Unlike Bradstreet's poetry, Edward Taylor's poems remained for the most part unpublished during his lifetime. Though Taylor sometimes sent poems to friends, most of his poems were not published until the 1930s, when they were discovered at Yale by Thomas H. Johnson. In the sixty-some years since their discovery, they've become valued both by scholars of American literature and by scholars of British literature; the Norton editors call this "one of the major literary discoveries of the twentieth century" (267).

Taylor's poems have been compared to those of Donne and Herbert, whom he certainly had read. Critics find a resemblance between Taylor and the English metaphysical poets in Taylor's use of puns, paradoxes, metaphors, conceits, and elaborate images. I've included George Herbert's "Jordan (II)" in the collection of texts online. Compare "Jordan (II)" and Taylor's "Meditation 22 (First Series)" (NA 272-3), both of which deal with the problem of praising God in poetry. How similar are these poems in imagery and tone?

As you read Taylor's poems, pay attention to images that seem strange or disturbing. For example, in "Upon the Sweeping Flood," Taylor imagines the bowels of heaven overflowing as a result of a "physick" (a purgative medication, in this context an enema) administered by human beings. Is Taylor simply being inappropriate or inept, or does this jarring image serve a purpose? As you formulate your response to this question, you might consider the following images as well: God grinding Christ up into bread in "Meditation 8 (First Series)" (NA 270-1); God opening his veins to wash away sin in "Meditation 26 (Second Series)" (NA 276-7); Satan as a sheepdog in "Christ's Reply" (NA 280-3).

Consider as well Taylor's use of nature imagery. How similar is his use of natural images to Bradstreet's? You might also consider Taylor's use of humor. Do his puns and images slide into comedy? If so, what are the implications of using humor to treat such serious subjects?