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Anne Bradstreet Beliefs

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, usually around their late twenties, to enter into a relationship. In this society marriage was viewed as a civil contract between man and wife and not a covenant, but this did not diminish the adoration between spouses. As seen in the poetry of Anne Bradstreet marriage was a companionship surrounded around love. In the Poem “To My Dear and Loving Husband,” Bradstreet expresses to her husband “I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold, Or all the riches that the east doth hold” (qtd. in Miller, 271). Through Puritan poetry on marriage it is recognizable that the Puritans were capable of love and emotion. They were not the stoic detached characters that are often envisioned. Love and affection were a major part of Puritan life. (Fischer) …show more content…

In this community God was the main figure head. Authority came directly from scripture. The Puritans created a holy covenant with God which they strove to abide to at all costs. This covenant is what would allow the Puritans to become a religious beacon. All of their beliefs, thoughts and actions were directly related to their relationship to God. God was the motivating factor for the community. The direct covenant with God resulted in Puritans viewing life events as direct signs from God himself. If society was thriving they felt as though God was happy with their actions, but when turmoil arrived the Puritans believed it originated from God’s wrath. Because of this constant interpretation of divine intervention most Puritans held within a sense of self depravation. In the poem “The Ebb and Flow”, Edward Taylor states, “I find my tinder scarce Thy sparks can feel That drop out from Thy holy flint and steel” (qtd. in Miller, 317). In context to this poem the speaker’s “tinder” symbolizes the evidence of holy conversion within an individual. This poem reveals that Puritans find themselves faced with dry spells of faith or “sparked tinder.” This is difficult for Puritans because they view the world through a lens of God’s love, and when they are lacking faith they must carry on in order to live up to their

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