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Puritan influence in america
The influence of puritanism on american culture
Influence of puritans on america
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In Puritan literature history, Puritans were believed to be simple and temperate people who believed in God profoundly. While the poet Anne Bradstreet fits this description, the pastor Jonathan Edwards on the contrary is the exact opposite. Anne Bradstreet’s writings give an incite to what her life was like back then. She often wrote about her family, religion, and the hardships in colonial America. Jonathan Edwards on the other hand was a puritan pastor who was influential in his time because of his ability to provoke fear into others as a way for them to be converted into the puritan faith. Added to their different personalities the two well-known authors had contrasting religious views and writing techniques as well.
Although both Bradstreet
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and Edwards were both Puritans they had different views on how a Puritan should live out their faith. Bradstreet was a calm, solemn, Puritan author who believed that people should view God as an accepting and magnanimous person. In her writing “Upon the Burning of our House” in the third stanza Bradstreet says; “And when I could no longer look, / I blessed His name that gave and took, / yea, so it was, and so ‘twas just. / It was His own, it was not mine, / Far it be I should repine,”(lines 13-18). This quote taken from Bradstreet’s poem depicts God to be almighty, yet humble. She uses an allusion to the Bible saying; “The lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord,” (Job 1:21). She used this allusion to the Bible to show that God has possession over the things he will give others; so what he gives, he can take away but people should still honor him under all circumstances. On the flip side to Bradstreet’s influence of Puritan faith as being an unpretentious, and tranquil religion; Edwards tries to induce others to follow in Puritan faith through fear and intimidation. In Edwards’ sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” he proclaims that “Thus all you that never passed under a great change of heart, by the mighty power of the Spirit God upon your Souls; all you that never born again, and made new creatures, and raised from being dead in sin, to a state of new, and before altogether unexperienced are in the hands of an angry God,” (pg. 126). Edwards depicts God to be an almighty, vengeful person who is ready to send sinners to hell. In the excerpt from the sermon he believes that Puritans need to be born again for them not to be in the hands of an angry God. Granting both Bradstreet and Edwards were both Puritans, they had opposing outlooks on how God should be portrayed. Bradstreet depicts God to be a humble, impartial person whereas Edwards depicts God to be a hateful, antagonized person. In addition to their differing religious views the two authors had different techniques in their writing as well. Just like their differences in religious views Bradstreet and Edwards also share different writing styles as well.
In Bradstreet's writings she perceives herself to be very approachable and level headed. In an excerpt from her poem “To My Dear and Loving Husband Bradstreet” says; “If ever two were one, then surely we, / If ever man were loved by wife, then thee; / If ever wife was happy in a man, / Compare me, ye women, if you can,” (lines 1-4). In this piece Bradstreet is expressing her love for her husband. She says that if any couple were to be married then they surely would, and no other woman can love her husband as much as she loves hers. Bradstreet has an affable approach to her writing while Edwards, on the other hand has a harsh and profound approach in his writing technique. In a fragment from the sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” Edwards proclaims this, “Oh sinner! Consider the fearful danger you are in: it is a great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless pit, full of the fire of wrath, that you are held over in the hand of that God, whose wrath is provoked and incensed as much against you, as against the many of the damned in hell,” (pg. 128). Edwards is trying to inform people of the danger that they are in. That they are in the hands of a God who enraged with then and who is more than ready to drop them into the flames of hell. Edwards’ writings are filled with rage and unsettling tones. Although both authors had very opposing writing tactics they were both very influential
writers. Despite the fact that Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards couldn’t be more different they both had effective ways of spreading their ideas. Bradstreet spread her ideas through writing elaborate, moving poems about her life. Edwards, on the contrary, was an effective persuasive writer because of his forceful, dreadful sermons/writings. The importance of these two authors is immense. Without them, literature that is present today wouldn’t be as emotionally deep, or as persuasive. Admitting that Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards would despise each other if they ever met, they were both crucial people in american literature history.
One of the most cherished doctrines of the Puritans is the well-known weaned affections. From a Puritan perspective, people must learn to wean their way off of “Earthy possessions” in order to dedicate their attention on God. Puritans were preoccupied with the belief that if people invested themselves in Earthy distraction including relationships, they would struggle to find everlasting-spiritual beauty. In both “The Author to Her Book” by Anne Bradstreet as well as the “Prologue” by Edward Taylor, the authors portray themselves in a struggle to be weaned from their affections.
In the sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards, he preached about a stricter Calvinist theology of Puritanism. Edwards delivered it at the Massachusetts congregation on July 8, 1741. He blatantly uses rhetorical strategies to instill fear into his audience if they are to continue to not be active Puritans in religion. Edwards uses polysyndeton, harsh diction and tone, and the appeal to emotion along with the use of semicolons to develop his message.
In the 1700’s the Puritans left England for the fear of being persecuted. They moved to America for religious freedom. The Puritans lived from God’s laws. They did not depend as much on material things, and they had a simpler and conservative life. More than a hundred years later, the Puritan’s belief toward their church started to fade away. Some Puritans were not able to recognize their religion any longer, they felt that their congregations had grown too self-satisfied. They left their congregations, and their devotion to God gradually faded away. To rekindle the fervor that the early Puritans had, Jonathan Edwards and other Puritan ministers led a religious revival through New England. Edwards preached intense sermons that awakened his congregation to an awareness of their sins. With Edwards’ sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” he persuades the Puritans to convert back to Puritanism, by utilizing rhetorical strategies such as, imagery, loaded diction, and a threatening and fearful tone.
Anne Bradstreet was a Puritan and wrote her religious faith about God. When Bradstreet was used to the Puritan culture she felt like God didn’t guide her through her struggles and she started to questioned God existence and as a Puritan’s religious belief was to always accept God. The letter, “To My Dear Children” was from Bradstreet to her children about her relationship with God. The summary of the letter is Bradstreet accepted the Puritan culture when she was about sixteen years old coming to America. After she was married she started to observe God and questioned him because she felt sickness and pain and hoped God would lift her up the light on her. Bradstreet also questions her afterlife with a quote, “And could I have been in heaven without the love of God, it would had been hell to me, for in truth it is the absence and presence of God that makes heaven or hell.” This quote can be pertained in today’s world because it’s
First, both of the main speakers within each of the following Puritan literary works were ministers during the 1700s, which was around the time of the Puritans. These works were also written within third person point of view. Now, both of these ministers then express their concerns for their congregation
Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards lived during a period in time where religion was the basis and foundation of everyday life. Bradstreet and Edwards were both raised in prominent, wealthy, and educated families. Both were extremely intelligent and shared similar religious beliefs. However, the way in which each of them brought forth those beliefs was vastly different.
Women have faced oppression in the literary community throughout history. Whether they are seen as hysterical or unreliable, women writers seem to be faulted no matter the topics of their literature. However, Anne Bradstreet and Margaret Fuller faced their critics head-on. Whether it was Bradstreet questioning her religion or Fuller discussing gender fluidity, these two women did not water down their opinions to please others. Through their writings, Bradstreet and Fuller made great strides for not just women writers, but all women.
Bradstreet also made it appoint to compare the sudden death of her grandchild to nature stating, “But plants new set to be eradicate, / And buds new blown to have so short a date, / Is by His hands alone that guides nature and fate”( lines 12-14). Conversely, Edward describes his loss of his child as a honor from God. Taylor states, “ Lord take’t. I thank Thee, Thou tak’st ought of mine: / It is my pledge in glory, part of me / Is now in it, Lord glorified with Thee” revealing his honor to have his child sitting with the lord (Edward lines 28-30). Both authors took their faith into great consideration when speaking of the loss of a family
Anne Bradstreet, Jonathan Edwards and Arthur Miller were authors of Puritan writing that all contained one major object, the Bible. Jonathan Edwards, the writer of “Sinners in the hands of an angry God” spoke of the audience being damned for not turning in the path of the Lord. The Crucible by Arthur Miller was over adultery, Witchcraft and discussed God. Anne Bradstreet’s poems, “To My Dear and Loving Husband” and “Upon the Burning of our House” discussed how worldly things do not matter, and that the love she has with her husband and her Lord are whats important. The three authors are very similar, they all speak of God and use biblical illusions in their writings and teachings, giving them all similar characteristics.
Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor are two of the most recognizable poets from early American History; they were also both American Puritans, who changed the world with their poetry. We can see many similarities in their poetry when it comes to the importance of religion and also on having children and losing children. There are however differences in the audience of their poetry and their personal views on marriage. Bradstreet and Taylor both came over to America in the 17th century and settled in New England. Though Taylor came years later we can see the similarities through their poetry.
Religion was the foundation of the early Colonial American Puritan writings. Many of the early settlements were comprised of men and women who fled Europe in the face of persecution to come to a new land and worship according to their own will. Their beliefs were stalwartly rooted in the fact that God should be involved with all facets of their lives and constantly worshiped. These Puritans writings focused on their religious foundations related to their exodus from Europe and religions role in their life on the new continent. Their literature helped to proselytize the message of God and focused on hard work and strict adherence to religious principles, thus avoiding eternal damnation. These main themes are evident in the writings of Jonathan Edwards, Cotton Mathers, and John Winthrop. This paper will explore the writings of these three men and how their religious views shaped their literary works, styles, and their historical and political views.
After reading Anne Bradstreet’s poems I liked “Before the Birth of One of Her Children” the most. In this poem Bradstreet is writing about the possibility of death after she gives birth to her children. During this time period 1 out of every 3 women die during childbirth. This poem was addressed to her husband as she goes on to say that if she does die that he remember everything positive about her. She even says that he must protect their children from a “step mother injury” and constantly remind them of their mother. Anne goes on to describe the possibility of this tragedy could happen to her. If this does happen to her she wants her husband to kiss the poem to symbolize kissing her after she is gone.
“I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold/Or all the riches that the East doth hold” (pg. 116 line 5-6). She wrote her feelings about her husband to express her love for him she didn’t know that they would be published. They make her look like kind of a bad puritan for putting her husband over God. Edwards wrote this sermon to persuade a group Puritans that God chooses your fate and you can’t control it. “And there is no other reason to be/given, why you have not dropped into hell since you arose in the morning, but/that God’s hand has held you up” (pg. 127 line 50-61). He persuades the people at his church that God will do whatever he wants with you, he defines your life. They both believed that God chooses what happens in your life Bradstreet chose to believe that God would help you out in the end, Edwards believed that God chooses your fate and he does what’s right whether it helps you or
Anne Bradstreet starts off her letter with a short poem that presents insight as to what to expect in “To My Dear Children” when she says “here you may find/ what was in your living mother’s mind” (Bradstreet 161). This is the first sign she gives that her letter contains not just a mere retelling of adolescent events, but an introspection of her own life. She writes this at a very turbulent point in history for a devout Puritan. She lived during the migration of Puritans to America to escape the persecution of the Catholic Church and also through the fragmentation of the Puritans into different sects when people began to question the Puritan faith.
Up until the early 17th century, American literature was chiefly about politics, religion, and recorded events. These writings were very dry and lacked insight into the everyday lives of the authors. To put into writing any individual spiritual reflections that strayed away from the religion of the colony could be dangerous at that time; possibly resulting in banishment from the colony or worse. Likewise, any writing that did not serve at least one of the purposes listed above was considered to be a waste of time that would be better spent praising God. Anne Bradstreet defied the rules of her time by writing about whatever she wanted including personal thoughts, reflections, emotions, and events. Bradstreet was the first to write about personal matters, which is her greatest literary contribution in early American literature.