Discuss the representation of Puritan values and beliefs represented in Anne Bradstreet’s poetry
Anne Bradstreet’s poem, Upon the Burning of Our House depicts certain aspects of Puritan values and beliefs. The seventeenth century revolved solely around religion and was the age of religious literature, a theme that stands out in Bradstreet’s poetry. Bradstreet was aware of Puritan standards due to her surrounding family; her father being the Massachusetts Bay Company’s deputy governor and husband, chief administer.
The elegy shows that it is personal by the word ‘Our’. In using the word the reader immediately assumes that this is her home. The message of this poem is that earthly possessions are only temporary and invaluable, in
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‘It is his own: it was not mine’ simply suggests that Bradstreet accepts that everything she owns belongs to ‘Him’. The use of the colon may display a separation between her being powerless and God being powerful.
Bradstreet expresses that ‘it‘s purchased and paid for too by Him who hath enough to do’ putting across a covenant with God when she reassures herself that there is a place ‘permanent’ in Heaven where all her possessions lie. The lines refer to the Puritan belief that their followers had to earn an eternal life by redemption, seen as a gift given to those predestined to receive it.
The punctuation at the end of each line in the poem could represent Bradstreet looking back on the event that happened, with the commas representing a halt in the poem as a thought process.
The poem finishes with her reassurance in God that ‘my hope and treasure lies above’ referring to heaven and that God has a permanent home waiting for her above. Despite Bradstreet’s last words, it is suggested that her despair is manifest. Her emotions put across in the poem clearly show her home is important to her, not due to her possessions but it was a symbol of her life with her family, and during Puritanism, a home was known as the ‘seat of her role as a woman’ and family was known as the centre of
[H]e which would have suer peace and joye in Christianitye, must not ayme at a condition retyred from the world and free from temptations, but to knowe that the life which is most exercised with tryalls and temptations is the sweetest, and will prove the safeste. For such tryalls as fall within compasse of our callinges, it is better to arme and withstande them than to avoide and shunne them. -John Winthrop
Anne Bradstreet’s feelings about her home represent the most material conflict. When her home burned down she wrote the poem to voice these feelings of hers. She describes the awakening to the “shrieks of dreadful voice” and going out to watch “the flame consume” her “dwelling place”. But she comforts herself with good Puritan dogma. The burning of the house is God’s doing and his doings should not be questioned. In looking over the stanzas where she
This mentality of a Puritan was very important back then because that was the work ethic they had. Eventhough this mentality existed thousands of years ago, it is still relevant today and seen in today’s society. Successful people will talk about how they worked hard to get to reach their dreams. In addition, throughout my years in school, teachers have taught me the importance of hard work and I’ve been able to experience my effort pay off and have great rewards to it.
Anne Bradstreet uses diction to explain how her focus on God has created a life far more beneficial than the one on Earth. For example, Bradstreet expresses this when she bids her house farewell as it is burned to the ground. “In silence ever shalt thou lie; Adieu, Adieu, all’s vanity” (Bradstreet 35-36). Bradstreet finally recognizes the fact that everything she owns belongs to God, and there is nothing she can do about it. By using the phrase “All’s Vanity”, she emphasizes the unimportance of her material goods and instead praises the things that God has provided for
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.
The Puritan people migrated to what is now present-day America due to their persecution in Europe. Their religion observed many beliefs that did not agree with other European Christians. These ideals stayed with the Puritans as they settled in America to build their idealistic, utopian society. Even though Puritan society was largely unsuccessful in meeting their expectations, several of their fundamental values are still exemplified by Americans today. These beliefs included the dislike of anything dull, an intense hatred of tyranny, and the idea that America is a shining example for the rest of the world to follow.
I would like to end my analysis of this poem by stating a paradox that can be found at the end of the poem in lines 11-12. Her love for her husband is on such a level that she wants to preserve it while they live and even after they die. It's amazing to me how much love one can have for a person. The poem's main idea is not just centralized on how much Bradstreet loves her husband, but also on a Puritan woman who takes the initiative to show her love to her husband which was very uncommon back
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.
These material items have become physical representations of the memories Bradstreet created with them so the loss is a tragic psychological event. This quote also represents the struggles that the author had with the non-materialistic Puritan lifestyle. She has put so much emphases on her material possession that she has lost sight of what is truly important, which is God. The content expressed in this poem mirrors the materialistic struggles most Puritans felt with their faith at one point or another.
When King Henry VIII broke ties with the Roman Catholic Church in the 1530’s, he proclaimed himself head of the Church of England. This occurred only a few years after Martin Luther nailed his 91 theses on the Church of Wittenberg and another religious reformer, John Calvin, brought new ideas to the forefront. Calvin proclaimed that one was pre-destined to be eternally blessed or damned from birth. One had no control over this, and works could not put you in to heaven. The unknowing is what drove the Puritans to such great lengths. In the excerpt from Document A from John Winthrop’s A Model of Christian Society, predestination and the basic ideals of the Puritans are laid out. The Protestant Reformation was thus in full swing as the Church
Over and over again she expresses her adoration for him with imagery. "I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold, Or all the riches that the east doth hold. My love is such that rivers can not quench,..." (5-7). Bradstreet is declaring there is nothing as powerful as the love she shares with her husband
Anne Bradstreet, as a poet, wrote as both a Puritan woman in her time and as a woman ahead of her time. Zach Hutchins analyzed this tension in “The Wisdom of Anne Bradstreet: Eschewing Eve and Emulating Elizabeth”, and makes a primary argument that three of Bradstreet’s poems provide evidence that Bradstreet rejects the Puritan views of a woman while keeping her own personal faith. Hutchins fither his argument by declaring that readers should not view Bradstreet as a symbol of rebellion or submission, instead as a symbol of wisdom.
Even though, she will not be able to repay him with money as materialistic things are not of value, Bradstreet will write about him in her poetry, to show him her gratitude and express her love for him. I feel that Bradstreet wrote her poems about her father to impress him and make sure he knew that she was doing everything she could to repay him and show him her gratefulness for life. Bradstreet never discredits her father or places any blame on him for anything happening in her life, which was true of Puritan beliefs at that time.
To start off the analysis, the setting of the entire poem is significant. Though the poem takes place in a house, the atmosphere the house is set in is also important. The month is September which is a month of fall which can be seen as a symbol for decline. It definitely insinuates that the poem is leading towards death. Line 1 has “September rain falls on the house” which gives the feeling of a dark and cold night with a storm on top of that. To further develop that, Bishop gives us the failing light in line 2 to also give us an idea of the grandmother’s struggle. Bishop uses the cyclical theme of changing seasons to show the unending nature of what is transpiring within the
“The Prologue” has a humble tone and hidden surprises. In addition to reverse psychology, Bradstreet uses apologetic tone, drawing the reader in, forming interest for the reader to read her