Anne Bradstreet And The Puritan Values

Puritanism was a major belief during the 1500s-1700s, Puritans believed that you are required to devote your whole life to the Lord. In order to be a Puritan you had to glorify God by attending church, report sinners, and show God’s grace through your own actions. In

Poems from the time of the Puritans usually were based on their religion. Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor both portrayed a Puritanical message in their poems. Edward did so more so than Anne. They both conveyed different types of love. Anne wrote about her husband and how much she loved him. While Edward wrote about his love for God and how he wanted God to use him for His glory.

Anne Bradstreet was a woman in conflict. She was a Puritan wife and a poet. There is a conflict between Puritan theology and her own personal feelings on life. Many of her poems reveal her eternal conflict regarding her emotions and the beliefs of her religion. The two often stood in direct opposition to each other. Her Puritan faith demanded that she seek salvation and the promises of Heaven. However, Bradstreet felt more strongly about her life on Earth. She was very. She was very attached to her family and community. Bradstreet loved her life and the Earth.

Anne Bradstreet was America's first noteworthy poet in spite of the fact that she was a woman. Both the daughter and wife of Massachusetts governors, Bradstreet suffered all of the hardships of colonial life, was a mother, and still found time to write. Her poem, "The Author to Her Book," is an example of Bradstreet's excellent use of literary techniques while expressing genuine emotion and using domestic subject matter.

During the 1630’s, there was a group known as, the Puritans. The Puritans immigrated from England to America, for the sole purpose of religious freedom and their belief that the church of England needed reform. Puritan author’s, Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards, conveyed their messages and beliefs in their writing . For these two authors, they were working around the same foundation, Puritanism, for the intended messages. Admittedly, there is a disconnection in belief between the two. Edward’s writings take Puritanism to the extreme whilst Bradstreet’s works show a more traditional view in the religion while staying true to it.

The Puritan people migrated to what is now present-day America due to their persecution in Europe. Their religion observed many beliefs that did not agree with other European Christians. These ideals stayed with the Puritans as they settled in America to build their idealistic, utopian society. Even though Puritan society was largely unsuccessful in meeting their expectations, several of their fundamental values are still exemplified by Americans today. These beliefs included the dislike of anything dull, an intense hatred of tyranny, and the idea that America is a shining example for the rest of the world to follow.

Puritanism: the beliefs or principles of a group of English Protestants of the late 16th and 17th centuries who regarded the Reformation of the Church under Elizabeth I as incomplete and sought to simplify and regulate forms of worship. Anne Bradstreet and Arthur Miller had very different views on Puritanism. They both displayed those drastically different beliefs throughout their writings, including Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, and Anne Bradstreet's poems, Upon the Burning of Our House and In Memory of My Dear Grandchild. They were able to do so by using tone, which is an author's expressed attitude toward a subject within literacy or work. Anne’s views on Puritanism were very strict and positive. Unlike Anne, Arthur Miller was not a strong believer in Puritanism.

Puritan literature captures not only their beliefs as a religion, but their beliefs as individuals. All Puritan literature is utilitarian, meaning it is useful, purposeful, and reflecting a non-ornate style of writing. One of the most prominent of early English poets was Anne Bradstreet. Her poems reflect the utilitarian style, but do so in a way that is entirely unique to herself and her emotions. Anne Bradstreet opens the bridge between her faith and her personal experiences in her poetry. In her poems “Upon the Burning of Our House” and “In Reference to Her Children” she reflects utilitarianism by recounting the conflicts between her love of her worldly things and her devotion to God’s eternity.

The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement; without change, there is no innovation or incentive to change. In light of this statement, virtue—or the pursuit of it—can be seen as the quality of moral goodness or excellence and the gateway to an endless amount of opportunities. It is something sought after by many individuals during the development of the United States and is still sought after to this day. Be that as it may, one can see these perspectives of moral development fluctuate and contrast among the general population of the eighteenth century given its religion and methods of living. This contrast can clearly be seen within the values of the Puritans and those of founding father and political theorist, Benjamin

The Puritan life, although simple, demanded diligence both mentally and spiritually which put stress on even the most faithful of followers. Although the common practice entailed brushing religious struggles under the rug, few writers bravely wrote of their religious doubts and endeavors to become better Puritans. Author Anne Bradstreet shows in her work “Here Follows Some Verse upon the Burning of Our House, July 10th, 1666” that religious struggles are often met by Puritans and it takes brave souls to admit their difficult time with their religion. This poem shows a woman dealing with a religious crisis and how even though she struggles her faith still holds strong in the end. Bradstreet’s poem displays a crisis of faith in her content

women are still fighting for equality every day. In the time of Anne Bradstreet, women had few

Bradstreet's attitude changes over the poem as she realizes that she should look at losing all of her things could be more than just a negative outcome.

Puritans may have tried to give themselves the appearance of a perfect society, but it was really just as corrupt and full of sinners as any society today. In the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Crucible by Arthur Miller and “To My Dear and Loving Husband” by Anne Bradstreet, there is evidence for this. In Puritan literature, although they try to hide it, sin is very common, in that Puritans do the opposite of what they preach, but still harshly punish those who sin.

First and foremost, Hutchins makes a claim that in all of Bradstreet’s poems, she shows both a rebellion of standards for a Puritan woman at the time, and a submission to those roles. He claims that the main way Bradstreet “rebels” is seeking wisdom. Hutchins identifies two types of wisdom that many Puritan leaders acknowledged: sapientia- a spiritual or biblical wisdom, and scientia- a secular or “natural” wisdom (43). Hutchins claims that Bradstreet demonstrates both in her writing. In Bradstreet’s poem “Contemplations”, many critics argue that she is defying the Puritan culture of the time; however, Hutchins counter argues that she instead creates “a middle course” between the concepts of loving Creation and loving God (44-45). Hutchins also argues that Bradstreet conforms to the Puritan social views of the time given her portrayal of Eve in Genesis as responsible for the fall of humanity (45-46).

In the 1600’s, Puritans living in both England and New England held their views on God rather tightly and lived their lives as good Christians. Puritans were selfless individuals who had escaped and came to America in search of religious freedom and peace. In literature during that time period, it is made very clear that everything the Puritans had accomplished or acquired was a result of God, and that they were forever in his debt. One of the great poets from this time era was Anne Bradstreet who wrote about her children, husband, and parents. Anne Bradstreet blended her domestic life with theological imagery in every poem she did, explaining that her grandchildren were merely lent to her but