Spirituality and its Domestic Portrayal: Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor

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Spirituality and its Domestic Portrayal: Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor
The views on domestic life is not consistent in the early modern period, primarily due to the inner religious struggle that many people faced. Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor were born 30 years apart and their views on domestic life and God are seemingly contrasting. Anne Bradstreet has more of negative view on life and due to the fact that she was a woman, her thoughts weren’t valued very much. Conversely, Edward Taylor focuses more on the positive side of life, no matter what the situation is.
Anne Bradstreet, “In Reference to Her Children, 23 June 1659”, describes eight birds and their departure from her nest and expresses her feelings about their absence. Bradstreet uses the bird metaphor throughout the entire poem, even going so far as to illustrate their “flights.” Her eldest son the “chief of the brood” (Bradstreet 7) was the first to leave the nest. There is a gloomy tone interlaced in the poem, however on one hand, she is happy that they have moved on with their lives, but on the other hand, she expresses grief form being away from them. Bradstreet explores this complexity of being happy and sad with her children’s lives and how they’ve grown up. She speaks on her fears, such as them being caught by a hawk, hit with a stone, or caught in a net. This in correlation to real life might be attacked by Native Americans, murdered, or captured. Bradstreet even felt, as all mothers do, that her children would not see the perils and the dangerous encounters of life that would most likely occur. In addition to the fears for her children, Bradstreet touches on the fact that she’ll be singing with the angels soon, which implies that she feels that she is cl...

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...f depth and intimacy in his relationship with God, whereas Anne Bradstreet was not as adamant about displaying her faith. In the puritan community, women were socially accepted as the inferior sex, so it is understandable that she was the way she is. On the other hand, Bradstreet tries to tell herself that it is in God’s will, when something tragic happens, in her life. She is a devout believer in God but due to circumstances, she is discouraged from sharing her thoughts about conflicts she has with God’s actions and the things that take place in her life.

Works Cited

Taylor, Edward. "Huswifery." The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 8th ed. Vol. A. New York: W. W. Norton &, 2012. 305-06. Print
Taylor, Edward. "Upon Wedlock, and Death of Children." The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 8th ed. Vol. A. New York: W. W. Norton &, 2012. 303-04. Print.

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