Puritanism and Romanticism differ in style, religious references, and plot content. Puritanism began to flourish with strict, God-fearing Calvinists who had fled to America to escape religious persecution in Europe. With writers such as William Bradford and Edward Taylor, Puritan literature focused on the role of God in people's lives and adopted a simple religious writing style. Romanticism was introduced to Americans in the 19th century, bringing a new literary and artistic style. This new literature paid more attention to the elements of tone, mood, and atmosphere, while also applying religion in the form of transcendentalism. These two types of literature are similar in that they both encourage living simply. Puritan writers were more concerned with the message that literature portrayed than with form and dramatic elements. “Poetry served to educate its reader and was written using a simple rhythm and common images” (Heimert 34). Puritan literature was simple in style. Much attention has focused on God's will in the new world, man's relationship with God, the nature of faith, and the history of New England. These elements are found in the writings of William Bradford, the governor of Plymouth Colony. “Of Plymouth Plantation” is considered New England's first literary achievement. It is “a historical account of the journey to the new world and the difficulties encountered upon arrival” (Fritscher 81). This poem was written to “preserve both the record and the fact of Plymouth’s distinct identity” (Heimert 51). Bradford's goal was to preach God's purpose in founding Plymouth Colony. “Of Plymouth Plantation” has two major themes: how Plymouth had failed to achieve its original goal. reason and nature separated him from the Puritans. Yet Romanticism and Puritanism are similar in their adherence to simplicity, while differing in many other ways. Works Cited Boewe, Charles. “Rappaccini’s garden.” American literature. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1959. Fritscher, John. “The sensitivity and conscious style of Willaim Bradford.” Bucknell Review. 1969. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Young Goodman Brown and other news. New York: Dover Publications, INC. 1992. Heimer, Alan. The Puritans in America: A Narrative Anthology. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1985. Leone, Bruno, ed. Readings on Nathaniel Hawthorne. San Diego: Greenhave Press, 1996. McPherson, Hugo. Hawthorne as Mythmaker: A Study in the Imagination. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1989. Morison, Samuel. From Plymouth Plantation. New York, Knopf, 1952.