The Puritans came to America to realize their dream of building a new secular society patterned after God's word. They originated in England, but some of them were forced to leave because of persecution. At first they went to Holland, but fearing that they would lose their identity as English Christians, a small group of about one hundred set sail in 1620 for America. Their voyage from Plymouth, in southwestern England, to Cape Cod in North America lasted more than two months. They began in two ships, the Mayflower and the Speedwell. They were forced to turn back twice b

Realism was created in reaction to the highly subjective approach of romanticism. The difference between realism and naturalism is that realism is concerned directly with what is absorbed by the senses; naturalism is a term more properly applied to literature. Also it attempts to apply scientific theories and art to literature. Realism has to do with the belief that ordinary objects of sense perception, such as tables and chairs, have an existence independent of their being perceived. It is contrary to the idealism of philosophers such as George Berkeley or Immanuel Kant. The things perceived by the senses are believed to be exactly what they appear to be. Some explanation is given of the relationship between the object and the observer that accounts for the possibility of illusion, hallucination, and other perceptual errors.(Clark)

The Bible was the foundation on which the Puritans built their literature. They believed that their lives would be enriched by following the word of the Bible. In their religious services, Puritans rejected any ceremonies that were not mentioned in the Bible. The same restrictions applied to their literature. The ideal Puritan style was a plain style-strong, simple, and logical. It was this literary style that could make explanations of the scriptures accessible to everyone. The Puritans believed that God revealed his purpose to humanity in three ways: through the Bible, through the natural world, and through Divine Providence. Thus the Puritans wrote on biblical and devotional topics. They wrote about spiritual truth they discovered in the natural world. And they wrote about moments of special providence or events that had great lessens, such as Anne Bradstreet's poem on the destruction of her house by fire. In this poem, Bradstreet does not show a dry lesson from the event, but she writes about her moments of joy in the house. Puritan literature records not just the moments when the physical and the spiritual worlds cross but the moments when they seem to be different.(Holt, Reinhart, Winston 9-10)

Gothic literature is a reaction to Romanticism. Gothic writers wrote with extreme detail of emotion and beauty. Gothic literature coincides with the Gothic period and Gothic architecture. Gothic works are notorious for wild landscapes and mysterious castles. The idealism behind gothic literature has to do with medieval times; with castles, dragons and knights. One of the greatest writers of this time is Edgar Allen Poe. "The Fall of the House of Usher" is probably Poe's best and most famous story.(Encarta)

Clark, Harry H. Transitions in American Literary History. http://www.calpoly.edu/ulib/engl/public_html/resources/index.html

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Approximate Word count = 2333
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)