Bradstreet's 'Upon The Burning Of Our House'

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

Some of the Puritans’ main focuses were spreading their culture and faith. They thrived on the belief that they were sent from God, who expected them to study and live by his scriptures in the Bible. They believed stories in the Bible could be applied to every aspect of their lives. A big part of the reason they left England to have a new start in America is so that they would have an opportunity to purify the Church of England that they were accustomed to.

Puritans traditionally held strong views on their religious beliefs and the concept of weaned affections was an especially vital tenet of Puritanism. The doctrine of weaned affections essentially states that Puritans must relinquish their ties to earthly possessions in favor of maintaining spirituality as a priority. Although Puritans learned from infancy about “the importance of renouncing earthly nourishment and affection in favor of ‘spiritual milk’”, (“Weaned Affections”) many Puritans may still have had a difficult time with mastering this spiritual ideal. In “Verses upon the Burning of our House, July 10th, 1666,” Bradstreet depicts how the loss of her home is initially challenging for her to endure through her reminiscing of how she will miss her physical possessions and how her home enabled her to fulfill her duties as a wife and mother. Although this can be viewed as an immensely human response to such a devastating loss, Bradstreet is quick to remind herself, and readers, that the home and its contents truly only belonged to God and that she would do better to consider God’s kingdom over the rubble of her old home on Earth. In Anne Bradstreet’s poem “Verses on the Burning of our House,” the speaker discusses her attempt to reconcile the loss of her earthly possessions with religious tenets and, in doing so, highlights the struggle of Puritans to maintain the religious ideal of valuing only spiritual worth, as depicted through the concept of weaned affections.

Puritans live in a life with a life of rules. They live by religious beliefs and literature purposes. The puritans believed in God being all powerful, Bible is God’s true law, success is a sign of improvement, and how education was written to glorify God and for education only not for entertainment.

The Puritans were a religious group that came to North America in search of religious freedom, and, in the process, greatly impacted the North American church, government, education, social mores, and economy. Many of the things that they implemented in the first colonies are still seen today in the social and governmental structures of the United States. Their beliefs and traditions are still practiced today and many social mores are still being adhered to, even now.

The Puritans believed that America was the promise land given to them by God and no one could take it away. They also believed that every person is born sinful, concept of predestination, Jesus died for the chosen only, God's grace is freely given, and perseverance of the saints. The Puritans’ main reason for starting a society was for religious freedom. There religious love shaped the society in more than on way. They used a lot of money that had to make churches, and church-related programs, the surrounding communities would sometimes practice the Puritan religion, and the church and the state were originally inseparable. There whole entire civilization was church centered. Their religion was also family based and they showed extreme piety. Religion was the core thing that shaped societies everywhere especially in the United States, because people were generally traveling there for free land and religious freedom.

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.

A Puritan defined is “a member of a group of English Protestants of the late 16th and 17th centuries who regarded the Reformation of the Church of England under Elizabeth as incomplete and sought to simplify and regulate forms of worship.” Puritan society in America depended on the belief that all members were working for the glory of God. The Puritans did not allow deviations from the strict code of behavior which would not allow any member to have individuality. They restricted any type of entertainment, except that which was endorsed by the church. They worked and worshipped.

Puritans are colonists who had left England seeking religious tolerance. The life of the Puritans was mainly influenced by Christian beliefs and the church. Their laws were harsh and every Puritan needed to follow a moral code. Anyone or anything that went against the code was punished because going against the code was considered as a sin. According to Religious Aspects, “The Puritans also believed strongly in the wrath of God and did everything they could to prevent themselves from receiving it. This is why the witch scare was taken so seriously and the accused were punished harshly. The first

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

The Puritans were a group of people with strong beliefs, ideas and values in the 1630’s to the 1660’s. Their ideas influenced society in multiple ways during this time including politically, economically, and socially. Politically, they believed in having a theocratic government , economically, they used the value of hard work to run the economy and stimulate prosperity and also, socially the influence of the religion and the need for a tight knit communtiy influenced New England in many more ways than one. All of these influences were part of the ideological belief of the Puritans to attain a “City Upon a Hill” society where they would have the perfect community and established ethos for other communities to later follow in their footsteps.

These goals that the Puritans strived to achieve both at home and abroad placed a great amount of stress on the people and community. They were always working for their model society and for them their true leader was God. “Puritans believed in the

The Puritans dream was to create a model society for the rest of the Christians.. Their goal was to make a society in every way connected to god. Every aspect of their lives, from political views and employment to recreation and dress, was taken into account in order to live a more pious life. But to really understand what the aspirations of the puritans were, we must first understand their beliefs. The Puritans believed that a man’s only purpose in life was “to glorify God on earth and, if he were especially fortunate, to continue the good work in Heaven.” For the puritans, to glorify god meant keeping him in mind at all times, working to the best of their ability at whatever job god had had set fate for them to do, and following a

Over the years, people broadcast the Puritans as a group of people who were extremely legalistic and against anything that would be considered fun in the modern world. This incorrect broadcast of the Puritans has led to many misconceptions about how they lived when they came to the New World and settled in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Puritans were not legalistic, but rather sought to please God by creating a society that focused on fulfilling their calling through the institutions of family, work, education, and government in a positive environment. This led to a fruitful society when it followed in its original intentions.

The puritans believed in the doctrine of a “calling” to do God’s work on Earth. One could only be a part of the church clergy if they had experienced a conversion and followed the doctrine of the “calling”. However, Puritans were not tolerant to others that did not share the same religion or beliefs as them.