Compare And Contrast Anne Bradstreet And Edwards

Two Writers, Similar, Yet Different

It may be surprising to some, but the Puritan authors of Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards are very impactful to those around them. Anne Bradstreet, an author of the early to mid 1600s wrote pieces including, To my Dear and Loving Husband as well as Upon the Burning of our House, July 10th, 1666. Jonathan Edwards, on the other hand, brings his writings to the public in the early 1700s with his sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. An example of what is to come is seen when Edwards describes that, “Unconverted men walk over the pit of hell on a rotten covering, and there are innumerable places in this covering so weak that they will not bear their weight” (Page 126). This quote by Edwards is

Bradstreet writes, “Thou hast a house on high erect,/ Framed by that mighty Architect” (lines 43 & 44). Here it is shown that Bradstreet uses great vocabulary to create a metaphor comparing God to an architect that had constructed her house, which in the big picture is used to tell a part of her story. This compares to Edwards’ writing which also uses metaphors to explain his desire. However, the contrasts come with the way the metaphors are used to form their writings’ structure. Edwards states, “The bow of God’s wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string, and justice bends the arrow at your heart, and strains the bow, and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, and that of an angry God” (Page 126). The arrow mentioned in this quote is being put next to justice as a metaphor, which is then used to build the intensity for his cause to persuade those who are not unconverted in religion to convert. Bradstreet, on the other hand, uses her metaphors which feel like part of a story to create stanzas and rhymes, giving her story an overall more free flowing feeling. These two authors cause great influence in their writings with their vocabulary, but does their belief in religion do the

Edwards says, “So that, thus it is that natural men are held in the hand of God, over the pit of hell; they have deserved the fiery pit, and are already sentenced to it” (Page 126). This statement delivers a complete understanding on Edwards’ religious belief and how he believes that God has a plan for everyone. Bradstreet as well in her poems delivers the exact same message that she believes God has a great plan for everyone. It is how these comparing beliefs are implemented in their works though that is used to set a tone in their writings. Bradstreet explains that, “Then while we live, in love let’s so persevere,/ That when we live no more, we may live ever.” (lines 11 & 12). In Bradstreet’s statement we can see that she uses her religious belief to set a nice and relaxing tone by talking about how much she loves her husband. Edwards is different however. This is because unlike Bradstreet, he instead uses his religious belief to be intense and fierce to scare his listeners into doing what he says. In the end though, both Bradstreet and Edwards are great at selling a message to their