Both, Anne Bradstreet and Phillis Wheatley were strong female poets of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Bradstreet and Wheatley, both being Puritans, believed in God and often incorporated God within their poems. Bradstreet and Wheatley fill the emptiness in their lives by turning to God. Using their real life situations, adding a personal touch to capture the hearts of their readers, Bradstreet and Wheatley integrate their faith in their poems. When Bradstreet was a child, she suffered a rheumatic fever, leading to recurrent periods of fatigue, which risked death by childbirth eight times. Her husband, Simon Bradstreet, was always involved in the colony’s diplomatic missions, and in 1661 he went to England, adding more responsibilities …show more content…
at home for Bradstreet. However, it is after the burning of her house where Bradstreet encounters Christianity. Bradstreet showed her relationship with God through out her poem, Upon the Burning of Our House. For example, line eight says, “and to my God my heart did cry”, which shows immediately, she was calling out to God. Lines fourteen through seventeen, “I blest His name that gave and took, that laid my goods now in the dust, year, so it was, and so ’twas just, it was His own, it was not mine”, show how Bradstreet is accepting the fact that her house, is in fact, burning down, and what she has belongs to God. Lastly, lines fifty three and fifty four, “the world no longer let me love, my hope and treasure lies above”, reemphasizes how all of her belongings are forever with God. Bradstreet was lucky enough to have a husband who loved her deeply. In fact, Bradstreet wrote a poem about her husband called To My Dear and Loving Husband. Through out this poem, she makes many references to God. In particular, lines nine and ten, “thy love is such I can no way repay, the heavens reward thee manifold, I pray”, are saying that Bradstreet’s husband’s love is powerful to the point that she herself is not capable of “repaying” him, though God can by sending him to heaven. In 1678, Bradstreet writes, For Deliverance From a Fever, which begins with Bradstreet describing her suffering and goes into a calling to God, for she does not have any “evidence” for whether she will be saved or not.
Therefore, she calls upon God asking him to at least save her soul. For example, lines seventeen through twenty say, “o heal my soul, thou know’st I said, though flesh consume to nought, what through in dust it shall be laid, to glory’t shall be brought”. These lines show Bradtsreet’s cry to God to save her soul. Although, Bradstreet receives a blessing and does not die, which is seen from the last eight lines, “thou heard’s, thy rod thou didst remove and spared my body frail, thou show’st to me thy tender loves, my heart no more might quail, o, praises to my mighty God, praise to my Lord, I say, who hath redeemed my soul from pit, praises to him for aye”. A couple important words from that section are “spared” and “redeemed” because these show how God answered her calls to …show more content…
him. Moving on, Phillis Wheatley, another woman poet, though, quite different from Bradstreet, she also shares similar qualities with her. Wheatley was an African American slave, born in Africa, but brought to Boston in 1761, where she was purchased by a wealthy tailor, John Wheatley. However, Phillis was fortunate enough to serve as a companion to John Wheatley’s wife, Susannah, who was sympathetic towards her. Phillis was taught to read and write and became to know the Bible well. After moving in a circle of enlightened Boston Christians, Phillis was able to to write poems that incorporated her faith and it was her poem on the death of the Reverend George Whitefield, that made her famous. What is most interesting about Phillis, is she is not only Puritan, but she is an African American Puritan, which adds to her real life stories, given that she was a slave at the time, who reached out to God and found Christianity to be her faith. Her poem, On Being Brought from Africa to America, is extremely powerful, not only because the reader sees how she feels being a slave, but the reader sees the connection she makes to God. The poem starts out with Phillis telling the reader where she was brought from, and how she taught herself to realize “that there’s a God, that there’s a Savior too” (Line Three). The middle of the poem, shows the hatred that African American’s undergo. For example, lines five and six say, “some view our sable race with scornful eye, “their color is a diabolic dye””. These two lines are commanding and deep, given that “their color is a diabolic dye” is actually written in quotations in the poem. This is most likely referencing a white racist, however it is not directly stated. The ending of the poem is where Phillis makes the strongest connection to God in which she says “Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain, may be refined, and join the angelic train”. This is telling the reader that God’s saving grace stretches out to all Christians, white or black. Phillis writes a poem to students from the University of Cambridge in New England in which she addresses the distinction between herself and the students.
She mentions how she left the native shore, the land of her errors, which is referring to Africa. In comparison, she mentions how theses students are privileged. For example, line ten says, “still more, ye sons of science ye receive”, which is emphasizing the fact that these students receive a great education. Phillis makes reference to God in lines five and six, saying “father of mercy, ’twas thy gracious hand brought me in safety from those dark abodes”. Those “dark abodes” might be referring to the black ship that took her to America were she was
enslaved. Both, Anne Bradstreet and Phillis Wheatley wrote beautiful and powerful poems portraying their lives through their connection with God. They were able to make these references to God clear, by writing about events that happened through out their lives. For example, Bradstreet suffered an almost deadly fever and it was then where her connection with God was more prevalent. She included God and her affiliation to Christianity through out many of her poems including Upon the Burning of Our House, To My Dear and Loving Husband, and For Deliverance From a Fever. In these works, she showed her relationship with God by writing times where she called upon him, especially in, For Deliverance From a Fever. On the other hand, Phillis Wheatley, an African American Puritan, was able to reflect God through out her poems and make a connection to her culture. For instance, in On Being Brought from Africa to America, Phillis tells her readers that all Christian’s, white or black, are in the hand’s of God and his saving grace. Similarly, Bradstreet and Phillis were outstanding female poets of their times, and truly showed their relationship with God, while also explaining sensitive parts of their lives.
Bradstreet compares mankind to nature eventually concluding that the eternal things matter most. Also, Bradstreet, more than Taylor, give us a glimpse into her personal life. She writes her feelings to her husband, ponders future events, reminisces her childhood, and mourns her loss of house and
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
Readers unfamiliar with Phillis Wheatley may wonder of her background and who she was in particular to be able to gain rights to be mentioned in early American literature. Wheatley was born in 1753 and was captured by Africans, and sold to an American family known as the Wheatley’s. She quickly became a member of the Wheatley family, living in the home, and being tutored on reading and writing.
Phillis Wheatley was born in Senegal, West Africa in 1753. She was kidnapped in 1761 at age eight and bought by John Wheatley so she could serve his wife Susan. Due to the fact that Phillis was extremely intelligent and a fast learner Susan did not train her to be her servant. Phillis was taught English, Latin, and Greek, and other subjects including the Bible. She slowly became a part of the Wheatley family. Thanks to the lessons that Phillips received she started writing poems, one of the poems she is known for is “Being Brought from Africa to America.” In this poem Phillis Wheatley uses some poetic devices such as similes, metaphors, hyperboles to illustrate color and darkness, multiple meanings of words, and the relationship between skin tone and salvation.
Phillis Wheatley overcame extreme obstacles, such as racism and sexism, to become one of the most acclaimed poets in the 18th Century. Her works are characterized by religious and moral backgrounds, which are due to the extensive education of religion she received. In this sense, her poems also fit into American Poetry. However, she differs in the way that she is a black woman whose writings tackle greater subjects while incorporating her moral standpoint. By developing her writing, she began speaking out against injustices that she faced and, consequently, gave way to authors such as Gwendolyn Brooks and Countee Cullen.
She writes a letter to husband, almost instructing him on what to do after her death. Unlike other demure housewives of her time, she acknowledges the risk birthing her child brings by saying, “And when thy loss shall be repaid with gains / Look to my little babes, my dear remains” (107). Bradstreet also approaches a taboo subject by acknowledging that her husband might remarry. Bradstreet does not tread lightly on this subject either by writing, “And if thou love thyself, or loved’st me, / These o protect from step Dames injury” (107). In this poem, Bradstreet faces the possibility of not only the loss of her life but the loss of her husband’s love. Bradstreet challenges Puritan beliefs by showing that she will still be concerned with her earthly life after her
Each of Phillis Wheatley’s poems is crafted with a specific purpose in mind. Although her use of heroic couplets stays mostly standard, she does leave room for adaptations that offer some insight into her ultimate purpose. While many of her poems humble her own position, often it is indeed for a specific cause, usually to convey a point she could not have otherwise communicated without fear of chastisement. On the other hand, speaking on religious matters she seems to feel bold enough to elevate her own position to that of an authority figure, giving guidance and hope to those in need of it.
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.
The first lesson Bradstreet learns from the fire occurs when she decides to thank God in the midst of her house burning:
...e from her love to the world. Perhaps, she believed that in this love of her, she became God-like and God thus punishes her. Nevertheless, the presence of God in her poems is more than clear. Perhaps, it was due to religious beliefs that she though that it was wrong to feel too strong feelings to world and she considered herself to be a sinner who deserves punishment. Today, there are few followers of Bradstreet, but she, her ideas and her thoughts about sufferings still remain in modern books.
She caught severe disease after only two years of arriving in America. Her sickness and expectation of death strengthened her faith and made her consider each day as being her last day. After she recovered from her sickness, she believed that to be blessing. Her sickness became a turning point and self realization for Bradstreet. She built a strong foundation for her faith as a Puritan woman and overcame all her doubts about the existence of God and started to seek salvation from God. When her husband was a way for business, she missed him because of her true and deep love for him. Yet his absent and severe physical and emotional feeling created inner conflict between worldly desire and spirituality. Her love for her husband competed with her love for God. But by using her writing, she sustained her faith and overcame her physical
Poets, Edward Taylor and Anne Bradstreet both used poetry to meet expectation in a puritan society. The poets both wrote poetry to express their emotional and spiritual distress without letting society surrounding them in on their struggles. With no intended audience for their poems expressing their grievances, the poets could openly express their emotions and address their god in a private, discreet, manner without facing ridicule from fellow citizens. Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor used several literary devices separately, but together they had many more in common. Among the many shared literary devices were, syntactical shifts, rhetorical questions, imagery, and diction. Throughout both the poets work, a robust amount of commas are used.
This poem features less theological imagery than domestic. Bradstreet uses the words “money,” “ever,” and “love” as symbols to help her readers understand the severity of her love. Instead of mentioning money that we know of, Bradstreet instead replaces them with gold and riches. She also mentions payments to describe her love. By saying she loves her husband more than gold mines and the then unexplored wealth of the East, is using domestic imagery to picture how much worth her love for her husband is (5-6). The metaphor of payment is used in lines 8-10,to represent how relationships are like a transaction. Something must be given in return for something. I feel, in this case, that this transaction is an unequal exchange of love because she says she cannot repay his bountiful love, instead he receives compensation from Heaven (9-10). Line 10 shows theoretical imagery. Bradstreet is saying that God will repay her husband the remaining amounts of love she cannot give. Ever is interpreted in two different ways. In the first four lines, ever means at any time. For example, in line 1 Bradstreet says that if at any time two people can become one, then that would be her and
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.
By reading Bradstreet’s work, a fair sense of what Mrs. Bradstreet was like can be grasped. She clearly stated her opinion of those who objected to her writing: “I am obnoxious to each carping tongue, / Who says my hand a needle better fits.” (Bradstreet,“ The Prologue”155). Bradstreet refused to give up her passion for writing even if it meant going against the opinions of anyone in her colony, including religious leaders. Although Bradstreet referred to herself as being obnoxious, her written works portray an entirely different Bradstreet. She seeks no reward or fame for her writing: “Give thyme or parsley wreath, I ask no bays” (155). Bradstreet seeks no reward for her writing because she doesn’t think her work is very good: “My foolish, broken, blemished Muse so sings” (154). She refers to her writing as her: “ill-formed offspring” (“The Author To Her Book”165). Even after her work is published she is ...