The nature of early American narratives could be categorized as just that. Early American narratives. Writers of that era did not posses a rich cultural heritage to draw from. They had only a relatively small historical timeline penned thus far in a fledgling colonial world. And I would have to say the two dominant spirits running through their veins would be hardship, and hope.
             So, much like any writer, they wrote about circumstances and events surrounding them. Some, like the infamous Captain John Smith, wrote personal accounts and histories of their affairs in the new world. Smith, who seemed to lust for adventure, penned his trials and tribulations after his return to England. It is said he always wanted to be remembered, so what better way than binding one's memoirs to paper, with perhaps just a little embellishment?
             Others wrote from the heart, their feelings lining papers never intended to be published. Such was the case with the poetry of Anne Bradstreet, who, like many of her contemporaries, also had a firm religious foundation. Her works were unique in their duplicity; not only was she one of the first poets to be acclaimed both in the colonies and abroad, but she was a woman, and therefore offered insights which only a woman could. Her poem, Before the Birth of One of Her Children, is a prime example of this.
             However, the vast majority of works in early American literature have a pronounced religious theme, at least those we have studied thus far. This is none too surprising considering most people emigrated here seeking a new life, either for fortune or the relief of religious persecution. And the many non-secular works were diverse; not only in clerical school of thought, but in their intention. William Bradford sought to ensure the history of his faith's and township's plight by recording it in his historical narrative, Of Plymouth Plantation. Some looked to the future and decreed the
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