Anne Bradstreet: The Heretical Poet
Greg Saxon
The purpose of this research is to discuss heretical elements in the poetry of Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672). This is not to imply that Bradstreet was a heretic in the sense that American religious reformer Anne Hutchinson was.
Hutchinson (1591-1643) emigrated to Boston in 1634 and preached a doctrine of salvation through intuitive apprehension of grace rather than by works, and attacked the rigid moral and legal codes of New England Puritanism. Anne
Bradstreet accepted the tenets of Puritanism and was a very religious person.
Anti-Puritan themes are, however, to be found in her poetry in terms of her religious doubts, her expression of personal emotions and thoughts, and her artistry. She did not write to preach or teach,, as Puritan writers were instructed to, but to express herself. It is this personal expression that forms the basis of the heretical elements in her poetry.
To understand why personal expression may be considered heretical, the society in which Bradstreet lived and wrote must be examined in order to comprehend what kinds of human activities and behaviors were acceptable and how
Bradstreet deviated from these behaviors.
Bradstreet was not truly unorthodox in that she did not dissent from accepted beliefs and doctrine. She was a woman of the 17th Century and lived in a male dominated, intensely religious society. She lived within the limitations not only of the beliefs and standards of her society, but of her sex. A woman's place was definitely in the home in Colonial America. The experiences of women were considered narrow and trivial in comparison with men's.
Puritanism was more than a religious belief; it was a way of life. "In the dozen years before 1640, some 15,000 Englishmen crossed the Atlantic in order to establish a 'Holy Commonwealth' in which that way of life could flourish"(Hall 1).
The Puritans were a party in the Church of England that arose in
Elizabeth's reign with the purpose of carrying out the Protestant reformation, and to base the Church of England on the foundation of the scriptures. Aside from a literal belief in the Bible, Puritans wholly accepted the doctrines of
John Calvin and his stern legalistic theology. The Puritans held that religion should permeate every phase of living. The purpose of life was to do God's will; everything else was subordinate to this basic doctrine.
The Colony set up by the English Puritans was essentially an experiment in Christian living. Religion and earning a living were the two priorities of the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In contrast to the Pilgrims, they were well-off and well-educated men, many of whom were professionals and
By the end of the semester, the final project should be fully completed and completed to the best of the entire team’s ability. We should have been working together for enough time that we are able to understand each other’s thoughts and have no fear to voice our ideas and opinions. As a team, we should be nearing the adjourning stage, where we no longer need to work together because all of our work has been completed. This is most desirable stage because it means that as a team we have successfully accomplished everything that we had to do. In order to to achieve this stage of team development, there are some actions we can implement. One action we can do is creating a to do list of everything that needs to be done. If we create a list that tells us our exact tasks, we can check them off one by one until we have finished them all. Another action we can implement is putting someone in charge of the group. Having a leader who make sure the group is staying on task will help us get things done quicker. Using these actions, we will be able to reach the adjourning stage of team development and finish the project to the best of our
paved the way for religious freedom. She was a great leader in the cause for
Salem citizens in general were afraid of all ungodly things with their Puritan views. They had no trouble believing that, because Parris had called Reverend Hale, (known for his studies in demonic arts), there must truly be witchcraft within the town. The play progresses and certain characters begin to develop: here is a community full of underlying personal grudges. Religion pervades every aspect of life, 'A man may think that God sleeps, but God sees everything, I know it now.'; but it is a religion that lacks the ritual of confession. Here and throughout the play we see how this affects John Proctor, a man so proud of his name that guilt eats at his very heart, as he will not let out his secret pain in a vain attempt to keep his integrity.
Anne Bradstreet’s poetry resembles a quiet pond. Her quiet puritan thinking acts as the calm surface that bears a resemblance to her natural values and religious beliefs. Underneath the pond there is an abundance of activity comparable to her becoming the first notable poet in American Literature. Anne Bradstreet did not obtain the first notable poet’s title very easily; she endured sickness, lack of food, and primitive living conditions during her time in the New World. Despite these misfortunes she used her emotions and strong educational background to write extraordinarily well for a woman in that time.
Nussbaum tackles this issue by questioning whether that woman in another culture (and in regards to that cultures norms) “upon due consideration, and with the full range of capabilities at her disposal, she makes that norm her own.” When humans are provided with the right educational and material support, they can become fully capable of major human functions. The capability approach questions if a women possesses the capabilities. If so, and she still clings to a tradition that we may see as wrong or hurtful, then we must let her live that
the gods. She believed that the law of the gods, which dictates that a body be given
understand what she felt about her life and her family, since her views differed from the
Tucker, Ruth A. "Mother Teresa." Christian History 19.1 (2000): 20. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.
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