SOURCE: Craig, Raymond A. “The ‘Peculiar Elegance’ of Edward Taylor's Poetics.” In The Tayloring Shop: Essays on the Poetry of Edward Taylor in Honor of Thomas M. and Virginia L. Davis, edited by Michael Schuldiner, pp. 68-101. Newark, N.J.: University of Delaware Press, 1997.

In the following excerpt, Craig praises Taylor's sophisticated style and his ability to employ biblical allusions in the service of his personal poetic vision.

Coll. III Let the word of God dwell plenteously in you, in all wisdome, teaching and exhorting one another in Psalmes, Hymnes, and spirituall Songs, singing to the Lord with grace in your hearts.

—Bay Psalm Book

Several times each week, Edward Taylor would open a psalter, as would Puritans and Pilgrims all over New England. Greeting these readers, nearly regardless of the psalter or edition, were the same few epigraphs, such as the Pauline injunction above from Col. 3:16 or...