This paper compares and contrasts major movements in early American literature, focusing on Puritan, Neoclassical, Romantic, and Transcendentalist writing. Drawing on primary texts by Jonathan Edwards, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau, the paper examines three central points of disagreement among these literary traditions: their conceptions of God, their treatment of nature, and their views on human morality. The analysis argues that Transcendentalist and Romantic writers directly challenged both Puritan rigidity and Neoclassical skepticism, ultimately advocating for individual conscience, a reverence for nature, and a more humane social order that included opposition to slavery.
American literature is truly a literature of change. As the nation became independent of England, this new independence was reflected in the ideals and philosophies of its writers. Early American literature was dominated by Puritan forms that contemplated the power of God and often took the shape of written sermons or journals. The stories that did emerge from this tradition were filled with ideas of sin and repentance, directly reflecting the social limitations that Puritans placed on early American society.
Once the nation was founded and the Constitution separated the power of the church from the government, new forms of literature emerged that questioned Puritan authors and their principles. These literary styles included Romanticism, Transcendentalism, and abolitionist writing, all of which drew from new sources — the individual mind and the ideals of a free nation. Alongside these new forms, a movement known as Neoclassical literature arose in Europe and made its way to America, challenging the now-prominent literary traditions by raising questions about the existence of God and the foundations of morality. It fell to American writers to challenge this European import and hold fast to the principles of democracy and fundamental liberty.
While opposite in message, America's Puritan and Neoclassical literature shared many common characteristics that the Transcendentalists, Romantics, and abolitionists chose to challenge. These challenges are directly visible within the literature and center on three themes: the role of God, the meaning of nature, and the nature of human morality.
One of the primary differences between the two groups is their position on God. The Puritans were staunch Christians who proclaimed God's judgment and power. In the words of Puritan minister Jonathan Edwards, "Therefore let everyone that is out of Christ, now awake and fly from the wrath to come." The Puritans strongly believed that the only means of avoiding judgment in the next life was through repentance.
Moving in the opposite direction, Neoclassicism rejected God entirely and instead focused on the prowess and accomplishments of man. The most forceful response to both positions came from the Romantic and Transcendentalist writers of the period. Ralph Waldo Emerson argued that rigid, institutional religion is not necessary to discover God — rather, God can be found in nature. In his essay Self-Reliance, Emerson writes, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." In other words, one must understand oneself and reach into nature to truly understand God.
"How each movement regarded the natural world"
"Moral equality, slavery, and Thoreau's resistance"
As can be seen, the two groups of writers differed in many ways, both through time and context. Whereas Puritan writers were more concerned with daily survival and coping with the realities of a harsh world, the later Transcendentalist writers came to grips with the mistakes of the past and sought to inject a sense of humanity into an otherwise unjust world — introducing concepts of nature and its relationships to God and humanity as guiding moral principles.
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