brown's “Wieland” (1798), “Ormond” (1799), “Edgar Huntly” (1799), “Arthur Mervyn” (1800) and others, they are portrayed not as a product of supernatural forces, but as a phenomenon arising out of American reality itself.

The peculiarity of American literature is predetermined by the peculiarities of formation of the nation and the country's historical development. Due to its relative youth, it lacks a number of major artistic epochs, through which the literary development of the Old World has gone. American literature began not with creation of a national epic, not based on oral tradition, but as written literature in which the folklore emerged in its latest stages. It appeared as a result of separation from the English literature, and continued some of its tendencies.

Works Cited:

McMichael, George J.C., Levenson, Leo Marx, and David E. Smith. Anthology of American Literature, Volume I: Colonial Through Romantic (7th ed.). Prentice Hall, 1999. Print.

Various, Wendy Martin, and Susan Imbarato. Colonial American Travel Narratives. Penguin Classics, 1994.