Anne Bradstreet And Jonathan Edwards Analysis

Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards
Throughout the time, there has always been a debate regarding the hypothetical issue that deals with the existence of god and his role in mankind. Some believe that god has power to manipulate human fate, and consequences of their actions which mean if you do well, god will send you to heaven, if not to hell. Meanwhile, other opines that god does not decide the consequence of those actions. Whether you do well or bad, god will always be there with you. After reading and analyzing poems by Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards, although it is quite clear that they have many similar religious beliefs and similar base, Puritanism, it is obvious that there is a huge gap in belief between the two authors. Edward's
Born in Northhampton, England, in 1612, Anne Bradstreet grew up in a Puritan society, where women were considered their husband’s property limited inside the household serving their husbands. Marriage was a significant role to women among Puritans. People believed that marriage was a gift by god. The Puritan religion and their society believed that the women’s place in society should be limited to a wife and a mother. Being a part of such society, Anna believed that God would be there for you, even during bad times. She had good faith in god. She never gave up her faith, even though times were not good. Although Anne did not ignore her Puritan role or duties, she did receive harsh criticism for her works. During this time, women were judged intellectually inferior to men, yet Anne had become
Women were often considered intellectually inferiors, which made the critics believed that Bradstreet stole her ideas for her poems from men. Her writing was severely criticized because it was that of a woman, receiving a different kind of criticism than that of her male counterparts. Similarly, public also showed harsh reaction to Bradstreet's role as a female writer. When her first publication of “The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America” was released, the idea that she was a virtuous women had to be stressed. Another theme in Bradstreet's works was her religious experiences. In her writing, Bradstreet gives an insight of Puritan views of salvation and redemption. She writes about how she feels that God has punished her through sicknesses and domestic problems. The Puritans believed that suffering was god's approach of preparing the human heart for accepting his grace. This idea inundated Bradstreet, and she wrote about how she struggled to do everything that she could to give into her will, in order to save her wandering soul. However, she thought that God was so hard on her because her soul was so much in love with the world. She doubted god’s existence bothered by scriptures miracles. Anne’s faith came through her experience in life. She believes god gives you a chance at everything