ESSAY: THE COLONIAL PERIOD ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
Choose ONE of the following topics and write a polished essay of about 750 words (3-4 double spaced
typed pages). The essay requires not less than 2 secondary sources in addition to your primary sources
(the literature you are analyzing). Before writing your essay, reread your notes and assigned textbook
reading(s) just to refresh your memory. Also, it might be useful to reread a composition textbook to remind
yourself of the guidelines on how to write a clearly-defined thesis statement, well-developed paragraph(s),
and an essay using the MLA or APA or Turabian parenthetical method of documentation for your
quotations and any secondary sources you cite. To let your instructor know which style of documentation
you are using, write MLA, APA, or Turabian in the title of your essay as follows: Title Citation style
(e.g., Christians and the Study of Colonial American Literature-APA).
Your 2 secondary sources should be academic, peer-reviewed sources, such as articles from scholarly
journals and books. Websites, such as Lit Charts, Spark Notes, Shmoop, and so on are not academic
sources. Dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other professors notes are likely accurate, but they are not
academic research. You can cite our textbook in your paper, but it will not count toward your 2 secondary
sources. If you have trouble finding scholarly sources, you can access the librarys English Research Guide.
Develop a clear thesis that is grounded in the literature and specifies the titles of the literary works.
Remember that while it is acceptable to include some biographical and historical information for context,
your focus should be on analyzing the literature.
NOTE: To receive an excellent grade, a student must demonstrate a reasonable competence in
organizing an essay on a set topic; developing ideas logically and systematically; supporting these ideas
with the necessary evidence, quotations or examples; organizing a paragraph; documenting essays
(using MLA, APA, or Turabian) style; spelling the commoner words of the English language correctly;
punctuating correctly; and writing grammatical sentences, avoiding such common mistakes as comma
splices, run-on sentences, sentence fragments, faulty agreements, faulty references, shifts in person,
number, or tense.
1. Choose any ONE of the works/authors of the Colonial period studied in this course and write
a literary analysis of the chosen work. The focus of the essay should be three-fold: to discuss
the theme of the author/work, the major characteristics of the period that are evident in the
work, and major narrative devices the author uses to communicate his or her message. Your
essay must have a clearly-defined thesis statement, well-developed paragraph(s), and fitting
conclusion. In your thesis, assert how the author uses narrative devices to convey the theme
of the work and how the theme or narrative devices demonstrate major characteristics of the
period. Include direct quotes from the primary sources for analysis and support.
2. William Bradford described the American wilderness as “hideous and desolate,” full of “wild beasts
and wild men.” He believed the wilderness as a place of trial and testing rather than a place of ease
and plenty – or of social and economic opportunity. Compare and contrast Bradford’s and John
Smiths views of the American wilderness found in one piece of literature per author. Why, in your
ENGL 201
opinion, will two pioneers perceive the land so differently? Include direct quotes from Bradfords
and Smiths literature for analysis and support.
3. Compare and contrast John Smith, William Bradford, and John Winthrop as historians and as literary
writers. Select 1 piece of literature per author for your comparison and contrast. What contributions
to history and literature do they make through their writings? Include direct quotes from the primary
sources for analysis and support.
4. Bradstreet’s collection was published without her knowledge under the title The Tenth Muse
Lately Sprung up in America or Several Poems, Compiled With a Great Variety of Wit and
Learning, Full of Delight … By a Gentlewoman of Those Parts. Cite and discuss examples
of how three (3) of her poems meet the claims of the title of her collection:
1) Great Variety / Themes
2) Evidence of Learning and
3) Delightful subjects.
Is her poetry “delightful”? Explain your answer. Use three (3) poems to illustrate your points.
Include direct quotes from Bradstreets poems for analysis and support.
5. Critically discuss the poetic idea of the divided self (body and soul) in Edward Taylor’s “A Fig for
Thee oh! Death.” Also discuss this idea of the divided self (flesh and spirit) in Anne Bradstreets
“The Flesh and the Spirit.” How is Bradstreets representation different from, or similar to that of
Taylor’s? Include direct quotes from Taylors A Fig for Thee oh! Death and Bradstreets The
Flesh and Spirit for analysis and support.
6. Critically discuss Bradstreets To My Dear and Loving Husband with Taylors Huswifery to
demonstrate the contrasts and similarities between the two poets. Include direct quotes from
Bradstreets To My Dear and Loving Husband and Taylors Huswifery for analysis and support.
7. Critically discuss Michael Wigglesworths The Day of Doom and Jonathan Edwards’s “Sinners in
the Hands of an Angry God” as salvific works of literature. What literary and rhetorical strategies
account for their wide popularity at the time? What factors, in your opinion, account for their
diminished reputation in the 20th and 21st centuries? Include direct quotes from Wigglesworths
The Day of Doom and Edwardss Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God for analysis and
support. https://z-library.sk/book/115227812/71156a/anthology-of-american-literature-second-edition-volume-colonial-through-romantic.html