Taylor, Edward (1642?-1729), was the finest poet in colonial American literature. Taylor was born in Leicestershire, England. Unwilling to sign a loyalty oath to the Church of England, he sailed to New England in 1668. In 1671, he became a pastor in Westfield, Massachusetts, a post he held the rest of his life. His best poetry appears in Preparatory Meditations, a collection. In God’s Determination, he used a debate between good and evil to emphasize God’s mercy for people caught in the battle between Jesus Christ and Satan. Taylor achieved his complex thought in a few words. His work shows the influence of the intricate style of the English metaphysical poets of the 1600’s. Although his language is complicated, Taylor’s use of examples from everyday life makes his poetry understandable. He died on June 24, 1729.
