Comparing Anne Bradstreet's To My Dear And Loving Husband

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.

Edwards’s uses strong, powerful diction to clearly get his across to the spectators. Jonathan Edwards repetitively uses the word “omnipotent” to visibly tell his audience how powerful God is. Along with that, he repetitively uses the phrase “God’s wrath” along with words such as “fury, despair and destruction”. Edwards actually describes God’s wrath by commonly using words as dreadful, glowing, wickedness, black and vengeance. By the usage of these words and phrases, Edwards indicates that God is angered and furious of our actions. However to point out God’s generosity, Jonathan Edwards commonly uses the word “mercy”. By using the word “mercy”, Edwards indicates that since God made his worshipers, he is giving them an opportunity to repent and amend their ways or destruction is unpreventable. Mr. Edwards also uses words as “mourn, howl, hopeless and sober,” to specify the listeners reactions upon hearing Edwards’s sermon. Edwards use of influential words leave the spectators mourning and groaning in great despair. Edwards employs all these words through the emotional appeal of ethos. This is what causes a great impact upon the listeners at the church.

The poem “To my Dear and Loving Husband” by Anne Bradstreet, is not just an exceedingly felt expression of a wife’s marital love and commitment to her husband, as it is about a puritan women who is supposed to be reserved but she makes it her obligation to enlighten her husband of her devotion. A thorough analysis of the poem’s paradox, hyperbole, imagery and repetition reveals how she conveys her message.

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.

Edward’s sermons would have been seen by many people as more vivid when he talks about god and his religious beliefs and views. For example “The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked” (126) this depiction that Jonathan gives to the audience may seem very frightening. Compared to the somewhat more loving depiction that Anne Bradstreet gives “And to God my heart did cry To strengthen me in my distress” (line 8-9) Anne tells the audience that God strengthens her in her distress which is a very different depiction from Jonathan’s sermon. One of the few similarities about their religious would be near the ending of Jonathan’s sermon it states “And now an extraordinary opportunity, a day wherein Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open, and stands in the door calling and crying with a loud voice to poor sinners” (129)this context differs from the beginning of Jonathan’s sermon and can be compared to the tone of some of Bradstreet’s writing. For example a piece of Anne’s writing “That when we live no more, we may live ever.” (12) this piece of context tells that she if she loves her husband and he loves her than then they shall live in heaven when they die. Both of these examples tell

Edwards' creative choice of words that he uses describes the power of God and the terrible Hell awaiting sinners. These words easily infiltrate into the minds of his congregation and frighten them beyond belief. These choices of words and his use of such vivid images are mostly successful in their intent, to scare and put fear into his audience. Edwards held his audience locked up with his promises of eternal damnation if proper steps were not taken. The congregation felt the intense impact of his rhetorical strategies and lived on the fear of the power of God. In this way, he was able to keep his followers from sin and away from the fiery pits of Hell.

Anne Bradstreet's poem, To My Dear and Loving Husband, shows her profound love and undying affection for her husband. For a Puritan woman who is supposed to be reserved, Bradstreet makes it her obligation to enlighten her husband of her devotion. She conveys this message through her figurative language and declarative tone by using imagery, repetition, and paradoxes.

In Anne Bradstreet’s “Upon the Burning of Our House” and Jonathan Edwards’s “ Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God” the good and evil’s of man along with how these coincide with the laws of Puritans are mentioned. Both of these texts exhibit the religious belief of the Puritans. In Anne Bradstreet’s poem a raging fire destroys the narrator’s belongings and kills her lover. Later in the text the narrator, still in grief from her loss, comes to terms with the tragic event implying that the objects that she own would all turn into dust. She believe that it was God’s will to give here these treasures and it is his right to take them away. Edwards does show that he believes in God. He does believe that said God is all powerful and he holds everyone lives in his hand. He believes that man has sin so much that they are already doomed to an eternal life of

Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards, two puritans during the Great wakening, have two perspectives on god and life itself. Although some of what they say is similar, they do have opposing views on some subjects. In Jonathan Edwards’ sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” he expresses his views about the unforgivingness of god. In Anne Bradstreet’s “Upon the Burning of our House” she writes a captivating poem about being smited by god. In both they elaborate on the power and willingness of god but have opposite views on why.

The Puritans lived their lives with rules that, in our society today, are viewed as very strict and unreasonable, such as not being allowed to have long hair, no gossiping, or not being allowed to be lazy, and the punishments for breaking these laws were often very harsh and cruel. The offenses that they took most seriously however, was when someone disrespected God. Disrespecting God could result in punishments ranging from being put in stocks and pillories, to public whippings, and even public executions depending on the severity of the offense. In all three of the short puritan readings, “Upon the Burning of Our House”, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, and “Huswifery”, the authors show their intense faith in God throughout their writing. So, how did the Puritans view God? Well, to but it simply, the Puritans viewed God as an almighty, and all-knowing being, who they willing devoted their faith and lives to.

There is two different ways these authors argued about how God was an essential in the Puritan, however Edwards describes him as angry and enraged while Bradstreet makes him seem as a lovable figure. Edwards describes him as angry and enraged while Bradstreet makes him seem as a lovable figure.

Jonathan Edwards' hellfire and brimstone in his Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God has several comparisons and contrasts with Anne Bradstreet's poems, "Upon the Burning of Our House" and "To My Dear and Loving Husband." One of the comparisons would be with the concept of Eternal Life. Both writers were Puritans, and accepted the concept of life after death. Bradstreet says in "To my Dear and Loving Husband" that she hopes "the heavens reward thee manifold, I pray...Then when we live no more, we may live ever." Saying "we may live ever" gives the reader the thought of life after death, and she is saying that she wants to live eternally with her husband. Edwards had the same idea, but in a darker sense. He insisted upon the fact that

Puritan literature captures not only the beliefs of the religion, but the beliefs of individuals as well. All Puritan literature is utilitarian, meaning it’s useful, purposeful, and reflecting a non-ornate style of writing. One of the most prominent early English poets was Anne Bradstreet. Using the utilitarian style, her poetry is entirely unique to herself and her emotions as a Puritan. Anne Bradstreet crosses the bridges between her faith and her experiences in her works. 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 poet speaks to her husband, celebrating their unity and saying that there is no man in the world whose wife loves him more. If there was ever a wife more happy with her husband, the poet asks those women to compare themselves to her. She prizes her husband's love more than gold or the riches of the East. Rivers cannot quench her love and no love but his can ever satisfy her. There is no way she can ever repay him for his love. She believes they should love each other so much that when they die, their love will live on.Analysis: Anne Bradstreet’s passionate love poems to her husband are some of the memorable in her canon because of the rawness of her expression. “To my Dear and Loving Husband” is frequently read at weddings due to its succinct yet bold expression of marital

“Sinners in the hands of an angry God” and “Upon the burning of our house” are both puritan writings and are from the 1600’s. However they use two different writings styles to convey the same general message about God. These two pieces are very different writing styles with one being a sermon and one being a poem. Although “Sinners in the hands of an angry God” uses a sermon to convey the message but a message may be hidden in both. “Sinners in the hands of an angry God” Is an example of a sermon and “Upon the burning of our house” is a poem for example (In silent night when rest I took for sorrow near I did not look) this shows the basic form of poem writing portrayed by the author. In “Sinners in the hands of an angry God” and “Upon the