Upon the Burning of Our House

Poems from the time of the Puritans usually were based on their religion. Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor both portrayed a Puritanical message in their poems. Edward did so more so than Anne. They both conveyed different types of love. Anne wrote about her husband and how much she loved him. While Edward wrote about his love for God and how he wanted God to use him for His glory.

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.

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

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.

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

The plainness of Puritan life and of Bradford’s style exemplifies the effects that his religion has on his writing. The Puritans removed anything that might distract them from their life’s devotion to God. For instance, they imposed strict dress codes upon their people, allowing only soft, muted colors, and they did not allow their children to play with toys. Instead, the children attended school – their education was focused primarily on theology – and worked from a young age. These practices compare to Bradford’s unornamented writing: “But to omit other things (that I may be brief) after long beating at sea they fell with that land which is called Cape Cod; the which being made

Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards were two Puritans with the same religious obligations, however, as shown in their writing, they have completely different views on how they go about respecting these obligations. Bradstreet is about being thankful for what God gave her, and to be happy with her life despite hardships which is displayed very well in her poem, “Upon the Burning of Our House” where she explains her feelings while her house was burnt to a crisp right in front of her. Meanwhile, Edwards was writing his sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” and this sermon shows that he was tense almost a polar opposite when considering Bradstreet’s views on life and religion. In Bradstreet’s

Puritans are well known for their strict religion and code of ethics. There were many people who lived by them throughout the sixteen and seventeen hundreds. Because of this, the Puritan’s devotion to their religion was often expressed in their works of literature. One of these works is a sermon by Jonathan Edwards known as Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. Another is a poem by Anne Bradstreet known as Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666. Both Jonathan Edwards’s sermon and Anne Bradstreet’s poem express the Puritan devotion to religion through works of literature.

Puritains were religious individuals who believed that all things would occur for one particular reason. The Puritan term was established for two groups that believed, “they should separate themselves from the “corrupt” of England.” Some of their notions were, “ God has chosen a certain few of the “elect” for salvation” , and also unlike other christians the Puritans fancy that just having faith was not enough. Jonathan Edwards, a American revivalist preacher, Congregationalist Protestant theologian. Edwards strongly held to Reformed theology (includes any system of belief that traces it's roots back to the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century) , such as the Puritans. Jonathan Edwards wrote a sermon entitled, “Sinners in the Eyes of an Angry God” ministries his sermon to his congregation on July 8, 1741 in Northampton, Massachusetts. Anne Bradstreet was another author that wrote about Puritan beliefs, Bradstreet was the first in England’s North American colonies to be published. She wrote her poem, “ Upon the Burning of our House”, on July 10, 1666.

The Puritans were a widespread and diverse group of people who took a stand in the 16th and 17th century in Europe. Their rise was directly related to the increased knowledge that that came to the common people during the Enlightenment. As people learned to read and write, and as the bible became more accessible to the commoners, many began to read the bible for themselves. The word Puritan first came as a term for those who advocated more purity in the church. “Under siege from church and crown, it sent an offshoot in the 3rd and 4th decades of the seventeenth century to the northern english colonies in the New World- a migration that laid the foundation for the religious, intellectual, and social order of New England.”

Plain style writing was a common technique used in many early American Literature pieces. This is a plain, simple style of writing which is easily understood and contains simple facts. Bradford utilized this method in “Of Plymouth Plantations” to make known his religious convictions and reflect the simple life of the Puritans which is in line with his ideology. Bradford even starts his book in chapter one in the very first paragraph stating he will speak in plain style to, “…manifest in a plain style, with singular regard unto the simple truth in all things” (Bradford 132). It is important to note here that this writing style is reflective of the Puritan lifestyle which is simple, sparse and honest. Also, Bradford alludes to speaking truthfully to demonstrate his writing as plain, straightforward and therefore, truthful. In Michelle Burnham’s article titled, ‘Merchants, Money and the Economics of “Plain Style,” she further explains Bradford’s purpose in using Plain Style writing, “Here Bradford’s use of the term ‘plain’ invokes several seventeenth-century

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 is a complete contrast within the poem. At the beginning she was travelling South, was pregnant and was relatively happy, now she is returning North, isn't pregnant and is depressed.

During the Age of Faith, the subject matter and writing styles were unusual. Puritans wrote about their

Poe’s “The Raven” is made up of eighteen six–line verses with seamlessly emphatic rhythm and rhymes. Using “I” narration to