Edward Taylor Huswifery

The poem, “Huswifery”, shows how Edward Taylor prayed to God. He asked him to help him a better Christian and use him for His purpose. “Make Me O Lord Thy Spinning Wheel Complete,’’ shows how Edward viewed life. His message is typical of Puritanical

Puritans believe God has an influence on humans in our daily life. Edwards asserts, “His mere pleasure that keeps you from being this moment swallowed up in everlasting destruction” (81). This quote explains to us that God’s forgiveness holds us from, at any second, dropping down into the deep depths of hell. God observes our life and helps us every step of the way by pushing us as much as he can in the right direction. Edwards believes, “And yet it is nothing but His hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment” (81). Edwards for the second time says something relatively about God’s hand and how He is the one who holds us and keeps us out of the fiery pits. This quote shows us how God’s pleasure keeps us from falling into a

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.

William Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation gives insight to typical seventeenth century Puritanical thought. The Puritans believed that God’s will directs and guides all aspects of the universe. Puritans further believed the Bible could help them understand God’s will in their personal lives. Bradford’s writing was meant to express an understanding of God in everyday life and to teach future Puritans how to see God in their lives.

While the Puritans are generally perceived as hard working and God fearing people, they were also a highly educated people and their education found its expression in their writings. Their writings reflected their engrained beliefs, especially religion which was integral to their existence and hence early American literature is infused with religiosity.

Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor are two poets who are puritans. They are able to use writing and language to portray their ideas on G-d and religion. Upon the Burning of Our House, July 10th, 1666 by Bradstreet and Huswifery by Taylor are similar in the sense that G-d is always a part of their poems, whether it’s direct or through the use of complex writing. Through the use of language and metaphors, Bradstreet conveys that a connection with G-d could be strengthened through destruction while Taylor reveals that a connection can be reinforced through creation.

Through Puritan writers, literature is influenced by religious ideologies and philosophies. Puritans writers, beginning in about 1560, put most of their focus into making their work God centered. They believed in the “Elect” and that Jesus died only for these few people. Writers usually wrote in 1st

If one were to think of humans as flowers in a garden, then that must make God the gardener. In both Anne Bradstreet’s and Edward Taylor’s poetry, they describe their little flowers being “plucked” or “cropped” by God’s hand. In Taylor’s poem “Upon Wedlock, and Death of Children,” he writes “Lord take’t. I thank Thee. Thou take’st ought of mine:” (“Wedlock” 28). This may seem harsh to the modern reader, that God would forcefully take their children and grandchildren, and that they would then thank him for it. However, to the Puritans, this was common sense. This idea that God has a hand in and moves all things, it present in almost all of their writings. In Mary Rowlandson’s captivity narrative, she thanks God for every good thing that happens to her, and every bad thing. She, like the other Puritans, believe that every event in their lives was enacted by God and served some purpose. In her instance, she believes that God was punishing her for not respecting the Sabbath day like she ought to have. Similarly, Anne Bradstreet believes that the death of her grandchild was directly enacted by God. She ends the poem with the lines “And buds new blown to have so short a date,/ Is by His hand alone that guides nature and fate” (“Memory I” 13-14). If God decrees everything that happens, then that must mean that free will does not exist, that the human race is merely doing what God has made them do. Thus, the extended metaphor of humans as flowers makes even more sense. Flowers do not have a choice where they are planted or when they will be picked. It is entirely up to the

The depiction of such different Gods between the two Puritan ministers stems from their overall goal in their writing. Taylor’s goal in writing is purely for the glory of God and his own expression of feelings towards Him. Edward Taylor’s works are too bright and cheerful for the Puritan conservatives at the time and do not serve for moral instruction as most literature should. In his work, “Upon Wedlock, and Death of Children,” he describes,

The colonial period in the United States all started when people starting immigrating to Boston in the 1630s. With high articulation of Puritan cultural ideas, the New England colonies have been regarded as the center of early American literature. In class we only talked about a few of the writing throughout the period but in this paper, I am going to tell you about the colonial period as a whole.

The Puritans believed in many things. An example of one of their beliefs is that God is all powerful and vengeful. In Bradstreets poem this belief is reflected numerous times. It stuck out specifically in this quote. “I blest his name that gave and took.” (Bradstreet line 14). This quote basically says that the women is praying to God that everything is ok because God is all powerful and made this tradgedy happen for a reason. Also that because he is just he can take and gve things as he pleases because he can. In Edwards sermon it is also reflected throughout the piece. “His wrath towards you burns like fire; He looks upon you as worthy or noting else but to be cast into the fire.” (Edwards par.1). This quote means that God is vengeful upon

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

This story again reinforces the severity of defying the supernatural, and the strong belief the puritans held in the actuality of a figurative God and Devil. This story repercussions the idea that there is nowhere to hide from these supernatural powers.

Puritanism dominated 17th century history and literature. Nathaniel Hawthorne born in 1804 was an American writer who sought to resolve his conflicts with Puritanism through his writing. Hawthorne wrote several stories showing the world the horrors of the Puritan faith and the isolation of individuals who failed to uphold the faith. For Hawthorne, Young Goodman Brown illustrates the difference between Puritan teaching and practicing and reflects his own guilt about the mistreatment of men at the hands of his forefathers.

The Colonial Period in American Literature Blake Quickel The Colonial Period of American Literature was vital not only to the timeline of literature in our country, but it shaped the values and tradition that we identify America with. Literature from this period gives us a look into the beginnings of our country from different views such as Poems and stories from Native culture, Puritans, and the founding fathers. These writings give us an honest view of the way of life during this time. The Puritan writings we read in this class were very interesting in how they showed the early stages of America’s religion. Although religion in our government and our country’s values has become less and less extreme over time, it is amazing knowing how much control it had over society in our country’s beginnings; and many of the morals exorcised in the Puritan culture are still values relevant to our society today. In a reading from the “Introduction: Puritan Voices” assignment (a), the writer refers to the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a “man’s world”, describing the limited roles of women in society and how men were portrayed in the church as superior. Puritan ministers often preached that the soul had two parts, the immortal masculine half, and the mortal feminine half. Gender inequality is an enormous part of American Literature throughout all periods, and here you can see where these values originated in our country. Puritan society exists as a valid demonstration for why the first