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.
The religion was a big part in the puritan’s belief system. Puritans believed that beings like the devil, angels, God, and of course witches. The puritans believed that the Devil would possess a normal being and turn them into and trouble seeking witch, as shown in the Background Essay. The first accused witch was Bridget Bishop, as show in Document C. The “afflicted” girls would act bewitched by her, as proven in Document D.
Puritans brought along their own religious practices which were still protected. This sort of situation gives opportunity for influence or in a philosophical way a possible infection in their way of life. The Puritans strict rules and lifestyle, fear of an angry God that communicated through divine providences or events that occurred, and their failure to abide to the high expectations that they burdened themselves,
Puritans thought that the Devil was about as real as God is. It is said that they believed Satan would select the weakest out of them all, which was mostly women, children, the insane and punish them. The ones that followed Satan were considered witches. This was one of the greatest crimes say the Puritans. These kind of things truly shape how the religion is now.
Anne Bradstreet through several of her poems does not show true Puritan beliefs. In “Verses Upon the Burning of our House”, Bradstreet is caught in the internal conflict between her faith and accepting the loss of her earthly possessions. She used personification to state that her heart “cried” to God not to leave her helpless but it delivers the idea that she only prays to him when she is in need (8). All the luxuries that Puritans have are given by God’s grace and belong to him. Anne is a materialistic person because she says, “When by the ruins oft I past, my sorrowing eyes aside did cast, and here and there the places spy, where oft I sate and long did lie” (21), thus she is still sorrowing about losing her things even though she knows
They believed everything was a result of god’s grace. In order to gain salvation one must be entirely good and always stay in god’s favor, as god is the supreme ruler while human beings are all sinners. Puritans also held the bible in the highest regard, in
To add, Puritans were fundamentalists; they believed that every word in the Bible was the true word of God. For example, they hung witches because they believed that was what God had wanted. Exodus 22:18, King James’s version of the Bible, the scripture Puritans read and lived by, includes the quote, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” The quote was interpreted literally by the Puritans leading them to want to hang all alleged witches. Moreover, Puritans also strongly believed in Satan and believed that the devil could unwillingly enter the body of a weak-willed person leading them to become a witch.
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.
Theodore Roosevelt Of all the presidents to lead the United States, Theodore Roosevelt was one of the most important and influential ones in history. He emphasized development and peace for the country. Development for the country came through national services and safety acts President Theodore Roosevelt put into place. He also brought peace for America as he was a good negotiator during times of protest and war. There is some opposition that Theodore Roosevelt was not one of the most important and influential presidents, saying that some of his actions throughout his presidency did not help the country.
As one of the most renowned writers of the 17th century, Anne Bradstreet exemplified the major influence of the puritan religion in Early American literature. Intriguingly, in some of her poems, Bradstreet struggled between her own human needs/individualistic wants and her puritan codes of belief. In her poem, “Before the Birth of One of Her Children”, Bradstreet recognizes God’s power over death as she refrains from resenting what is in God’s control as she speaks to her husband about her possible death. However, she shows how helpless she is when she tries to hold to her puritan codes yet reverts back to her selfish and individualistic feelings. “If any worth or virtue were in me, let that live freshly in thy memory…
Both Bradstreet and Edwards are puritan writers, they are both believe in a higher more powerful God. In their writings “Upon the Burning of Our House”, by Anne Bradstreet and “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, by Jonathan Edwards they both talk about the higher being of God. They both are powerful writers and have a way of getting their points across, but they do it differently. They are both great writers and even though they have different religious views and different writing styles both of their poems, “Upon the Burning of Our House” by Anne Bradstreet and “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards, have the same goal of converting people.
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.
She now fully understands where her treasure lies and how the things of this earth are in no way comparable to the life that eternity has to offer. In the world today, many people have this same mentality: that earthly treasures are more important than those of eternal value. People in today’s world value many things that will have no value to them at the end of their life and unfortunately, it usually takes some drastic event, like Bradstreet’s house fire, to understand the true value of Eternity. People can still learn from Bradstreet’s discovery, that the things of this earth are of very little worth compared to sharing eternity with the
In “Verses Upon the Burning of our House”, Anne Bradstreet expresses a common example of trust from human relation towards our creator, God. She is confused and also finds it difficult to accept his sacred will. As a loyal Puritan, she manifests her devotion to God, as a way of being a good worker and also trusting on His will; which promised future and great prizes. The poem is made up of a series of rhyming couplets. This poetic pattern reveals pressure between her attachments to earthly things, displayed by her “house” and her recognition that she is supposed to leave her ties and worship the Lord, displayed by this “Holy Architect”.
Simplicity and Religion All renowned Puritan writers maintain a plain style and emphasize a higher purpose within their literature. This relates directly to their religion because Puritans, along with other Protestants, believed that the Catholic Church featured too much wealth and an unjust hierarchy, so they lived quite simply. They had no central religious leaders and did not wear fancy clothing. Their simplicity in living was reflected in their literature; they wrote straightforward sentences that could be comprehended easily without bringing extra attention to the writer.
