Literary works are the most intriguing sources which portray the history of a land and its culture with relation to the chronology of time. These works are the immortalized documents of the creativity of the author, besides being the mirror the society of the time of writing. As such, a close study into the works of certain authors will make it extremely clear to the avid reader that American history and gradual transformation can be traced in the works of certain stalwarts who have aptly documented the society and life of their respective times.
John Smith’s (1580-1631) literary works have evoked criticism and legendary aura over the centuries. He portrays Jamestown’s early years in Generall Historie and goes on to criticize the Virginia Company of London’s leaders and policies. Smith was boastful of being pivotal behind the survival of Jamestown’s colony. He at times refers to himself in third person and implies that he is being showered with accolades from others. The author has been stingingly criticized by many, although his works are very insightful of the Virginia colony’s earliest years. His works focus on the lives and actions of people who would have otherwise been left in oblivion in the pages of history. However, the description of the relationship between Smith and Chief Powhatan is the perfect portraiture of the understanding between the two different cultures.
Being an ethnographer, John Smith provides a very informative outlook toward the Native Americans in all his works. The early colonization attempts are reflected in the narratives penned by the author. In his work, A Description of New England, the author goes on to compare the colonists with Adam and Eve. He opines that the colonists created life in the area just as Adam and Eve had been responsible for spreading life. Another notable work by Smith is A Sea Grammar and the work contains the very first printed dictionary of English nautical terms. His works are priceless in the context of early seventeenth century history of the Virginia colony and the native population. Thus his literary works are catapulted to a position of paramount importance in the context of American history. Apart from being intriguing works exploring the alley of literature, these serve as sources for deciphering the intricacies which were prevalent in the society of the land at the time of the author.
Another noted writer, Edward Taylor (1642-1729), had his works left in oblivion for over two hundred years. The discovery of the seven thousand page manuscript of his works from the library of Yale University and the subsequent publication of select portion readily established the stalwart as one of the finest poets of the colonial era. Edward Taylor is considered to be one of the most recognized authors in the history of American literature. His most famous works include Preparatory Meditations and God's Determinations Touching His Elect and the Elects Combat in Their Conversation and Coming up to God in Christ: Together with the Comfortable Effects Thereof and establish the poet to be a creative artist who explored the realm of metaphysics in his literary expressions.
The poems exude the poet’s religious beliefs which find its roots in his upbringing and the immense influence of the Congregationalist Puritans whose spread could be seen in the period comprising the 1630s and 40s. His works ooze with spiritual content and are conversed through vivid imagery of the Puritan ambiance which prevailed during that times. The success of the poet lies in the fact that he could transform these images into spiritual, aesthetic and intellectual universal markers. Many of his poems, The Reflexion, I am the Living Bread and Things Present, are immortalized in the minds of the readers.
The omnipotence of the poet in the documentation of the evolutionary process of America cannot be denied. His poems are quintessential examples of the representation of socio-cultural occurrences in literary works of the parallel times.
Philip Freneau (1752-1832) is another author who holds a position of paramount importance in the history of American literature. He is better known as the ‘poet of the American Revolution’. The Beauties of Santa Cruz and The House of Night are two of his most noted works. Many anti-British satires were written by him. He joined the militia to fight for the freedom of the American motherland. He sailed through the British blockade as privateer to West Indies. He was later taken as a prisoner by the British forces. The penned The British Prison-Ship in 1781 after he was released. He later set up the newspaper National Gazette. The political poems by Freneau exude satire, though in stark contrast, his nature poetry reflects lyricism and detailed observation of the American landscape. It can be opined that his works have some characteristics of Romanticism as they all portrayed a deep emotion and attention to the nature.
Thus, a comparative study has revealed how the respective works of these three authors represent the era in which the works were penned by the author. Further, such literary works portray in front of the readers the evolution of America from a colonial state to a land which symbolizes liberty of the human soul.
Works Cited
Halleck, Ruben P. History of American Literature. Middlesex: The Echo Library, 2006. Print.
