The specific influence of Puritanism on North American literature is basically as follows:
First, the immigrant culture in the early colonial period was the birth and the first peak of Puritanism.
When immigrants first arrived in the New World, they were busy with struggle for existence, so literature developed slowly at first. The earliest published works about North America are travel notes and diaries. The authors are all British. After the establishment of the British colony, the rulers took religion, mainly Puritanism, as the main means to control colonial ideology, so many publications were about theology. Famous writers include Cotton Mather (1663 ~ 1728) and Jonathan Edwards (1703 ~ 1758). With the enhancement of industry, trade and national consciousness, the voice of religious freedom has increased, and the theocracy of Puritanism has declined, replaced by national independence consciousness such as humanism, freedom and democracy.
The first book of poetry published in North America, Gulf Poems, is a poem written in the form of folk songs. Michael Wigglesworth's poems (163 1 ~ 1705) all expounded the teachings of Calvinism and became popular religious books. The poetess Anne braz Tritt (162 1? ~ 1672) also wrote about religious life, but expressed women's feelings in a secular style. Edward tylor (about 1644 ~ 1729), a priest who only published elegies, reflected the decline of strict Puritanism. Britain's influence on these poets is also obvious. Blatz Tritt benefited from the poetry of John Donne and George Herbert in Spencer and Taylor.
Second, at the beginning of the revolution of independence, it subsided.
The revolution of independence is the background of American national literature. Long before the war broke out, the American colonial people had a sense of national independence under the influence of European enlightenment theory. Franklin's secular motto (1706 ~ 1790) is more attractive to the public than Edward's puritanism. Franklin used a clear and humorous style to spread science and culture and inspire the spirit of self-reliance. His patriotic enthusiasm and remarks about self-study and entrepreneurship have had a far-reaching impact on the American people's outlook on life, career and morality. During the independent revolution, there was a sharp struggle between resistance and compromise, which forced writers to take simple and sharp forms such as political comments, speeches and essays to fight. Patrick Henry (1736 ~ 1799), an orator who once famously said "Give me liberty or give me death", encouraged Thomas Pine (1737 ~ 1809) to bravely kill the enemy like a war drum, but his writing was plain but to the point.
Poetry in that period was also very political, and a large number of revolutionary songs came from the people. Philip Freneau (1752 ~ 1832) was a famous revolutionary poet at that time, and his creation created an excellent tradition of American poetry.
Third, the independence revolution is mainly the recovery and the second climax after 1950.
In 1950s, with the emergence of various social problems caused by industrialization, writers keenly felt the disadvantages of democracy. Thoreau (18 17 ~ 1862) emphasized the "self-help" spirit of transcendentalism and advocated returning to nature and maintaining pure human nature, so it clashed with the bourgeois social order. In Hawthorne and Melville, this contradiction is expressed in an abstract and mysterious form. Hawthorne (1804 ~ 1864) was deeply influenced by Calvinism and wanted to get rid of it, so he turned to explore the human situation and destiny, such as The Scarlet Letter (1850). Melville (1819 ~1891), like Hawthorne, summed up the social contradictions he felt as abstract "evil", which was so powerful and incomprehensible that Moby Dick (/kloc-0