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How Does Anne Bradstreet Use Of Vanity

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In Anne Bradstreet’s “The Four Ages of Man,” “The Vanity of All Worldly Things,” and “Contemplations” – at length took quite some time to read and analyze – her use of vanity in each of the poems seems to be a recurring theme. Puritans believed that vanity was one of the key sins before God. Notice, vanity’s reference five times within the pages of “The Four Ages of Man” and in “The Vanity of All Worldly Sin.” She brilliantly alternates the use of vanity and vain throughout,” however, in “Contemplations” she cleverly uses vanity with a play on the word use as just vain.

Bradstreet speaks of being depressed by the new way of dress, language, and other cultural ways of her new home in America. America in the 16oos was a very brutal land and …show more content…

Her methods were heavily influenced by the severity and rigidly applied simplicities of Puritanism. The first time vanity’s mentioned in “the Four Ages of Man,” it’s in her depiction of “youth.” Her characters here are driven by challenges she faced in her personal life. At times it seems almost biographical, mentioning her eight pregnancies, as well as her children’s deaths by the hardships and vicious illnesses of her time. In her poem “The Four Stages of Life” Youth was but one of four stages of life cast as if characters on a stage. The others were: Childhood, Middle age, and Old Age. Summarily she connects these characters to comparable seasons, humor, and …show more content…

Here she was clearly inspired by the Bible (Collection of little books or Book of instruction before leaving earth) and she uses the Good Book in comparison to man 's actions here on earth. Bradstreet speaks on how man take life for granted and in the blink of an eye he is awaiting or standing at death 's door.
Contemplations is said to be a single unified poem about the temporal and the eternal, about their intersection in man according to Robert Daly. Here uses divine order of God and man, the Bible and mans study of nature exploding her pen to paper. She is makes comparisons of life expectancy is shorter than our biblical predecessors and how man still ignores the value of his time here on earth. Robert J.
Richardson writes, "the interplay between the two worlds is so closely and carefully developed that it may be regarded as Mrs. Bradstreet 's most successful expression of the Puritan ideal of living fully in the world without being of

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The Colonial Period was from 1492 to 1763. During this time many new writing styles and opinions were established by various different writers. Anne Bradstreet, a female poet known as the first Colonial settler and the first woman in England to publish a book of poems. One of her famous poems, “ The Burning of Our House”, refers back to religion and her belief in God/Him many times. The last line of the poem, “ My hope and treasure lies above”, influences the theme to be, spiritual possessions are more important than material possessions.

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Anne Bradstreet mostly wrote about everyday life while making it seem remarkable. Being a Puritan woman, Anne Bradstreet had trouble writing poetry in colonial society. She was expected to behave as a normal Puritan woman who should stay at home and be a housewife. However, she did

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Anne Bradstreet and Phillis Wheatley are two of the most important early American poets. Bradstreet was the first published American poet and Wheatley is considered to have begun the black American literary tradition (Norton, 110, 403). Both of these incredible women made enormous strides for the development of American literature at a time when it was difficult for women to be taken seriously as authors, and it is striking to notice the similarities between their individual styles. For example, both writers use descriptions of nature in conjunction with their reflections on religion.

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Anne Bradstreet and William Bradford’s constant references to God’s greatness reveal

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In about 1640, Bradstreet focused her poems primarily in piety, as shown in “To My Dear and Loving Husband,” and courage, as shown in “Upon

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In this essay, I will analyze the poem Verses Upon the Burning of Our House (July 10th, 1666) by Anne Bradstreet, a puritan who most critics consider to be America’s first “authentic poet. The poem is based on a true story as Anne’s house really did burn down and illustrates her meditations on this event, the pain she felt after losing her home and the effect it had on her faith. The main theme is Anne’s struggle to not become attached to material things. I will begin by explaining the rhyme, style, and tone of the poem, continue by explaining which literary devices and interesting features we can find and the effect they have on the reader, then I will analyze the poem and finally I will give a brief conclusion. Verses Upon the Burning of Our House is a poem written in couplets in iambic tetrameter scheme which makes the story flow nicely.

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Preeminence in all and each is yours; Yet grant some small acknowledgment of ours. (Bradstreet 209) The passage above declares the male 's roles in the Puritan culture and that women like Bradstreet comprehend that. On the other hand, Anne Bradstreet needs praise, a little thankfulness, and acknowledgment for the work and role women play in the public eye. Subsequent to deriding men in the poem, she recognizes and gives them commending praise yet requests the same in return.

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The value of earthly treasures versus eternal treasures is a key theme in Anne Bradstreet’s “Upon the Burning of Our House.” Throughout the poem, Bradstreet uses the following three examples to discover her feelings about losing her earthly treasures in the house fire and moving toward eternal treasures: her earthly possessions, her position in society, and her ultimate choice to focus on eternity. Anne Bradstreet is a woman who was the first English colonial poet. while she resided in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. She wrote this poem around July of 1666 to describe the event of her home burning to the ground.

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Theses writings were for personal use and despite their wishes were eventually published. Because of this, their writings showed true emotion and not that for entertainment or religious persuasion. Once released to the public their experiences were valued and passed on for generations to come. There was many simulates in the works of Anne Bradstreet and Mary Rowlandson’s describing signs from God to appreciate the nature, family and most importunely to put God first. Because of these signs and resulting tragedies, Anne Bradstreet and Mary Rowlandson had a very positive outlook on life and inspired many to follow and appreciate the simple things in life.

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Anne Bradstreet’s poem “To My Dear and Loving Husband” was written between the years of 1641 and 1643. “Not until the year 1678, six years after Bradstreet’s death, the poem was published” (Ruby 228). A poet with Puritan beliefs, this poem uses the religious language, hyperbolic metaphors, paradox, and antiquated diction and style in order to explain the devotion and love for her husband as she struggles with the Puritan way of life along with the uncertainty of her reassurance of love. Reading this poem over and over for countless hours I came to the conclusion that there are two messages that Bradstreet was trying to project in this poem, the Literal way and the sarcastic way. The Literal way clearly shows the readers the love of a wife for her husband.

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Furthermore, by using end rhyme, Bradstreet symbolically shows restraint. In the same way that a poet controls oneself by specifically using end rhyme, the poet is controlling her emotions when dealing with a sad experience and accepts her mortality. Similarly, in “Verses Upon the Burning of our House,” proof of Bradstreet’s faith is indisputable. After being initially distraught at her house burning down and losing all of her belongings, Bradstreet recounts how she reorients herself and blesses “His name that gave and took,

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Brontë and Austen both seem to agree on the increasingly negative aspects of excessive vanity. In Agnes Grey, Agnes’ role as a governess enables her to impose her own version of morals and upbringing upon other peoples’ children, even to the extent of interrupting familial bonds. For example, when “Uncle Robson” comes to visit the Bloomfields, Agnes condemns the fact that “he was continually encouraging [Mary Anne’s] tendency to affectation … talking about her pretty face, and filling her head with all manner of conceited notions concerning her personal appearance.” The uncle is expressing a form of endearment towards his niece through praising “her pretty face” yet Agnes twists this into a portrayal of corruption of him “filling her head,”

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1079 Words | 5 Pages

Bradstreet knows the goodness in God and rather than fearing him she thanks Him or asks for help. While her house was burning she asked God “to strengthen [her] in [her] time of distress”(9) because she knows everything that happens is through the will of God and only He can help her through this difficult situation. Bradstreet sees God as a just one even though he took all of her physical possessions. She takes His justness a step further by saying in lines 18 and 19 that even if He took all of her belongings, it would still be reasonable. Bradstreet also believes in a positive afterlife for herself and most people around her.

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Wilde’s representation of the British upper class, its values and opinions, is presented most notably through Lady Augusta Bracknell. She is a dignified aristocratic residing fashionable London society circles. On the surface, she is very typical Victorian woman. As a mother to Gwendolen Fairfax, she has a great authority over her controlling her life. She has even a list of ”eligible young man” whom she is ready to interview in order to select a suitable partner for her daughter.

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“Verses upon the Burning of our House, July 10th, 1666” is an poem written by Anne Bradstreet that, at its surface, is about internal conflict that is experienced when the author (in this case a devoted and faithful Christian woman) believes she has become too fond of material or, rather yet, earthly things. However, once the reader has had the chance to appreciate all its aspects respectively, they uncover underlying layers that add meanings that would otherwise be overlooked. Throughout the poem, Bradstreet utilizes a number of literary devices in order to ensure that the poem’s theme is recognized and fully comprehended by the reader. The most significant theme of “Verses upon the Burning of our House, July 10th, 1666” is that no matter how dark times get, with the grace of God all will be well because He has better in store for His believers in their eternal life and in Heaven. When the sequence of the poem is intertwined with the poet’s personal background (which gives insight into how the author

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