Providence tales and the birth of American literature / James D. Hartman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hartman, James D.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

American literature--Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775--History and criticism.

American literature.

Providence and government of God in literature.

English literature--Early modern, 1500-1700--History and criticism.

English literature.

American literature--English influences.

Geographical discoveries in literature.

Indian captivities--United States.

Indian captivities.

United States.

Supernatural in literature.

Shipwrecks in literature.

Witchcraft in literature.

Physical Description:

xii, 202 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Baltimore, Md. : Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999.

Summary:

In colonial America, tales about the capture of English settlers by Native American war parties and their subsequent suffering and privations were wildly popular among readers. In these captivity narratives, writers such as Mary Rowlandson, Jonathan Dickinson, and John Williams told autobiographical stories which combined images of brutal violence with examples of spiritual fortitude. In their accounts, as well as in similar and equally popular tales of witchcraft, exploration and shipwreck, lie the roots of a uniquely American literature, providing distinct patterns for later writers from James Fenimore Cooper to Herman Melville. Despite their importance in the development of American Literature, however, the origins of the captivity narrative have until now been largely unexplored.

In Providence Tales and the Birth of American Literature, James D. Hartman uncovers the genesis of the captivity narrative in the English providence tale and its transformation in the seventeenth century. Accounts of miracles, answered prayers, and divine judgements in the form of natural catastrophes meant to prove the existence of God have always been a staple of religious literature. But, as Hartman details, in seventeenth-century England, religious writers were faced with challenges to their faith by the increasingly vital cultural forces of empiricism, skepticism, and atheism. Creators of providence tales responded to this challenge by appropriating the language of scientific methodology. They also attempted to broaden their audience by adding violence, sentimentality, melodrama, and other attributes of secular literature to their otherwise spiritual tales.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [177]-194) and index.

ISBN:

080186027X

OCLC:

39606348