ANNE BRADSTREET

1.„Here Follows Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House June 10th 1666”

- najsilniejszy przejaw buntu wobec doktryny. Pewnej nocy dom, w którym mieszkała Anne spłonął zupełnie. Gdyby pisał ten wiersz purytanin wierny doktrynie, stwierdziliby, że był to znak Bożej Opatrzności, tak miało być. Purytanin zastanawiałby się: może był to obraz piekła, które mnie czeka, znak, żebym się nawrócił. Anne natomiast pisze, że jest jej strasznie żal wszystkiego, co tam straciła. Zdaje sobie ona sprawę, że powinna powiedzieć: tak się miało stać, jednak nie potrafi. Ciekawe jest, to, że zabrała ze sobą z domu swoje wiersze. Właśnie poezję ocaliła przed pożarem -stąd mówi się, że miała dużą samoświadomość siebie jako poetki.

Bradstreet delineates (szkicowac) perfectly the greed of materialistic possessions in contrast to the desire of after-life faith.

I think everyone should have the attitude of Anne Bradstreet, especially when something so hard as having your house and all your possessions burned down happens.
It shows her faith and the attitude Christ calls for.

Anne Bradstreet was a puritan women, talking about her new life in the Massachusetts bay colony and her house really did burn down. the poem reflects much of her puritan background-she refers to god a lot during the piece. and also talks about having to leave her old positions behind, maybe talking metaphorically because her family moved away from England or maybe just because her house burned down all her possession were gone. Also reminds me of the enlightenment(oświecenie), because people during that time were more concerned with the after life and heaven, then living on earth, maybe she wanted to die?

The poem “ Upon the Burning Of Our House, July 10th, 1666” by Anne Bradstreet is a poem about her house burning down. During the beginning of the poem she talks about her belongings that she lost and the things she would never do again, then towards the end she talks about how the incident brought her closer to God. Anne Bradstreet shows how living through a struggle, such as having your house burn down can bring you closer to God.
     

2. ON my dear grandchild Simon Bradstreet, who died on 16 November, 1669, being but a month, and one day old

In the poem "On my dear grandchild Simon Bradstreet," by Anne Bradstreet she describes her feelings upon her grandchild's death. We know that the child dies, possibly in his sleep because it is in the full title of the poem as well as the first two lines of the poem referencing death. ".... but gone, and fall'n asleep,". The child died at a young age and the Bradstreets only got to know him for a short time, ( " Acquaintance short...") but were still very sad when he passed away (" Yet parting caused us weep). Bradstreet has also lost other grandchildren. She compares the children to flowers and compares there contrast in age by how far along the flower has bloomed. " Three flowers, two scarcely blown, the last I' th' bud,..). She believes in God and believes that he has cut the childrends lives short, and says "yet is he good". Almost questioning. She believes it was Gods will but wants to question why but is wise not to question the higher power. (Such was his will, but why, let's not dispute, with humble hearts and mouths put in the dust,...). I believe Bradstrret was saying there may be things you want to question but you do not question God's will. Instead praise him," let's say he is merciful and just." The last few lines of the poem are saying the Lord will return and make up for all that she has suffered. The poem ends with Bradstreet telling the soul of the child to go be with his sisters in Heaven where there is never ending joy and he will be among the blessed.

EDWARD TAYLOR - GOD'S DETERMINATION TOUCHING HIS ELECT

O stworzeniu świata przez Boga - o wielkości Boga względem stworzonego świata

Edward Taylor był kaznodzieją, studiował na Harvardzie. Przyjaźnił się z Samuelem Sewall'em. Przed wypowiedzeniem każdego kazania robił notatki, które następnie przekształciły się w wiersze. Stąd też tytuł zbioru jego poezji - Preparatory Meditations. Był także lekarzem. Bardzo ważną dla niego była poezja metafizyczna. On pisał tak jak poeci metafizyczni, a więc:

- krótkie stosunkowo wiersze, oparte na jakimś intelektualnym koncepcie, grze znaczeń,
- bardzo częstym elementem w jego wierszach był paradoks - koncepcja poetycka sprzeczności znaczeń, które z jakiegoś powodu są razem zestawione w wierszu.
- dużo pisał o słabości człowieka, o zmysłowości o poznawaniu świata zmysłami.
- wiele jego wierszy, oczywiście nie wprost tak jak i u Anne Bradstreet, trąciło nie do końca wypowiedzianym erotyzmem.

God's Determination Touching His Elect - jest to cykl wierszy o tym, jak Bóg walczy z szatanem o duszę człowieka. Z jednej strony mamy słowo „elect”, czyli wybrany, z drugiej strony jest ta walka z szatanem. Jak to więc jest: czy jesteśmy od początku zbawieni, czy też nie?, czy też raczej toczy się o nas walka, która się skończy dopiero w chwili naszej śmierci? - nie ma jasnej odpowiedzi na to pytanie.

"Gods Determinations Touching His Elect" was "designed to convince members of the Westfield parish who were reluctant (niechetny) to enter the church as full members" (1128).  In this poem, Edward Taylor "uses his ability to create unifying (jednoczyć) motifs" (1128).  According to T.M. Davis, the most outstanding structural motif in the work is based on a pair of jawbones, the upper extremity of which represents Christ and the lower extremity (skrajność) which represents Satan (1128).  The church is caught between these strong forces.  So, Edward Taylor recognized this and wrote "Gods Determinations Touching His Elect" to give them some help.

While at Harvard, Taylor wrote a number of elegies and in his first year at Westfield he produced a double acrostic elegy to Charles Chauncy. Once his church in Westfield was established, Taylor began writing Gods Determinations, aimed at convincing all individuals in the small community to become full-fledged members of the church.

Critics have also disagreed on the intended audience for Gods Determinations, with J. Daniel Patterson arguing that the minister (pastor) was not addressing only the “half-way” members of the congregation, but rather all members of the religious community. If the work were not aimed at two different readerships, contends Patterson, much of the text would appear redundant (niepotrzebny)—an unlikely scenario given the care and control Taylor exhibits in his writing. Thomas M. Davis believes that Taylor's improving skill as a poet is demonstrated by differences between the first poems of Gods Determinations and the work's final verses.

PURYTANIE

Puritan Faith And Beliefs

The Puritan beliefs were non-materialistic and overly concerned with the attainment of His Holy Grace. Their emphasis on nurturing one's piety and ethics clearly portrayed their conviction on eternal damnation as an aftermath of one's religious transgression. The Puritan beliefs are roughly based on the Doctrines of Grace written by the fellow theologians of James Arminius, who incidentally was a follower of Calvin's work. These doctrines, also known as 'The Remonstrance', could be elucidated as:

Total Depravity
Puritan beliefs or Puritanism revolves around the fact that man is made of two distinct entities - the tangible entity (body) and the intangible entity (soul). Adam and Eve committed a blasphemy by consuming the 'Forbidden Fruit' from the 'Tree of Knowledge' in the 'Garden of Eden' for which they were banished and lost their chastity. This event, known as the Fall, culminated into the belief that man, owing to his defiled lineage, is inherently corrupted from his birth. It is his duty to redeem his sins by accepting the Lord's grace and sanctify his soul and body.

Unconditional Election
Unconditional Election sheds light on one of the Puritan beliefs which has been stated in the Doctrines of Grace as His most wise and holy counsel, of His own, freely and unchangeably ordain some men to heaven and some men to hell by the nature of His good pleasure. It means that God has given the right to a handful of individuals to spread His word and thereafter, attain salvation. This doctrine was highly controversial amongst a lot of theologians because of its biased nature and was one of the reasons behind the rift between the Pilgrim and Puritan beliefs and practices.

Limited/Particular Atonement
Limited Atonement signifies the fact that Jesus, suitably called the Lamb of God, sacrificed his life for his 'sheep' or the chosen individuals and not for everyone. It was an act of redemption for the mortal sins to bring about reconciliation between God and the humans. The Scriptures state that Jesus sacrificed his life for 'all men' and that God loves 'the whole world' but here, it should be noted that He died for those righteous individuals who championed His cause and hence, secured their salvation.

Irresistible Grace
The Puritan beliefs and values were noted for their obsessive religious fixation to His Grace. Irresistible Grace advocates the fact that His Holy Spirit is sent to change one's heart, and its divine power can render alchemical wonders to one's psyche. There are two ways of enlightenment - external and internal. External enlightenment refers to the preachings spread through the word of mouth, usually through gospels. Internal enlightenment is the inward process of self-realization and healing by His Holy Spirit. If somehow one contradicts the feeling of His Grace and fails to embrace it into his/her life, then he/she might have to face damnation because of his/her contemptuous actions.

Preservation of the Saints
Most of the Puritan beliefs and values are loosely associated with each other. Apparently, this doctrine is closely related to the concept of Unconditional Election. It states that salvation relies solely at God's discretion, who has already decided to save those whom he wishes to, and it is their inherited prerogative which cannot be altered. It should be noted that though the 'chosen ones' were liable to commit grave sins, they would not be denied from attaining a place in the heavens.

Puritans also believed that marriage was a sanctimonious ritual which resulted in partners entering into a lifetime bonding of love, sacrifice and forgiveness. These Puritan beliefs about marriage are noticed to be prevalent in their culture till date. They were the champions of public morality and cleansing the vices of society. Puritan faith and beliefs, their intellectual contributions, and theological writings have left an indelible impression on the face of our contemporary society.

Puritans Beliefs and Values

The Puritans were very disciplined when it came to living the life as the Bible instructed. They believed that the sole purpose of life is to live glorifying the Lord and obeying the scriptures. Unlike what people think, that the Puritans deprived themselves of sex, entertainment and celebrations, they just focused on personal holiness and spiritual understanding of the scriptures, not only in theory, but also in practice. Let us now discuss their opinions about these further.

Puritans Beliefs and Religion
The Puritans believed that Jesus died because of the original sin of Adam and Eve, and they being the descendants of them should honor the sacrifice by living a life which was governed by his commandments and instructions. They also made sure that everyone was educated enough to read and understand the Bible as it was the main source of living their lives and the only source of obtaining God's forgiveness to overcome the sin. Living a simple and humble life, the Puritans believed that their religion was the only religion which was correct and that the rest of the religions were related to Satan.

The Puritan religion also believed in equality and therefore didn't agree to many Catholic practices. An example for the same would be that the Puritans believed that the church is owned only by God and therefore there should be no Bishops or popes in the Church. They also thought that the presence of higher authority and hierarchy resulted in the corruption of the Holy church which was not right. This is the reason why they had to immigrate from England to America.

Speaking of the Puritan religion and the emphasis that the Bible played in their lives, they strictly followed the Sabbath as well where they spent the entire day praying and worshiping the Lord's name. They didn't do anything else, not even the daily household works, but just prayed and rest.

Puritans Beliefs on Marriage
The Puritans were very strict in following the rules of marriage and loyalty! The Puritans followed Genesis 2:18(ESV) when it came to the purpose of marriage, which said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." Many think that Puritans are against sex, but that is wrong. Puritans consider sex to be pure and a means to strengthen the unity and bond between a man and wife. Of course, they are strictly against adultery and the punishment for the same is death! Unlike the Catholic and Anglicans who listed procreation to be the top most reason for marriage in the Prayer Book, the Puritans believed that the prime purpose of marriage was companionship and that procreation followed after that.

According to a researcher of the Puritan domestic relations, Edmund S. Morgan, the Puritans beliefs on marriage was based on the following.

"The God of order who made the creatures subordinate to man had arranged human society into a network of dual relationships (relatives) in which one party was usually subordinate to the other: rule and subject, husband and wife, parent and child, master and servant. God had provided these forms, and He had created the men to fill them; but as they came from his hands men enjoyed only one social relationship, the natural one which they bore to their parents. The other forms of social relation had to be filled by the voluntary action of individuals. . . . Such voluntary relations originated in a contract or `covenant' between two parties. `All Relations which are neither [natural] nor violent, but voluntary, are by [virtue] of some covenant.'. . . `A Covenant, in [general], may then be thus described,' said Samuel Willard. `It is a mutual Engagement between two Parties."

The Puritans therefore believed in the holy union of marriage which was nothing but the will of God and it was their prime duty to obey his will to receive the covenant. Having said that, once the couple was unified in matrimony, the union is supposed to be kept under all circumstances unless it goes against the will of God and results in disobedience!

When it came to sexual relations in marriage, the Puritans believed it to be the foundation of loyalty, purity and justness in a married relationship. A Puritan named John Cotton says, "There is no stricter or sweeter friendship than conjugal; as it was the first in the world, so it is most natural."

Puritans Beliefs on Separation
The discussion of Puritans faith and beliefs on marriage would be incomplete without discussing their beliefs on divorce! As mentioned earlier, the Puritans hold matrimony extremely sacred and unified by God's will. Therefore, their approach to divorce is only under the following conditions.

• Death

• Desertion

• Adultery

In all the above cases the innocent partner is allowed to remarry.

Puritans Family Beliefs
Unlike all other aspects, the puritans were extremely strict in this aspect as well. The man was suppose to be the head of the family and the wife was the one responsible for the taking care of the house and the kids. If the kids were not well mannered and given proper Godly knowledge and spiritual growth, the parents, especially the wife was to be blamed for it. The Puritan wife knew that her duty and responsibility was first towards God, then towards the husband and then towards the children. William Gorge says,"they are required to be lovers of their husbands, as well as husbands to love their wives: so as it is a common duty belonging to the husband and wife too: and that this is true wedlock, when man and wife are linked together by the bound of love." The Puritans believed that each and every family was united by God's word and that it is their duty to perform and conduct their family values as per the scripture, the thing is, that they followed it without any leniency.

So this was a brief look on the Puritans beliefs, religion, values and lifestyle. Though seen as an orthodox and prudish society, they have an unconditional devotion towards the Bible and hold it to be the most important base of their lives. Of course, their approach and methods could be very prude in some scenarios, but they do have some aspects which are worth appreciating. I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I did writing it. God bless!

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