Annotated Bibliography
Medieval spirituality emphasized the body as a way to access the divine. While visions and physical abrasions startle modern readers these features are a commonality of the time, especially among women. The detailed descriptions of mystics’ experiences frighten readers because the boundary between physical and spiritual is eliminated. Contemporary religiosity is characterized by pious behavior and emotional tranquility but during the medieval ages, the emphasis on pain became a distinguishing factor of those truly devout. This deep adoration of the Passion coupled with a desire for pain resulted in intense emotional responses and physical changes among mystics. The highly emotional devotion of Jesus’ most humanly moments defines affective piety. Although visions and physical manipulation occurred in both genders, the practice of affective piety almost exclusively refers to women. Atkinson and Bynum’s works argue the incentive behind said the practice was to gain eternal salvation for oneself or others; Kieckhefer, another source, builds upon this argument and adds the discomfort experienced allowed saints to forget one’s own troubles. Much of the insight provided from all four sources consider the reasons why women were the majority participants of affective piety, but little is mentioned about why people, regardless of gender, chose to experience physical discomfort. In a religion where God is characterized by love, the focus on pain is quite a peculiar way to understand God. In a world distanced from the stories in the bible, affective piety may have gained popularity as a way of placing oneself in these narratives and building commonality with God. I guess my argument is why would you want to experience pain? Kieckhefer offers some insight as he describes people's attaching more weight to love manifested in suffering than to love displayed in other ways but that still begs that questions, why is there such a focus on pain?
Atkinson, Clarissa W. “Mystic and pilgrim: the book and the world of Margery Kempe,” 129- 156. New York: Cornell University Press, 1985
Clarissa W. Atkinson adds context to the highly emotional form of devotion, affective piety, endured by many saints and
Since Lynn was a busy town of commerce and trade, the middle-class inhabitants were wealthy. The status of Margery?s father, John, several times mayor of Lynn, helped to instill Margery with self-respect. She was very much influenced by the people of Lynn?s concern with status and wealth: ?She had a very great envy of her neighbors that they should be as well arrayed as she.? In her Book, she even goes so far as to say that her marriage to businessman John Kempe did no justice to her ?worthy kindred? and was a socially-imbalanced relationship, although they both belonged to the same social class. This haughtiness and sense of pride are distinguishing features of Margery throughout her life.
The existence of pain and suffering in a world created by a good and almighty God is a fundamental theological dilemma and may be the most serious objection to the Christian religion. In the book, The Problem Of Pain , author C.S. Lewis addresses the issue of pain as a mere problem that demands a solution; he formulates it and goes about solving it. "If God were good, He would make His creatures perfectly happy, and if He were almighty He would be able to do what He wished. But the creatures are not happy. Therefore God lacks either goodness, or power, or both" (p. 16). According to Lewis, this is the problem of pain in its simplest form. In his attempt to solve the problem of pain Lewis evaluates the past and the origin of religion, he
Travelling across the ocean to New England, Anne Bradstreet looked to America as a safe place to practice her puritan religion (Eberwein 4). She wrote many poems about her family and experiences, incorporating her faith and personal struggles into her works. A hundred years later, Phillis Wheatley was kidnapped from her homeland in Africa and brought to America, where she became a devout Christian and a renowned poet (James). Both women received an education above other women of their time leading to their literary accomplishments. The purpose of this paper is to determine the similarities and differences between Anne Bradstreet’s and Phillis Wheatley’s poems’ content, in terms of their themes and language by answering the following questions.
The role of religion in early American literature is extremely pervasive and it forms the obvious theme for most written work composed during the period. The highly religious nature of the early settlers and their
Within the New World, individuals such as William Bradford, a separatist religious leader as well as governor of Plymouth (131), and Thomas Morton, a lawyer and social reformer, were both very significant men within our history books. The story of Merry Mount/Ma-re Mount is shown from two different perspectives which offers the readers an awareness and understanding of the way religion and government influenced the lives of those who dwelled in Plymouth Massachusetts, and Ma-re Mount. Thomas Morton and William Bradford are somewhat like Tom and Jerry for the reason that they dislike one another and have different accounts of Ma-re Mount/Merry Mount and that they tend to dispute with one another often when it comes to religion. Bradford’s writing tells the story of Merry Mount in a narrative and formal way whereas Morton’s writing is unlike any writing during his time, it’s humorous and also told from a non-Puritans perspective. Although Bradford claims Morton to be an anarchic drunk there are many reasons to say that he was in fact a comedic hero.
The changing nation reflected a growing sense of national pride and identity by introducing many different acts and rights. After the War of 1812, there was a growing surge of nationalism all throughout the United States. This feeling of happiness originated from the United States recent victory of the War. The Era of Good Feelings, The Age of Jackson, and changing the states’ rights and the economy were all huge factors in the changing nation, and it all reflected from the nation's previous victory. With the new found sense of nationalism and pride, the government took advantage of the states’ and the people. They did this by putting tariffs on imported goods, separating the natives from their homeland, and setting many other
From his half itinerant life, also, he was a kind of travelling gazette, carrying the whole budget of local gossip from house to house; so that his appearance was always greeted with satisfaction. He was, moreover, esteemed by the women as a man of great erudition, for he had read several books quite through, and was a perfect master of Cotton Mather’s history of New England Witchcraft, in which, by the way, he most firmly and potently believed.
In Diane Ackerman’s essay “Pain,” she ponders about the subjectivity in experiencing pain, how to define pain, and its role in human life. She begins by emphasizing that an individual’s ability to endure pain may depend more on culture and atmosphere than on the actual magnitude of the pain. Given that at times humans can forego pain for a spell because of their atmosphere, Ackerman elucidates the importance of surroundings in how one experiences pain by exemplifying her claim through a phenomenon in football players. Ackerman continues her discussion on the disparities in the reception of pain by asserting expectations delineate the painfulness of events. Strengthening her claim that tradition affects pain, Ackerman considers how cultures
The “Era of Good Feelings” was a traditional name given to the years of James Monroe’s presidency, following the end of the War of 1812. Events such as the Louisiana Purchase, which nearly doubled the size of American land and proved the Federalist party didn’t have much as they opposed the purchase, and fighting against the Barbary Pirates which gained the American navy respect made people in America proud to be there and led up to the “good feelings.” The time was mostly characterized by an increase of nationalistic spirits as the Republican party become the single party in the United States after Monroe won against Rufus King, his Federalist opponent in the 1816 election. Nationalism would have a large influence on many features of American culture and economics; however, there were also many tensions growing during this time as well. There was much discourse over issues such as the national bank, tariffs, and internal improvements. The Republican party was the sole party at the time, it was also dividing, with many supporting what was once Federalist policies. Sectional differences over slavery and states rights would also have a major impact on politics and economics, with greater importance than the results of nationalistic influences.
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.
Updike, John. “A&P”. In The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. 560-564. Print.
The purpose of this research paper is to compare the public view of suffering in the Old Testament with the public view of suffering in the modern world. In order to properly achieve this comparison, I will explain the relationship between God and His believers in the Old Testament. More specifically, I will elaborate on the opinion that God is the cause of everything, including suffering and relate it to the first poetic book in the Old Testament, the Book of Job. However, influenced by the changes in science, upbringing, and multiculturalism this commonly held view changes. Therefore, I will explain the meaning of each of these three factors as well as their negative impact on religion. Finally, I will use three television shows as examples
Overall, the speaker of “The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s Point” reminds us that the system of slavery destroys lives. We see this notion play out in the narrative as the speaker talks of a female slave at Plymouth Rock. Here, we bear witness to her lack of respect for life that not only flaws her judgments as a mother, but perpetuates a sense of violence or
'The saintly soul of Elizabeth shone like a shrine - dedicated lamp in our peaceful home ... She was the living spirit of love to soften and attract.' (p 37)
At eighteenth century, the cost of increasing development of capitalism is anomie: people chasing material life insanely even sacrifice others’ benefits. Because of this, Adam Smith, a successful philosopher and economist, released that the original morality principle was not suitable for that society anymore, and it needed to build another new theory system to suit the developing society. He wrote two masterpieces that proposed his ideas: The Theory of Moral Sentiments, which discusses the human development by analysing the human emotion, and The Wealth of Nations, which summarises the development of capitalism and it is also a foundation for today’s economy. This essay will analyse the self-interest, plays as a motivator role in morality and economy field, and benefits the development in that society. Moreover, will suggest some limitations of Smith’s idea.