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Religion In Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven

1114 Words5 Pages

1. While thematically different, the literature that has been read over the course of this semester shares a commonality of religion. This may come as no surprise for the texts over Puritanism, but the texts over Transcendentalism and dark romanticism also allude to concepts of religion. This can be seen in the poem, The Raven, by Edgar Allen Poe in the line “Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn/ It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore”. “Aidenn” from the quote means “paradise” derived from the term Eden, referring to the Garden of Eden. The poem's narrator is asking if he’ll ever see his dead lover again in the “afterlife” or “Heaven”. Even though the overall nature of this poem is dark and morbid, …show more content…

The quote “As soon as the man is at one with God, he will not beg. He will then see prayer in all action” serves as an excellent example. Emerson believes that once people are one with God, all their troubles will disappear, and this is a belief seen in Puritan texts as well. In the sermon, Sinners in The Hands of an Angry God, Jonathan Edwards centers his preaching around the idea of God and salvation. The quote from the sermon “But here you are in the land of the living and in the house of God” conveys this, Edwards is alluding to religion by saying God made the Earth on which mortals live. The presence of religion in these immensely different types of texts supports the idea that they have at least one correlation between them, that being …show more content…

In the poem, Verses Upon the Burning of Our House, Anne Bradstreet illustrates how Puritans are expected to devote themselves completely to the lord, spiritually and physically; giving readers a deeper understanding of Puritan culture. This poem follows the stages of grief experienced by the author after her house burns down, however, due to the Puritan beliefs, she does not allow herself to completely feel her emotions. Bradstreet describes the aftermath of the fire as “Yea, so it was, and so 'twas just/ It was his own; it was not mine/ Far be it that I should repine”. In layman’s terms, the fire “is what it is”, God gave her all the possessions in the fire, and he has every right to take them away so she should not complain. This exemplifies the Puritans placing importance on God and the lack of attachment they have for worldly possessions, in a world where so many people are materialistic, this characteristic causes the Puritans to stand out among the rest. Furthermore, Bradstreet gives way to the idea that Puritans are simply waiting to be reunited with God, and the quote “Thou hast a house on high erect/ Fram'd by that mighty Architect” supports that. The author is grieving the fire by reminding herself that there is a house in heaven waiting for her. This poem outlines the extremes of Puritanism by highlighting their devotion to God and religion, so much so that they give up experiencing mortal life to the fullest to honor God. The extremities of the culture

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