The Advocate and news., 1897-12-01
Outline Of the Early Period.

AMERICAN LITERATURE COURSE.
Outline OF the Early Period.
LESSON Part First.-Nature OF
first developments and influences pro-
ducing them.
l. Writer'S Edwards, Mather, Cooper,
Eliot.
3. Orators Warren, Adams,
Otis, Henry, Morris, Pinckney, Jay,
Rutledge, Franklin Paine, Jefferson
Quincy Adams.
3. Historians Analysts of original
colonies. Belknap, Trumbull Gay
ere, Sullivan, Williams, Morton,
Young, Stevens, Smith, Watson, Mi
not.
(2) Colonial and revolutionary war
fare. Moultrie, Cheever, Winthrop,
Upham, rockingham, Thatcher
(3) Biographers. Wheaton, Mar
shall, Weems, Tudor Writ.
(4) Poets. T. Dwight, j. Barlow,
]. Trumbull, L. Hopkins, d. Hum
phreys, r. Alsop, Theo. Dwight.
LESSON QUESTIONS.
/. Define the term literature (a.)
2. Can the writings of Won Humboldt
be classed as literary productions in
the true sense of the term?
8. OF what importance were the CO.
lonial writings?
4. What usually characterizes the lit
erature of colony?
s. What was the nature of the first
literary productions in America? (b.)
6. Was the early literature Of other
countries of this class-say, Rome? (c)
Z. Has Greek mythology played any
part in the literature of our own coun-
try? (d)
8. What was the "Pleiades of Connec-
ticut," and why so called? Co.
8. What influences were produced by
the advent of schools and printing
presses? (f)
REFERENCES.
(a) Royse's American Literature or
any good dictionary.
(b) Page q, Beers Initial Studies in
American Letters.
(c) Encyclopedia Britannica.
Cd and e) See Side Lights.
() Text book, pages 12 and 49,
SIDE LIGHTS.
(d) The Bible and Greek mythology
have ever infused into all poetry. To
the former we are indebted for the
purity, simplicity and expression. To
the latter, scope Of the Imagination, etc.
(b) Religious freedom being the one
great factor which caused the people
Of the Old World to migrate to the New
what then more natural, more human,
in fact, that this principle for which
lives were risked and lost, should become
the principle, the subject of all discus
sions, and the central figure with which
all poetry and prose was clustered round
and to which was attuned the music
within their souls? Each colony, made
UP of various characters, had, in meas
ure, its own peculiar religion; from all,
however, came the cry as from the cradle
of every nation born to earth-Freedom!
(c) The "Pleiades Of Connecticut" so
named from the constellation Taurus
1.-THE Bulb, the second sign of the zodiac
which the sun enters toward the 20th
day of April. This constellation con-
sistS of seven stars-originally the seven
daughters Of Atlas transformed into
stars. The early astronomers gave the
name of men and animals and other
objects of fancied resemblance to groups
of stars. Seven noted poets of France
at one time styled themselves La Pleia-
des," in emulation Of the Greek writer's
Of Alexandria.
sour forefathers," says Dickinson,
were founding a state on the basis Of
the town-meeting; they were spreading
Christianity, as they understood it, with
might and main. They made literature
possible, just as they made art possible;
but they do not deserve, in the chron-
icles Of literature and art, dispropor-
ticnate space" Previous to this he
says: "a few great names stand out, but
only few. For the purpose of COM
parative criticism the student should
know thoroughly William Bradford,
Tnhu WinthrOD Samuel SaWall Cotton