b. Choose two authors from the early American and Colonial period. Identify what they wrote and, in one to three paragraphs, compare their purpose, audience, and style.
Two authors from the Early American period are Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards. Anne Bradstreet was the most famous poet of the early English North American poets. She wrote poetry that was very personal, often reflecting on her own feelings and opinions about the world. Bradstreet wrote about things that concerned her, such as the love for her husband and family, her religion and the role of women in colonial life.
On the other hand, Jonathan Edwards was a North American preacher and theologian. He is mainly known for his sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." This text represented not only what Edwards believed religion to be, but also what the First Great Awakening considered religion to be like.
Although both authors wrote about religion, they did so in very different ways. Bradstreet took a more pragmatic, less dogmatic view of religion, and she focused on personal reflections. Edwards, instead, wanted to persuade others of his views, and he was more strict in the practice of religion. While Bradstreet mainly wrote for herself and about mundane topics (which does not mean she was not extremely popular), Edwards was a preacher and this meant that his audience trusted his word completely. The two authors, despite their differences, helped shaped the country we enjoy nowadays.
