Edward Taylor PDF

Preview

Summary

Edward Taylor...

Description

Upon Wedlock, and Death of Children By Edward Taylor Edward Taylor began his poetry writing soon after his marriage to Elizabeth Fitch. His first writings came when he was meditating about different things that happened that day. For Example, [When] Let by Rain came about when Taylor was "hindered from making a journey because of rain. He chastised himself for his indecision about whether or not to brave the storm" (42). His writing continuously grew especially when his children started to die during their early months. In Taylor's poem, "upon Wedlock, and Death of Children" was written after the loss of Abigail, his daughter. Unfortunately, Edward and Elizabeth lost five out of the eight children during the children's infancy. He "wrote an occasional meditation based on the hours of spiritual wrestling with God over the meaning of life and death" (43). Edward Taylor points out in this poem that he likes being married to Elizabeth. It was a "'True-Love Knot' created 'in paradise'" (vs.1-3)(43). During the poem, Taylor is struggling to understand why he lost his precious children after having this perfect marriage. He did "see death as 'a glorious hand from glory'" (vs. 19) (43). Being a religious man, he kept his faith in God and realized that this all happened because it was supposed to . He says, "Take as I said, I say, Lord, they're thine" (vs. 39). Edward Taylor is "on the verge of being recognized as one of the greatest American writers" (1128). He wrote throughout his life, but for some reason, none of his poems were published until the twentieth century. Taylor's poems were sermons and meditations. "Gods Determinations Touching His Elect" was "designed to convince members of the Westfield parish who were reluctant to enter the church as full members" (1128). In this poem, Edward Taylor "uses his ability to create unifying motifs" (1128). According to T.M. Davis, the most outstanding structural motif in the work is based on a pair of jawbones, the upper extremity of which represents Christ and the lower extremity which represents Satan (1128). The church is caught between these strong forces. So, Edward Taylor recognized this and wrote "Gods Determinations Touching His Elect" to give them some help. Another set of poems that is causing disagreements between critics is "Prepatory Meditations." Typology is a big issue. One view is that... Edward manages very constructively, presenting an Old Testament type as already completely fulfilled by Christ and therefore excluding the poet, who at best can only place himself, off-center, in a very insignificant corner of a typological picture (1128). The other view is... that Edward Taylor is initially conservative and avoids the application of ceremonial types to history and, beyond Christ, to the saint, near the end of his life he moves from typology to allegory (1129). Needless to say, with work that is as exquisite as Edward Taylor's, there will definitely be controversy over details. It is a shame that the people of his time were not able to read the work that he did. Edward Taylor is indeed and excellent author.

Letters from an American Farmer By Crevecouer Letters from an American Farmer follows a fictional correspondence between an American farmer named James and an English gentleman. In all, the book contains twelve letters from James to the gentleman, though none of the gentleman's responses are in the book. The first letter is an introductory one, setting up the correspondence for the rest of the book. In the first letter, James sets himself up as a country farmer with little education, in contrast to the man he is writing to, who is well-educated and we can assume is a better writer than James. The second letter describes in great detail the plants and animals found on the farm where James is living. The descriptions of the unique American plants and wildlife lead into a discussion of the differences in American and European societies. The third letter is titled What is an American?, and it both asks and answers that question explicitly. In this letter, James continues the discussion he began in the second letter, where he describes the physical nature of the country and the society that emerges from it, as well as what the American national identity is.

Letters four through eight are often called the Nantucket Sequence or Nantucket Letters. They describe the Quaker people, society and lifestyle in Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. They are followed by the ninth letter, which describes Charleston. In particular, James talks about the practice of slavery in Charleston and other southern cities, and argues for abolition. The tenth letter describes snakes and hummingbirds on James' farm, and the eleventh letter discusses new techniques for irrigation. Finally, the twelfth letter finds James caught between three societies: the British, American Revolutionaries and Native Americans. As the Revolutionary War becomes more and more certain, James is caught between allegiances and wonders what the right path of action should be. Themes and Style In keeping with the character of James' lack of education, Crevecoeur keeps a simple style. He does not use large words or flowery language. Indeed, though James explores deep philosophical issues in his letters, he does so with the everyday language of the farmer. Crops and wildlife are discussed alongside political and philosophical issues, all using the simplest words possible.

What is an American By Crevecouer In the very beginning of the essay, Jean de Crevecoeur introduces the new land for Europeans who have not got any knowledge about it .The differences between new land and europe , rich sides of it , opportunities for employment , people’s freedom , their relationships with nature and animals are told by Crevecoeur to us too . After he described the new land in details , he mentions the behaviours , way of lives and rules of Europeans. With very intense explanation of the regime and economy of Europe , he compares Europe with the new land. After that, he says that The new land is much more livable for people.Besides , he points out the situation; because European people are shaped up in Europe’s rules and way of life , the process for them would be long.On the contrary , he gives and example by talking about an European and says that when a European first arrives , seems limited in his intentions as well as him views , but he very suddenly changes his scale. In the middle part of essay , he ask the question : what is new man ? he says that the new man “American” is not just a race . he is the man who sees the richness behind differences. American is the new man who acts with new principles. He is the man of the mixture of nations like German , French and Irish , not only a race. Crevecoeur also says that all the nations can make important changes for composing “race of men “ in future. The arts , science and industry which come from Europe are also mentioned by Crevecoeur in the essay. He says that with western professors’ immigration these richness came from Europe and it contributed to America . And it also helped the Europeans to adapt and settle to new land. Towards the end of the text he says that after a foreigner from any part of Europe came and become a citizen, the foreigner will understand that he meets with a family who says to him that he is welcomed to its green fields , mountains and efficient rivers and says that if he works , the family has got bread for him too and if he will be honest , hard-working and sober , the family has got rewards , ease and independence for him. And these promises shows us Crevecoeur introduce America as family and sees everyone outside of new land as American without even thinking about their race....