Thursday, October 8, 2015
Discuss the extent to which Bradstreet's poetry reflects Puritan thinking. Analyze in particular the way Bradstreet reflects her own spirituality and fears in the process of describing an actual event in “Here Follows Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House.”
In Anne Bradstreet's poetry she reflects her Puritan way of thinking. In her poem "Upon the Burning of Our House" she tells the readers about all the valuables in her life that were taken away from her after the fire that occurred in her home. She describes her valuables as "That laid my goods now in the dust" (line 15) and "My pleasant things in ashes lie And them behold no more shall I" (lines 28-29) in these lines she is describing her things as they are destroyed and she can not get those valuables back. She is constantly renaming all her things that were lost and continuing to discuss all the things she will not have anymore because of the fire such as "Under they roof no guest shall sit, Nor at thy Table eat a bit. No pleasant talk shall 'ere be told Nor things recounted done of old. No Candle e'er shall shine in Thee, Nor bridegroom's voice e'er heard shall be" (lines 30-35) After her first two stanzas, she then goes to the Puritan way of thinking. "There's wealth enough, I need no more, Farewell, my pelf, farewell, my store. The world no longer let me love, My hope and treasure lies above" (Lines 53-56) She says in these lines that she already has enough and does not need anything more. Anne says her goodbyes to her home, all the things she loved and she hopes all her valuables will be in heaven waiting for her since they did not last on earth. Anne is trying not to worry about the things she has lost because she knows they are only materialistic items and Puritans are not suppose to care about materialistic things.
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The New World was not just a safe haven for the practice of religion, it was also fertile ground for the growing of Anne Bradstreet's poems and writing talent. She was more than a wife and mother of eight children. She was the first published American poet who, through her poetry, subtly challenged the Puritan way of life, wrote of the developmental changes from childhood to adulthood, and focused on an individual's journey through life.
ReplyDeleteIn Anne Bradstreet's poetry, she reflects her Puritan way of thinking. In her poem "Upon the Burning of Our House" she tells the readers about all the valuables in her life that were taken away from her after the fire that occurred in her home. She describes her valuables as "That laid my goods now in the dust" (Bradstreet 15). and "My pleasant things in ashes lie And they behold no more shall I" (Bradstreet 28-29), in these lines she is describing her things as they are destroyed and she can not get those valuables back. She is constantly renaming all her things that were lost and continue to discuss all the things she will not have anymore because of the fire such as:
"Under they roof no guest shall sit, Nor at thy Table eat a bit. No pleasant talk shall 'ere be told Nor things recounted done of old. No Candle e'er shall shine in Thee, Nor bridegroom's voice e'er heard shall be" (Bradstreet 30-35).
After her first two stanzas, she then goes to the Puritan way of thinking. "There's wealth enough, I need no more, Farewell, my pelf, farewell, my store. The world no longer let me love, My hope and treasure lie above" (Bradstreet 53-56). She says in these lines that she already has enough and does not need anything more. Bradstreet says her goodbyes to her home, all the things she loved and she hopes all her valuables will be in heaven waiting for her since they did not last on earth. Bradstreet is trying not to worry about the things she has lost because she knows they are only materialistic items and Puritans are not suppose to care about materialistic things.
Bradstreet was concerned, throughout her life, with religious issues such as sin, redemption, physical and emotional frailty, and death and immortality. Bradstreet's work demonstrates that she had difficulty resolving the conflict she experienced between the pleasures of sensory and familial experience and the promise of heaven. Anne Bradstreet battled with the Puritan way of life because she sometimes felt more strongly connected to her husband, children, and community than to God.