The Work of Edward Taylor

Paper Summary:

This paper considers the nature of the poetry of Edward Taylor as related to changes in Puritan doctrine over a century or so, beginning with changes in what has been called "the master idea" of the New England Puritans and the doctrine of the national covenant. According to this paper, the national covenant was entered into with God, a covenant that became a half-covenant, while Edwards still celebrated the deeper meaning of the covenant in his poetry.

From the Paper:

"The Puritan era was not one long period of sameness, and many of the beliefs and attitudes of the Puritans changed over time. Some of these changes are reflected in the literature of the era, as in the works of Edward Taylor. Although Taylor supported the half-way covenant, his poems suggest an anxiety regarding election and God's grace more in keeping with earlier Puritanism. The Puritans followed what was called "the master idea" of the New England Puritans, the doctrine of the national covenant, a covenant entered into with God. Because of this covenant, the Puritans invested the colony with a legitimacy that transcended the royal prerogative: As the current repository of God's truth, the destiny of the settlement was linked to a far grander imperative. The measure of New England was the success with which the community fulfilled its covenantal obligation to God (Weisman 121)."

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