Anne Bradstreet's The Flesh And The Spirit

750 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Puritan ideologies in anne bradstreet's poetry

The Flesh and Spirit Sisters

Anne Bradstreet is an incredible Puritan writer who always stays dedicated to her Puritan beliefs. She would include biblical references and spiritual ideals into her works of poetry of love. Anne Bradstreet published “ The Flesh and the Spirit” 1650, focuses on the internal conflicts in which many puritans faced at this time in history. “Flesh” and “Spirit” always have conflicts with each other they always fight but “spirit” always has the last word. This strengthens her faith because it shows how your redeemed self is strong enough to withhold the temptations of your sinful self. The writings to her husband could be seen, as a type of rebellion is she did not mention the “Spirit” who neglects all “fleshes” tries to persuade her to sin. Bradstreet expresses love for god and her …show more content…

In the poem “The Flesh and the Spirit” the two disasters argue, “Flesh try’s to convince her sister to partake in earths temptations. “Spirit” fights her off and tells her sister that she is “unregenerate.” (Line 35) The spirit in puritan beliefs always gets the last word on here sister, this strengthens Anne’s faith by showing how no matter what the spirit of man can always overcome the temptations of the world that they are surrounded by. The “Spirit” stays true to God, no matter what happens between her and “Flesh” she gives thanks to the lord she says “for glory doth from god proceed” (Bradstreet Line 98), She is giving all her glory to God, Anne uses this as a metaphor to show no matter what she does and however much temptation she will go through, she will always put her faith in God. Anne uses the Metaphors of “Flesh” and “Spirit” to show her faith for the Lord and she lives by that faith trying to never let the sins of her “Flesh” get the best of her but even though she does have strong faith you can also feel a sense of

Show More
Related

  • Comparing Anne Bradstreet, Thomas Paine, And Phillis Wheatley

    1905 Words  | 4 Pages

    One of her earlier works is a poem Upon a Fit of Sickness “outlines the traditional concerns of the Puritans- the brevity of life, the certainty of death and hope for salvation.” (Martin 2013). It was written in the first person "artfully composed in a ballad meter; this poem presents a formulaic account of the transience of earthly experience which underscores the divine imperative to carry out God’s will” (Martin 2013). “My race is run, my thread is spun, lo here is fated death.” (Bradstreet "Upon a Fit of Sickness"). This line to me is talking about how her life has come to an end and no longer needs to be in the race called life. Also that her “thread” has already been made into something and now her time has come to die. During the time Upon a Fit of Sickness was written two major events were going on. The first was the Protestant Reformation and the second was the Mayflower landing in the New world, and more people were wanting and traveling to the New world for a better life. “For Adam’s sake, this word God spake when he so high provoked” (Bradstreet "Upon a Fit of Sickness"). That line can be interpreted as even Adam one of God’s first human creations could even provoke God then so could she and everyone else. Anne Bradstreet was also very religious, and many of her works had references to God or her religion in a

    Read More

  • How Does Anne Bradstreet Need To Be Weaned Affections?

    1277 Words  | 3 Pages

    Anne Bradstreet’s inability to perfect her work before it was released frustrated her to the point where she internalizes the book’s imperfections as a reflection of herself. Bradstreet uses an extended metaphor of a mother and a child to compare the relationship between herself as the author and her book. Rather than investing her spirit in God, she repeatedly focuses on trying to improve the quality of her writing with no success, “I washed thy face, but more defects I saw” (Bradstreet 13). Like a mother protecting her child, Bradstreet’s attempts to prevent critics from negatively analyzing her work of art (20). Her continuous obsession about people’s opinions consumed in the Earthly world and essentially distracted her from developing a spiritual relationship with God. Bradstreet was enveloped by her dissatisfaction with her to the point of ridiculing herself, “Thou ill-formed offspring of my feeble mind” (1). It was obvious that her mind and spiritual

    Read More

  • Comparing and Contrasting the Beliefs of Jonathon Edward and Anne Bradstreet

    660 Words  | 2 Pages

    Bradstreet was a Puritan and was therefore raised with a simplistic view of the world. This, combined with the fact that she was a woman, carried over into her way of writing. Her writing style was not eloquent but plain, humble, and pleasant to read. Her poems dealt with topics such as faith, family, and adversity and were easy to understand. Bradstreet had great faith which she gained through the experiences she encountered in life.

    Read More

  • Biography of Anne Hutchinson

    3755 Words  | 8 Pages

    Anne Hutchinson's efforts, according to some viewpoints, may have been a failure, but they revealed in unmistakable manner the emotional starvation of Puritan womanhood. Women, saddened by their hardships, depressed by their religion, denied an open love for beauty...flocked with eagerness to hear this feminine radical...a very little listening seems to have convinced them that this woman understood the female heart far better than did John Cotton of any other male pastor of the settlements. (C. Holliday, pps. 45-46.)

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Anne Bradstreet And Upon Wedlock And The Death Of Her Children

    747 Words  | 2 Pages

    The components of marriage, family and loss has played a big role in Anne Bradstreet’s writing of “Before the birth of One of Her Children”, “In Memory of Dear Grandchild Elizabeth Bradstreet”, and Edward Taylor’s “Upon Wedlock and the Death of Children.” In, these writings both authors Puritan culture and their faith plays a big role. In these poems one author starts questioning their God and the other to take honor in their God throughout their grieving process, while both showing different aspects of their everlasting union with their spouse, and the love for their children.

    Read More

  • Caring for Children

    931 Words  | 2 Pages

    Anne Bradstreet loves her children so much because she raised them all with pain and care. Bradstreet often talks about her children loving people, and people loving them, “And with her mate flew out of sight” (14) and out of her reach so she can not watch over them. Bradstreet’s strong Puritan heritage gives her unquestionable belief that God is watching over her children for her, and her children are watching for God. With this relationship between her and God, Anne Bradstreet accepts the departure of her children. In this poem Anne Bradstreet talks about success, “Coupled with mate loving and true” (23) this is Bradstreet’s idea of success for her children in this poem. Anne Bradstreet’s idea of success is so much more than just this line, in the fact that she wants her children to be educated, and live good productive Christian lives. All of these things are implied in the poem as simple as finding a mate and “flying” off.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Jonathan Edwards And Anne Bradstreet

    1340 Words  | 3 Pages

    Unlike Jonathan Edwards, Anne Bradstreet did not write to preach or teach. She wrote on a personal level about such things as the birth and the death of both her own children and her grad children. She also wrote about her own illnesses and misfortunes. Bradstreet and Edwards both wrote mainly about God, but Edwards wrote about God 's power and strength while Bradstreet focused on God 's mercy and everlasting grace. Bradstreet writings are based primarily on her religion her children, and her husband. When Bradstreet wrote about her husband and how much they are in love she was not only saying how much

    Read More

  • Analysis of Upon the Burning of Our House by Anne Bradstreet

    337 Words  | 1 Pages

    Anne Bradstreet, whom most critics consider America’s first “authentic poet”, was born and raised as a Puritan. Bradstreet married her husband Simon at the tender age of eighteen. She wrote her poems while rearing eight children and performing other domestic duties. In her poem “Upon The Burning Of Our House, July 10th, 1666”, Bradstreet tells of three valuable lessons she learned from the fire that destroyed her home.

    Read More

  • Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown - The Puritans and Love

    1132 Words  | 3 Pages

    The problem we find in this story, and in puritanism, is that it presents contrasting views of love. Attachment to earthly possessions, to other people in fact, is discouraged, because everything physical leads to temptation and damnation, and ultimately hell, while the road to salvation of the individual wanders through a spiritual discipline, rigour, austerity. A man should not love his wife more than he loves God; in fact, it is recommended that he not derive pleasure from his wife, but rather seek suffering, in order to redeem himself from his earthly condition, his impure state.

    Read More

  • Anne Bradstreet and Her Feelings Toward Men

    1530 Words  | 4 Pages

    Growing up in the early 1600's was a tough time for many people, especially women. Women were very much discriminated against and made to fulfill the duties that were in the household and nothing else beyond that. Anne Bradstreet was a woman that grew up during this time as a Puritan. Puritans believed that humans could only achieve goodness if they worked hard, were self-disciplined, and constantly examining themselves to make sure that they were living their lives for God. Due to this way of looking at life, Anne Bradstreet had little time for writing her poetry. Being a mother of eight children and a devoted wife one would think that Bradstreet wasn't carrying out her duties to her family and God if she was busy writing poetry. Therefore if people knew that she was writing this poetry she would not want them to think less of her so she would write it in a happy and family oriented sense showing how devoted she was to her family through her poetry. That is why Bradstreet writes how she does in the poem To My Dear and Loving Husband. She writes as if to portray that she has a great relationship with her husband and God. Although from her other poem, Prologue, one can see that underneath she truly feels betrayed by the men in her life and by men in general.

    Read More

  • Anne Bradstreet Biography

    579 Words  | 2 Pages

    Bradstreet’s poetry is fully religious. Being a pious woman, as everyone was at that time period, she wrote poems claiming high morals and religious motifs. Her writings were very popular among puritans who started colonizing America. His Puritan belief was the reason of her special attitude to her life, soul and sufferings. “She thought that God was so hard on her because her soul was too in love with the world. She also wrote some poems where she asked God to watch over her children and husband” (Gonzalez, 2000).

    Read More

  • Pacified Progressivism

    769 Words  | 2 Pages

    Anne Bradstreet is often praised as being one of the first feminist voices in colonial America which, perhaps, is misleading. Her poetry adhered to the standard themes and styles of her male contemporaries, glorifying male-dominated society and never questioning the authority of the men that controlled her life both personally and spiritually. She was content to be the property of her father, husband, and Puritan society as a whole. However, because she worked within the confines of the Puritan era's gender roles and literary techniques, Anne Bradstreet was able to shed light on the oft overlooked existence of women within the society.

    Read More

  • An Annotation of Anne Bradstreet's In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Elizabeth Bradstreet

    712 Words  | 2 Pages

    This declaration continues when Bradstreet describes her as a "fair flower that for a space was lent." In using the word "lent," it sounds as though the girl was robbed of the fullness of life and never had the opportunity to live. But who decides who gets to live? God. What Bradstreet is really saying is that God didn't let her granddaughter live, and, resultantly, she is marking his decision as a mistake by complaining about it. This is not characteristic for one of such alleged concrete beliefs in God.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Anne Bradstreet To My Dear Children

    1550 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Anne Bradstreet's Contribution to American Literature

    992 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about Anne Bradstreet's The Flesh And The Spirit

Open Document