The Day of Doom; or, A Poetical Description of the Great and Last Judgment

Wigglesworth, Michael, 1631-1705Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.7

Word count: 138K words
Chapters: 14

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Day of Doom; Or, A Poetical Description of the Great and Last JudgmentAuthor: Wigglesworth, Michael, 1631-1705,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jan 18, 2019

Editor's review

This work is a long religious poem from the Puritan period in North America, taking the Last Judgment as its theme and setting out theological ideas and moral exhortations in verse. Its value lies not in refined literary craft but in its significance as a historical document: readers can observe the religious imagination, preaching tradition, and popular theological expression of early New England. The poem's discussion of judgment, sin, and redemption reflects the community's collective concern with ultimate questions. For readers studying early American literature, religious history, or Puritan culture, it is a primary text that can be read alongside other historical sources. Because the language is seventeenth-century English verse, with sentence patterns and vocabulary distant from modern English, reading should proceed at a slower pace, first grasping the overall structure and then closely reading key passages. It is suitable as supplementary course material or as an object of specialized study rather than as leisure reading that pursues plot and character development.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Students and scholars studying early American literature and Puritan culture
Readers interested in religious poetry and the theme of the Last Judgment
Instructors of English and American literature who need primary texts to support course content
Dedicated readers accustomed to classical verse and willing to investigate historical context

Not a good fit for

General readers hoping for modern novel-like narrative and character-driven plot
Readers with limited English reading experience who struggle with seventeenth-century verse
Readers with little interest in religious exhortation

Reading tips

Begin with the introduction or relevant background materials to understand the basic framework of Puritan eschatology before entering the main text.
Read in sections by chapter, summarizing each section's theological argument in your own words afterward to avoid getting bogged down in word-for-word translation.
When encountering archaic expressions, skip them first and return to check difficult words and phrases after reading through the whole to grasp the structure.
Read alongside contemporaneous sermons or historical studies, treating the poem as a historical source rather than purely as literature.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

How difficult is the language of this book, and what English foundation is needed?

The original is seventeenth-century English verse, with spelling, syntax, and vocabulary markedly different from modern English. Readers need solid English reading ability and a willingness to use annotations or background materials. It is advisable to become familiar with common theological terms of the Puritan period first, then proceed section by section rather than aiming for rapid reading.

Can I understand this poem without knowing Puritan history?

You can read it, but understanding will be reduced. Many ideas in the poem rely on the religious context of New England at the time. It is advisable first to acquire basic knowledge of Puritan migration, preaching tradition, and eschatology, and to treat the work as a historical text while reading, focusing on its conceptual structure rather than literary plot; this makes it easier to grasp the key points.

Is this work suitable as material for a literature course?

It is suitable as supplementary reading for courses on early American literature or religious history. Its value lies mainly in the historical and intellectual dimensions rather than in modern literary aesthetics. Instructors can select key passages such as the judgment scenes and use them with background introductions and discussion questions to help students understand the forms and functions of early North American writing.

What should I pay attention to when reading the electronic edition?

This edition comes from a public-domain e-book project, with the main text in the original English. Electronic reading makes it easy to search for keywords, but the verse line breaks may display unevenly on some devices. It is advisable to use reading software with adjustable fonts and to prepare note-taking tools to record each section's arguments for easy cross-reference.

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About the author

Wigglesworth, Michael, 1631-1705 Author

Michael Wigglesworth (1631–1705) was a clergyman and poet in colonial New England. Because public information about his life is limited, the details should not be overstated, yet his place in the history of English religious poetry is fairly clear. His best-known work is the long poem The Day of Doom, whose full title can be rendered as The Day of Doom: Or, A Poetical Description of the Great and Last Judgment. Built on the framework of Puritan Calvinist theology, the poem describes the scene of the Last Judgment in orderly verse, setting the fate of the saved alongside that of the damned. Its language is plain and its imagery direct, with a strong didactic and warning purpose. In the English-speaking world of the time, works of this kind did not aim at refined literary taste but sought to be easy for ordinary readers to memorize and to recite at home and in worship, so a clear rhythm and simple sentence structure are its notable stylistic features. The Day of Doom circulated widely after publication and is useful for understanding the religious beliefs and popular poetic taste of seventeenth-century New England.