The Language of Canaan: Metaphor and Symbol in New England from the Puritans to the Transcendentalists

This is a study of New England figurative language from 1600 to 1850, fromthe English and Continental origins ofPuritanism to the symbolic writings ofThoreau. It enriches our understanding of Puritan thought and expression and traces the influence of Puritanismon later American writing. A common link among the writers ofthis period was a system of prophetic symbolism derived from Scripture.The Bible was the source of figuresand types used to illustrate divineguidance in human affairs, and itsprophetic language provided thePuritans with a method for explainingand projecting the course of history. Lowance explores these modes ofprophetic and metaphorical expression and the millennial impulse in American thinking. In the process he provides a cohesive approach to such diverse writers as Bradford, Cotton, Taylor, Increase and Cotton Mather, Edwards, Freneau, Barlow, Dwight, and Emerson. His book will be welcomed by all students of early American thought and literature.