Part I: Quote Identification
Identify the title of the work, the author's name, and the significance of the line to the overall meaning/theme of the work [not a restatement of exactly what the line says] for 12 of the following 15 quote ids. Be sure to identify clearly the term that applies to the lines indicated {if applicable}. You need not write a great deal in the “Significance” line: you need ONLY identify the term that applies and how the line suggests an interpretation, {or adds to the interpretation} of the work in two to three complete sentences. Do NOT restate the lines or simply summarize them. Also, be sure to format each title properly {using quote marks around the title of the work}. Include the author’s full name, the full and proper title, and the proper formatting for the title.
- "And I may not omit here a special work of God's providence. There was a proud and very profane young man, one of the seamen, of a lusty, able body, which made him the more haughty; But it pleased God before they came half seas over, to smite this young man with a grievous disease, of which he died in a desperate manner, and so was himself the first that was thrown overboard."
Significance: This shows how God works in his own wonderful ways. He gives every person according to what they deserve. This young man was too proud and full of himself that e made fun of others. But then God saw it fit to teach him a lesson and to protect others from his prejudice and criticism. He seeks to make this seem like the will of God and that everything happens for a reason
- "To the first island which I found I gave the name San Salvador, in remembrance of the Divine Majesty, Who has marvelously bestowed all this; the Indians call it ‘Guanahani.’ To the second, I gave the name Isla de Santa Maria de Concepcion; to the third, Fernandina; to the fourth Isabella; to the fifth, Isla Juana, and so to each one I gave a new name.”
Work: From LETTER TO LUIS DE SANTAGEL REGARDING THE 1ST VOYAGE(At sea, February 15, 1493)
Significance: He was writing to tell about his conquests. He had just made the islands Spanish territory with an effort to make them servants of Spain
- "But when my wond’ring eyes and envious heart
Great Bartas sugared lines do read o’er,
Fool I do grudge the Muses did not part
‘Twixt him and me that overfluent store:
A Bartas can do what a Bartas will
But simple I, according to my skill."
Work: The Prologue
Significance: she tries to compare her skill to that of Bartas and realizes that she does not measure up to his standards. She then muses and curses why the Muses did not give her the kind of talent they gave Bartas.
- "Being thus passed the vast ocean, and a sea of troubles before in their preparation (as may be remembered by that which went before), they had now no friends to welcome them nor inns to entertain or refresh their weather-beaten bodies; no houses or much less towns to repair to, to seek for succour."
Significance: Bradford writes about how sad the life of a pilgrim turned out to be. They faced a lot of misgivings and difficulties they faced as they went about their travels.
- "If ever two were one, then surely we./ If ever man were loved by wife, then thee;/ If ever wife was happy in a man,/ Compare with me, ye women, if you can."
Work: To My Dear Loving Husband
Significance: The significance of these two lines lies in the meaning drawn from them. This is how love between two persons, husband and wife should be.
- "Having been long and much dissatisfied with the Trade of fetching Negros from Guinea: at last I had a strong Inclination to Write something about it; but it wore off. At last reading Bayne Ephnes. About servants, who mentions Blackmoors; I began to be uneasy that I had so long neglected doing any thing.”
Work: Diary of Samuel Sewall.
Significance: This quote was meant to bring to light the clashing of interests that existed between slaves and heir owners. Sewall was taking a keen interest in bringing slavery to an end and therefore drew inspiration from Bayne Ephnes to address this problem
- "That night they bade me go out of the Wigwam again; my Mistress's Papoos was sick, and it died that night, and there was one benefit in it, that there was more room.
Work: Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson
Significance: Mary Rowlandson sought to present the challenges that come with being a prisoner of war. In this case, a misfortune can turn into a blessing in disguise. The death of a Papoos meant a little more comfort no matter how sad it was.
- “What sayst, my Soul? Here all thy Deeds are tried./ Is Christ thy Advocate to plead thy Cause?”
Work: Meditation 38: An Advocate with the Father
Significance: These lines of the poem show the work of Jesus Christ as the mediator and advocate of man before God. Taylor implores the soul to lay bare its actions before Jesus who is then supposed to plead for forgiveness on its behalf.
- "Smith little dreaming of that accident, being got to the marshes at the river's head twenty miles in the desert, had his two men slain (as is supposed) sleeping by the canoe, while himself by fowling sought them victual, who finding he was beset with 200 savages, two of them he slew, still defending himself with the aid of a savage his guide, whom he bound to his arm with garters and used him as a buckler, yet he [Smith] was shot in his thigh a little, and had many arrows that stuck in his clothes but no great hurt, till at last they took him prisoner"
Work: The General Historie of Virginia, New England and the Summer Isles
Significance: This is used to illustrate the challenges that Captain John Smith went through while conquering Jamestown.
- "I am obnoxious to each carping tongue/who says my hand a needle better fits,/ A poet's pen all scorn I should thus wrong,/ For such despite they cast on my female wits:"
Work: The prologue
Significance: It depicts the struggle she had to go through with the Puritan society concerning the place women had been given in society.
- "I have been in the midst of those roaring Lions, and Savage Bears, that feared neither God, nor Man, nor the Devil, by night and day, alone and in company, sleeping all sorts together, and yet not one of them ever offered me the least abuse of unchastity to me, in word or action."
Work: Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson
Significance: It signifies the way God protects is own. He works in mysterious ways and even when a person is in the middle of problems and bad people, God always has a way of protecting them.
- “Lord, Can a Crumb of Dust the Earth outweigh,/ Outmatch all mountatins, any, the Crystal Sky?/ Embosom isn’t designs that shall Display/ And trace into the Boundless Deity?/ Yea, hand a Pen whose moisture doth guide o’er/ Eternal Glory with a glorious glore.”
Work: Prologue
Significance: these lines tell the truth about the smaller things in life that cannot challenge bigger ones. Just like a crumb of dust cannot challenge a mountain.
- “In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign Lord King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland king, defender of the faith, etc, having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our king and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God, and one another, covenant and combine ourselves into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid;”
Work: Mayflower Compact
Significance: It served as a covenant which settlers were subordinating their rights to go by the laws which had been passed by the government.
Part II: Short Answer:
- Define the Puritan belief in Providence and give two examples from the works read.
Puritans believe in the divine providence of God and his influence on their lives. God’s divine intervention can be seen in the writings of William Bradford. In Of Plymouth Plantation he tells a story of a foul mouthed sailor who joked and made fun of the travelers in the ship. He tormented their lives but then along the way he became sick and died and was thrown out of the ship. This was a sign of God’s intervention by getting rid of the man and save the rest of the travelers from his uncanny behavior. Another example can be seen at the time when many of the pilgrims were sick and those who were well and strong took great care of them. This was a sign from God that in spite of all they were going through, he still was with them and was taking good care of them.
- Define narrator reliability and discuss its significance in one work read for this unit.
Narrator reliability occurs when a person narrates the actions in the narrative without offering their opinions. A narrator chooses to give facts as they happen from the third person point of view and this can be seen in Mary Rowlandson’s writings. In the Indian Captivity Narrative shows the real experiences as they happened in her life. This can be seen through the description and narration she gives for instance about the native people, she calls them infidels, inhumane beings because of what they used to do to her.
- Demonstrate at least three Puritan characteristics in Bradstreet's poetry or in Rowlandson's narrative.
Anne Bradstreet’s poetry embraces Puritan characteristics in so many ways. One of them is the fact that she drew a clear distinction between men and women and their roles in society. But then she asked women to be accepted and their accomplishments be recognized. Also, she wrote about the clear distinction between earthly losses and eternal rewards, something that the Puritans believed. And lastly she wrote about the challenges that people faced as a means of telling her readers that they were just a way of God communicating something to his people.
- Define Meditation Poetry and demonstrate the elements of this form of poetry in one of the two preparatory meditations of Edward Taylor.
Meditation poetry combines some form of religious practice with verse. Edward Taylor used meditation poetry to elaborate further on Puritan beliefs and practices. Many of his works rely heavily on the use of the Bible all of which were to the glory of God. His poetry also served as a way of telling people the will of God and that all happened in their lives was the will of God. Taylors poem Prologue he offers himself for the service of God, something that Puritans believe. In An Advocate with the Father, he bases the poem on a bible verse, 1 John 2: 1. He praises God and acknowledges him as the Lord God who is above all humans.
