Sinners Upon The Burning Of Our House Analysis

“It would be dreadful to suffer this fierceness and wrath of Almighty God one moment; but you must suffer it to all eternity,“ declares Jonathan Edwards (128), referring to being trapped in Hell, in his 1741 sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”. Edwards is known for his powerful persuasion techniques, and his long sermons. He portrays God as loathing and vengeful towards anyone who is unconverted, playing on their fear. As a Puritan, he was affected by the religion that influenced many other authors of the era. Another puritan writer was a woman named Anne Bradstreet, famous for being the first notable American poet. Unlike Edwards, Bradstreet is more gentle in her writing, and enjoyed writing about her

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.

Many authors from the 1600’s and 1700’s base their works on religious views, but there are many differing views on God. “Upon the Burning of Our House” and “To My Dear and Loving Husband” are both by Anne Bradstreet, and are excellent writings that show half of the Puritan beliefs. The other piece is “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards that show a darker side of the Puritan ideals. The authors show what they think by using literary devices, like tone (word choice and details), or figurative language. Bradstreet believes in a God that is loving and caring, while Edwards believes in a strict, controlling God. The tone, in which they use through the stories or sermons, reflects this, and also, the figurative language that

Within the eighteenth century, Christians were going through the Great Awakening, a wave of religious enthusiasm that swept through the colonies in an effort to make an impact on the religion within the areas. In the sermon written by Jonathon Edwards, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” he is trying to persuade nonbelievers into joining his religion in a way unused by many. To show nonbelievers the two altering sides of God based on what people believe and “they may imagine him to be so” (3), Jonathon Edwards’ sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” utilizes threatening tone, conveying repetition, and augmenting similes to express the fury and hopefulness of God.

In the 1600’s the Puritans were the main religious group of that time period and they had very strong ideals on how religion and government should go together. Jonathan Edwards, who shared many of their ideals, preached a sermon called, “ Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” and it had a very big impact on the congregation. Nathaniel Hawthorne, although he was a writer in the 1800’s, he was fascinated with the Puritans and their lifestyles and wrote a short story called, “ The Minister’s Black Veil.” Both authors use specific details, tone, and imagery to convey their meaning and style, Edwards harsh and accusatory style was more effective than Hawthorne’s melancholy and mysterious style because Edwards helps the reader understand the effects sin can have in one’s life.

Would you consider any similarities in the poems written by a puritan woman i late 1600’s compared to the sermons of a puritan preacher of the early 1700’s? Anne Bradstreet, and Jonathan Edwards are two puritan authors whose writing style may seem very different but when going in depth you may find a few similarities that can be made between the two authors and their works. Going through their passages you will see many more differences than similarities. Both of these two authors would have many religious views in common, they would also in some cases have similar writing styles, and lastly they would have used some of the same literary devices to get across their message. The passages being compared are “To my dear loving husband” by Anne Bradstreet, “Upon the burning of our house, July 10th, 1666” by Anne Bradstreet, and lastly “Sinners in the hands of an angry god” by Jonathan Edwards.

b. Thesis – Jonathan Edwards’s sermon portrayed Puritans as sinners of their religion through the use of rhetorical strategies such as ethos, pathos, and logos.

Jonathan Edwards, author of “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, and Anne Bradstreet, author of both “Upon the Burning House” and “To My Dear and Loving Husband” were two very different writers from the late 1600’s to the early 1700’s. Through figurative language and clear expression of religious views, you will see just how much their Puritan beliefs vary.

The Puritan religion was the basis for other works such as Anne Bradstreet. "And to my God my heart did cry, to strengthen me in my distress, and not leave me succorless." This is from a poem called, "Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10 1666." This particular piece entails the happenings of the Bradstreet homestead burning. During this difficult time Anne often speaks to God about letting go of her worldly possessions. Religion is one of the many things that helped new settlers through the beginning years of America. Another value that helped during this time was freedom.

When one talks about Puritan literature, two main figures come to mind: John Edwards and Nathaniel Hawthorne. John Edwards was a fiery preacher who sought to convert the unrighteous in his sermons. He is most well-known for his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, which will be discussed in this essay. Nathaniel Hawthorne was a novelist and short-story author who wrote not only to convert his readers to Christianity, but to entertain them with stories of romance as well. He is most well-known for writing, among other things, “The Scarlet Letter”, “The House of Seven Gables”, and the short story “The Minister’s Black Veil”, which will also be analyzed in this essay.

Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford is a narrative that discusses the experiences of the Puritans that traveled from New England to the New World. The Puritans experienced many hardships while trying to restart their lives in America. Similarly, Anne Bradstreet from the poem “Upon the Burning of Our House, July 10th, 1666” experiences many hardships in her life in the Americas. The Puritans experienced hardships that revealed the fact that some Puritans acted selfishly in life, but others were very loyal and kind to each other, on the other hand, Bradstreet experienced hardships that tested her beliefs and commitment to Puritan ideology.

The 1600s may not seem like a very influential time period. However, two individuals changed that. Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards were two very influential writers to their peers. Anne Bradstreet, author of “To My Dear and Loving Husband” and “Upon The Burning of Our House”, was very clear about life and kept her religious ways. Jonathan Edwards, author of “Sinners In the Hands of an Angry God”, was a very religious man.

The Three Little Sinners Author’s diction, or word choice, determines his/hers tone and the emotion he puts into his literature. In Dante Alighieri’s epic poem The Inferno the protagonist, Dante, travels through the nine circles of Hell and witnesses many different sinners from his past be punished. Dante is accompanied by Virgil, a Virtuous Pagan found in the first circle.

Puritan values, ideas, and beliefs are evident in the works of Anne Bradstreet, William Bradford, and Jonathan Edwards. Through her poetry, Bradstreet reveals her Puritan values and ideals. Bradstreet was aware of a woman’s role in Puritan society and tried to portray herself as a humble, pious, obedient, and modest wife. William Bradford’s work also encompasses beliefs, values, and ideas of Puritan life. One can see that in Bradford’s writing such as Of Plymouth Plantation, Bradford emphasizes Puritan suffering specifically through the Mayflower journey and how, with the grace of God, they prevailed. Jonathan Edwards’ work also displays Puritan beliefs, values, and ideals through the installation of fear. In an excerpt from Sinners in the

Faith has played an incredibly large role throughout all of American history. This is shown especially in early America when the Puritans settled in North America. Writing in this time period shows just how prominent faith is in this time period, as much of it directly alludes to the Bible. Throughout the time period writing and beliefs evolved. This is highly noticeable when comparing American poet Anne Bradstreet, and clergyman Jonathan Edwards. Bradstreet’s works include poems such as “To My Dear and Loving Husband”, and “Upon the Burning of Our House, July 10th, 1666” and while Edwards wrote many sermons, the most famous is “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”. These works differ in many ways, but many comparisons and contrasts can be made in regards to writing style and beliefs presented in these works.