Anne Bradstreet Model Of Religion Essay

During the time of English colonization and settlement, John Winthrop wrote many pieces related to the importance of religion in society. These writings include A Model of Christian Charity which focused mainly on Puritan ideas on how to treat one another in order for the colony to survive.Winthrop, a very influential Puritan founder, proposed a society in the new colony of Massachusetts centered around religion and the idea that Puritan beliefs were the only sure way to ensure God’s blessings. Winthrop discusses that it is a civil duty amongst colonists to involve the Puritan religion in everyday life in order to preserve the colony as well as Puritan values. In the piece Winthrop writes that if the colony “ ...shall neglect the observation of these

Anne Bradstreet’s feelings about her home represent the most material conflict. When her home burned down she wrote the poem to voice these feelings of hers. She describes the awakening to the “shrieks of dreadful voice” and going out to watch “the flame consume” her “dwelling place”. But she comforts herself with good Puritan dogma. The burning of the house is God’s doing and his doings should not be questioned. In looking over the stanzas where she

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.

Therefore, the Puritans strived to work towards religious and moral reforms, and to do so, first escaped persecution from the Church and the King. As a result, a group of non-separatist Puritans led by Thomas Dudley and John Winthrop established a colony in Massachusetts Bay, mainly in order to have religious freedom, but also to maintain British cultural influences (before they had ventured to North America, they lived in Holland for a few years, but decided to leave in order to settle “as a distinct body of themselves” in the New World). Unlike in the Chesapeake Bay regions, religion was at the forefront of everybody’s mind, as every settler was a devout follower of God (at least at the beginning). Therefore, the cardinal principle in their community was a sort of religious exclusiveness as the Puritans held their spiritual beliefs, which translated into certain “community laws” and customs, highest. On the other hand, religion was a negligible motivator for colonists settling in the Chesapeake Bay regions.

One reason for the Colonial Americans’ growth in faith is the fact the era was abundant with religious figures who strove to lead people to God and created guidelines for them to live by. The people of Colonial America were blessed to abide in an “enchanted world of wonders.” These wonders were no doubt brought on by the hand of God, and the recognition of this fact caused new religious leaders to rise up and help people focus on living Godly lives despite the secular distractions that they were presented with. One Puritan leader, John Winthrop, stated, “That which the most in their Churches maintain as a truth in profession only, we must bring into familiar and constant practice, as in this duty of love we must love brotherly without dissimulation, we must love one another with a pure heart fervently we must bear one another’s burdens…” Winthrop not only wanted each individual person to maintain a stronger focus on faith in daily life, he also wanted them to use their faith to unite together, and his Model of Christian Charity showed the people how to accomplish that. Many people tried to abide by these teachings and pass them onto their children before they made their own way in the changing, confusing world because many parents feared their children would “Fall un’wares in Fowler’s snare.”

John Winthrop speaks of how people should devote themselves to God and disregard all that interferes with that endeavor in A Model of Christian Charity. This was most likely written for the people in the Massachusetts Bay Colony because that area was settled primarily by Puritans. He suggests that the only way in which this is possible is to join into a brotherhood of sorts. This shows his Puritanism and that of others because Puritans were very determined people in becoming closer to God. Puritans did not even allow art, dancing, or music to be in churches. This is so that no distractions can be in place between the worshipper and God.

John Winthrop’s “Model of Christian Charity” was delivered to the colonists bound for Massachusetts Bay Colony to unite them and help them become a model community for England. Through his use of metaphors and biblical allusions, Winthrop is able to thoroughly convey the importance of remaining unified to his very religious Puritan audience. Previous attempts of colonization in America, such as Roanoke, the lost colony, had created a negative view of colonization. Previous colonists were also only focused on profit and did not build a stable community, which led to their downfalls. Therefore, Winthrop tells his audience that they must work together “as one man”. This metaphor compares the group of colonists to a single person who has one mind

Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor are two of the most distinguished and fervent Puritan poets. Yet this similarity has proven to be one of the few, if not only between these two. One cannot help but find it intriguing that poets who belong to the same religious group and style would write so differently. Many of these differences are not even subtle or hidden beneath the text itself. The differences themselves hold implications and ideas that differ between each poet.

Within the colony of Massachusetts, religion played an important role in shaping the community’s people and interests. The reason for the Puritans move to North America was to escape the convictions the Christians of England were placing on them (Divine, 89). Winthrop and his followers believed that in this new land they must create a place where they could come together as a people and build the perfect religious society (Divine, 90). In a speech about his vision for the land, John Winthrop said, “We must delight in each

The 17th century Puritans were known to represent a religious group migrating from England to America in order to practice religious freedom. These groups were determined to “purify” churches of England from Catholic practices. Puritans are known for their religious, social, and political influences on early America. Edmund S. Morgan’s novel The Puritan Family highlights a part of history that many would tend to look over upon- that is, the complex structural life of Puritan Families in the 17th century.

John Winthrop’s 1630 sermon, “A Model of Christian Charity” is one of the first examples of early “American exceptionalism”. (Noll, 2012) In his sermon, Winthrop (1630) talks about how the citizens in colonial America should set a good example for others, and obey God, as they are looked up to by non-Americans. This concept of America being chosen, or somehow unique in a divine manner was the fundamental meaning of American exceptionalism to Puritan society.

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

Winthrop talks about the law of nature, which tells them to always to love their neighbor. No enemies, just friends. He says this because in order to work together and be a better society you must be able to get along with everyone. He states that love is the bond that will keeps the society together and as one. He says to always love with a pure heart. He talks about the law of grace, which is a moral law. This love and these rules united the Puritans. Lastly, when Christians need are in need of God, they must help him instead of just receiving. By giving, lending and forgiving. He says that no one is perfect, and that if one Christian suffers, they all suffer. Christians are held together. They are together by love; they walk with each other through strength and weaknesses.

Anne Bradstreet, as a poet, wrote as both a Puritan woman in her time and as a woman ahead of her time. Zach Hutchins analyzed this tension in “The Wisdom of Anne Bradstreet: Eschewing Eve and Emulating Elizabeth”, and makes a primary argument that three of Bradstreet’s poems provide evidence that Bradstreet rejects the Puritan views of a woman while keeping her own personal faith. Hutchins fither his argument by declaring that readers should not view Bradstreet as a symbol of rebellion or submission, instead as a symbol of wisdom.

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