Michael Wigglesworth Analysis

Michael Wigglesworth writes his poem on the view of the New England colony religiously furthermore how God is inspecting them. He starts by showing his viewpoint as a minister and stating that more people should be following him for the love of the all mighty. As it goes on you see how people are just not caring as much as they once did. Throughout Wigglesworth ends almost all the stanza with a question in a way to make it that there is no better way then God. For the most part saying that if you answer it in a way other then God you are wrong. He then ends the poem with a cry for help that if these people don’t change then there will be no hope for New England. Its like Wigglesworth is also pleading with God that he will keep faith and not to be unhappy with his new home.

Wigglesworth poem demonstrates the Puritan idea of declension. At the start everything seems worthy and holily in New England. As the poem continues it

becomes less holily while sin is growing. The New England people become more interested with farming and less about church. Wigglesworth closes with the fear of God having a judgment day because of the sin the colony has been living with. As the poem shows, society was from Wigglesworth point of view declining, it once was good and all about God but as time when on it slowly fell into more and more sin. Being a minister in a new land and already seeing declension in society, lead him to think that God had a controversy with the colony.
Wigglesworth believes that God had a controversy with the New England colony because the men care more about the riches of the land.

This is a very different approach to the new land. Other counties that have been coming over to the New Land like Spain and France have only been worried about converting all the native people and less about graining land and money. The first settlers of New England came for the religious freedom and to show England how religion should be. However as the years rolled on and the children have grown Wigglesworth claims that the now grown children have rebelled against there fathers. That New England has turned upside down, that the people have created this upon themselves with pride and shamelessness. The people are wanting to much and not being thankful for what they do have. Wigglesworth worries that they have created a sinful land and that God is going to be angry at the colony. He believes that God is about to make judgment on there land. He thinks that they must change and do it fast or they will be in for

it.
Wigglesworth writes this poem to inform and scary the New England colonist that in his mind society is declining and that God has a controversy. He wants to make people thing they are going to be a judgment day soon and they need to change their ways. Which will hopefully make more people go to church and be more Puritan. Since there is a problem of to many people starting to care more about their homes and farms then God and the Puritan church. This was a very crucial time for religion in England and in the new world as it was transforming into other religion. For a minister in the new world it was very important to keep our religion growing thus making Wigglesworth in need to get people to keep believing and being apart of the Puritan religion.