How Did Anne Bradstreet Influence American Literature?

In America during the 1600s all the way to the late 1700s the Colonial Period was a time of change for many, especially in Literature. American Literature was heavily influenced by colonial British writers. Many of the works of literature can be found in poems, excerpts, speeches and diaries written by many of the influential people during this time period. The colonial period in American literature had a strong narrative focus that later turned into a focus on religion and later the enlightenment period.

During this time period, there was a strong focus on narrative writing. Many immigrants coming to the new world wrote down journals, diaries, and biographies documenting there successes and hardships on their travels to America and life in America. A fantastic example of a narrative writer is Anne Bradstreet. Bradstreet was a Puritan mother of eight that initially based her

Since there was a heavy focus on religion, that is what many of the writings in the 1600’s and 1700’s were about. Many of these writings talked about the religious foundations of the Puritan communities and that god should be the main focus of everyday life. Through these writings, they also helped spread Puritanism and the belief that you will be tormented in hell if you don't follow the Puritan beliefs and rituals. The Puritan sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” was written by Jonathan Edwards and preached at the Connecticut congregation in July 1741. This sermon was a popular example of may Puritan writings during this time period, it talk about how you would live a long wonderful life if you followed the Puritan ways but you would also be damned and suffer in the fiery pits of hell if you didn't. Anne Bradstreet also had many popular religious writings based off of the Puritan beliefs and writings. Many of these writings later lead to spiritual revolutions like the Great