Providence tales and the birth of American literature

The Resource Providence tales and the birth of American literature

Label

Providence tales and the birth of American literature

Statement of responsibility

James D. Hartman

Language

eng

Summary

In colonial America, tales about the capture of English settlers by Native American war parties and the captives' 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 that 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
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. Exploring the cultural context in which both English providence tales and their American counterparts emerged - focusing in particular on the influence of religious, scientific, and literary developments during this critical period - Hartman offers a provocative reassessment of the origins of American literature

Cataloging source

DLC

Dewey number

818/.10809382315

Index

index present

LC call number

PS195.P76

LC item number

H37 1999

Literary form

non fiction

Nature of contents

bibliography

Context

Context of Providence tales and the birth of American literature

Structured data from the Bibframe namespace is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License by University of Missouri Libraries. Additional terms may apply to data associated with third party namespaces.

Context