Elizabeth Scott (1708–1776) stands among the lesser-known yet significant figures in early American literature. An 18th Century American poet of English origin, Scott contributed meaningfully to the spiritual and poetic life of the early colonies. Although her work was mostly circulated in manuscript form and not widely published during her lifetime, she occupies an important place in the history of American poetry. Her verse reflects the religious and cultural transitions of the time and provides insight into the Puritan legacy in New England. Like many women poets of the 18th century, Scott navigated the constraints of her time with subtlety and grace. Her poetry is marked by theological reflection, lyrical expression, and a quiet but firm literary presence.
This article explores the life, work, and influence of Elizabeth Scott as an 18th Century American poet. It also places her in context with her contemporaries, showing her relationship to broader currents in 18th Century American poetry.
Elizabeth Scott
Elizabeth Scott was born in England in 1708, into a religious family that valued spiritual education and Puritan ethics. Her father, Thomas Scott, was a Dissenting minister, and this background deeply influenced Elizabeth’s spiritual and intellectual development. In 1738, she immigrated to the American colonies and later married Reverend William Smith, a Presbyterian minister in Massachusetts. This relocation brought her into direct contact with the growing religious and literary culture of early New England.
Her life coincided with a period of religious fervor known as the First Great Awakening, and her poetry bears the mark of these revivalist sentiments. Though she never sought public fame, her work circulated among religious communities and friends. In this way, Elizabeth Scott became part of the early fabric of American poetry, even though her name did not achieve wide recognition.
Religious Themes in Scott’s Poetry
As an 18th Century American poet, Scott’s religious verse forms the core of her work. She wrote with a firm theological grounding and a deep sense of humility. Her poetry often took the form of hymns, meditative verses, and scriptural paraphrases. These works served both private devotion and public worship. Many of her hymns were later published in American hymnals, even though her name was often omitted.
Scott’s religious poetry aligned closely with the Calvinist doctrines prevalent in colonial New England. She explored themes such as divine sovereignty, human sin, grace, salvation, and the eternal soul. Her use of poetic form—often iambic tetrameter and rhymed couplets—enabled her to express complex theology in an accessible and emotionally resonant manner.
Her hymn “Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove” is among her best-known works and reflects her piety, lyrical sensitivity, and theological clarity. The hymn remains in circulation in various Christian hymnals, demonstrating her lasting influence on American religious culture.
Poetic Form and Style
Elizabeth Scott employed a simple yet refined poetic style. Her work rarely indulged in ornamental excess; instead, she favored clarity, modesty, and precision. These qualities aligned well with the Puritan aesthetic, which valued sincerity and spiritual depth over artistic flourish.
She frequently used Biblical imagery and scriptural allusion, grounding her work in theological authority. Her rhyme schemes were generally regular, favoring quatrains or couplets. This structural regularity allowed her to focus on the weight of her themes rather than experimentation with form.
In tone, her poems range from the mournful to the ecstatic. When reflecting on divine grace, her voice is humble and awed. When contemplating human sin or mortality, she adopts a solemn and introspective tone. The balance of emotional intensity with theological discipline characterizes much of her verse and marks her as a distinctive 18th Century American poet.
A Woman’s Voice in Early American Poetry
As a woman writing in a male-dominated religious and literary environment, Elizabeth Scott’s career reveals much about the role of gender in early American poetry. Unlike Anne Bradstreet, who published her work in both England and the colonies, Scott did not pursue public recognition. Nevertheless, her writing found a readership through the influence of her husband’s clerical position and her own social networks.
While many of her male contemporaries, such as Edward Taylor or Michael Wigglesworth, wrote in grand theological or eschatological modes, Scott’s work retained a personal intimacy. Her verse often reads as a direct conversation with God, full of private longing and moral self-examination. In this sense, she helped preserve a devotional tradition in American poetry that was both spiritual and psychological.
Her writing also reveals the inner life of a religious woman in colonial America. In a society where public expression for women was limited, poetry offered her a way to articulate belief, doubt, and devotion. Thus, she must be understood not only as a poet but also as a religious thinker.
Comparison with Contemporary Poets
When considering Elizabeth Scott in the context of other 18th Century American poets, several comparisons are useful.
Anne Bradstreet
Although Anne Bradstreet belonged to the 17th century, her legacy influenced female poets of the 18th century, including Scott. Both women combined personal faith with poetic expression. However, while Bradstreet wrote more broadly—on family, nature, and politics—Scott’s poetry remained largely within the religious domain. Bradstreet enjoyed publication in both England and the colonies, whereas Scott’s work was mostly circulated privately.
Edward Taylor
Taylor, a Puritan minister and poet, shared Scott’s theological concerns. His poetry, however, was dense, metaphorical, and deeply influenced by metaphysical style. Scott’s poetry, by contrast, was more direct and lyrical. Both poets used their verse as a form of spiritual exercise, but Taylor’s work was far more experimental.
Phillis Wheatley
Phillis Wheatley, an enslaved African-American poet who published her first collection in 1773, represents a different voice in 18th Century American poetry. Like Scott, Wheatley wrote religious verse, often adopting neoclassical forms. However, Wheatley’s unique situation as a literate enslaved woman brought different social and political layers to her poetry. In contrast, Scott wrote from a position of relative privilege within a white, Protestant community.
Still, both poets demonstrate the spiritual depth and expressive potential of early American women writers. Their contributions expanded the possibilities of American poetry, even as they faced different societal limitations.
Michael Wigglesworth
Wigglesworth’s The Day of Doom (1662) was a best-selling Puritan poem focused on divine judgment. His poetry, like Scott’s, was theological and didactic. However, Wigglesworth wrote in a tone of fearful warning, while Scott’s verse often emphasized the consolations of grace and the sweetness of divine love. Her voice was gentler, more meditative, and more emotionally complex.
Manuscript Culture and Reception
During the 18th century, much of American poetry existed within manuscript culture. Elizabeth Scott’s poems were shared in handwritten copies, personal letters, and church circles. The absence of widespread publication did not diminish her influence within religious communities. Some of her hymns were included in 18th-century American hymnals, albeit often without attribution. This anonymous circulation, common at the time, particularly affected women writers.
The lack of official publication meant that her literary legacy was slow to develop in scholarly circles. Only in the 20th and 21st centuries have literary historians begun to reclaim her role as a formative figure in American religious poetry. Today, she is increasingly recognized as a key contributor to the tradition of hymn-writing in colonial America.
Influence on American Hymnody
One of Elizabeth Scott’s most enduring contributions as an 18th Century American poet lies in her influence on American hymnody. Her hymns were sung in churches across New England and helped shape the religious imagination of early America. Many hymnals from the 18th and 19th centuries include anonymous or unattributed texts now believed to be Scott’s.
These hymns are typically marked by doctrinal clarity, lyrical sweetness, and devotional purpose. Unlike some later evangelical hymns that emphasized emotional fervor, Scott’s compositions were balanced by theological seriousness and poetic restraint. They were meant to instruct as well as inspire.
Through these works, Scott helped bridge the gap between Puritan austerity and the more emotionally expressive piety of the Great Awakening. Her hymns became part of the spiritual experience of thousands of colonial Americans, reinforcing the centrality of American poetry in everyday religious life.
Legacy and Modern Reassessment
Elizabeth Scott’s legacy is complex. As a woman writing in a religious and patriarchal culture, her voice was not given the recognition it deserved in her own time. Yet her contributions as an 18th Century American poet continue to resonate. Scholars of American poetry now see her as an important figure in the transition from Puritan to evangelical sensibilities.
Her work also enriches our understanding of gender, religion, and authorship in early America. In modern anthologies of American poetry, Scott is increasingly included among the foundational voices of the colonial period. Her work is studied not only for its theological insight but also for its literary merit.
Her poems demonstrate how American poetry developed within both spiritual and don, her work anticipates the rich tradition of American women’s religious poetry that would emerge in the 19th century.
Conclusion
Elizabeth Scott represents a vital strand in the fabric of 18th Century American poetry. As an American poet who wrote within a religious framework, she brought spiritual and emotional depth to early colonial literature. Her voice, though quiet and often anonymous, enriched the hymnody, theology, and poetics of her time.
In comparison with her contemporaries, Scott’s poetry stands out for its clarity, humility, and devotion. She worked within the constraints of her era but managed to craft a body of work that continues to speak to readers today. Her hymns and verses reveal the interplay between personal piety and poetic craft, between public faith and private expression.
In remembering Elizabeth Scott, we recover not only a forgotten poet but also an essential part of the early American literary heritage. She reminds us that American poetry was shaped not only by published authors and celebrated voices but also by the faithful and often hidden labor of devotional writers.
As interest in early American poetry continues to grow, the rediscovery of Elizabeth Scott affirms the diversity, depth, and spiritual richness of the 18th Century American poetic tradition.
