Anne Bradstreet and Michael Wigglesworth - Research Paper Example

POETRY: ANNE BRADSTREET AND MICHAEL WIGGLESWORTH Introduction Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672) was among the first generation of Puritans who “left the security of England for the wilds of America” (Mays 53). From her poetry it is evident that devotion to God and a spirit of love helped the pioneering woman to accept the hardships and establish a new life in America. Unlike her contemporaries who wrote on weightier topics related to history and religion, Anne Bradstreet’s poems speak about the love she had for her husband and children, her loving reflections about her parents, her despair when her house burned to the ground, and other thoughts on daily life. Michael Wigglesworth (1631-1705), a New England Puritan minister, and a contemporary of Anne Bradstreet, was a poet whose work reflected New England puritanism. He examined the dogmas of his time, and used them for admonishing and consoling mankind through poetry (Tyler 278). Wigglesworth is well-known for his poem The Day of Doom, filled with religious melancholy and written in ballad meter. It was widely sold out and became very popular. Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to identify the similarities between the poems Verse Upon the Burning of Our House and The Flesh and the Spirit by Anne Bradstreet, together with The Day of Doom by Michael Wigglesworth. Puritan Beliefs on Religion and Spirituality Evident in the Poetry Both Anne Bradstreet’s and Michael Wigglesworth’s poems reflect Puritan beliefs of living a pure life devoid of indulgence, in the quest for Godliness, and in spreading God’s word to all. Anne Bradstreet wrote prolifically, with most of her poetic work related to everyday happenings, her family, and the strength she constantly got from her religious beliefs. The works of Michael Wigglesworth also had a strong thread of religious beliefs running through them. They include several small poems in addition to three poetical works of great length. According to Tyler (p.278), Wigglesworth’s multitude of stanzas raises him to a level above all other poets of the colonial time, except Anne Bradstreet. Both poets worked with similar Puritan perspectives, however their argument styles and techniques were different. A well-known poem written by Anne Bradstreet is Verses Upon the Burning of Our House, July 10th, 1666. The significance of this poem lies in the tension between her worldly concerns regarding her household furnishings, against her spiritual aspirations. “Here stood that trunk, and there that chest; There lay that store I counted best: My pleasant things in ashes lye, And them behold no more shall I. Under thy roof no guest shall sit, Nor at thy Table eat a bit”. (Bradstreet et al 292). Bradstreet’s loss of her home and domestic comforts invokes sympathy for the poet struggling with despair. The deep tragedy of the situation is experienced by the reader. The following lines express the poet’s grief, as well as her deep religious convictions: “Farewell my Pelf, farewell my Store, The world no longer let me love, My hope and Treasures lyes Above”. (Bradstreet et al 293). The poet consoles herself of a divine promise of greater rewards. Her feeling that God has promised her a permanent house in heaven soothes her grief: “Thou hast a house on high erect, Fram'd by that mighty Architect, With glory richly furnished, Stands permanent tho: this bee fled”. (Bradstreet et al 293). Wigglesworth’s Spiritually Inspiring Poem In writing The Day of Doom, a 224-verse poem about Judgment Day, Michael Wigglesworth found ballad meter to be the most appropriate for the long poem. Writing in the common meter of hymns, the poet intended to re-inforce his readers’ emotional commitment to Calvinist Christianity. The poem was well-recognized from the beginning, and “remained the most popular English language poem in the New World for at least the next hundred years” (Axelrod et al 68). This best selling work was used for catechizing young children in the doctrines and beliefs of Puritanism (Reed 189). In Wigglesworth’s opening lines in The Day of Doom, the calmness of the night and an invocation to the soul to look forward to a good future is referred to: “Still was the night, serene and bright, when all Men sleeping lay; Calm was the season, and carnal reason thought so `twould last for aye Soul, take thine ease, let sorrow cease, much good thou hast in store: This was their Song, their Cups among, the evening before”. (Wigglesworth 21). Though rendered in ballad meter which is more suitable for songs based on love, death or even tavern ditties, the poem retains its spiritual meanings. However, some readers have found ballad meter unsuitable for the sacredness of the religious beliefs in the Puritan religion. Critics observe that the ballad meter lowers the sense of the divine in the poem, and is detrimental to its spiritual quality (Reed 189). Hence, it reduces the poet’s control over the Oedipal figure that is the core of Puritanism. The “vile wretches” as well as “the wise” slept peacefully, as seen in the second verse of the poem: “Wallowing in all kind of sin, vile wretches lay secure: The best of men had scarcely then their lamps kept in good ure. Virgins unwise, who through disguise amongst the best were numbere'd, Had clos'd their eyes, yea, and the wise through sloth and frailty slumber'd” (Wigglesworth 21). Michael Wigglesworth’s epic poem is rich in Puritanical Christian religious concepts, which is similar to Anne Bradstreet’s poetry rooted in Puritan religious beliefs. This is evident not only in Bradstreet’s Verses on the Burning of Our House, but also in The Flesh and the Spirit. Similarly, in The Day of Doom the poet Michael Wigglesworth separates the sheep: those who will go to heaven, from others destined to suffer in hell” “At Christ' right hand the sheep do stand, His holy martyrs, who For His dear name suffering shame, calamity and woe, Like Champions stood, and with their blood their testimony sealed: Whose innocence without offence, to Christ their judge appealed”. (Wigglesworth 27). Towards the end of the poem The Day of Doom by Wigglesworth, the condemned sinners are cast into hell’s burning lake of brimstone, in keeping with Puritanical religious beliefs of punishment in hell for all those who sin: “With iron bands they bind their hands, and cursed feet together, And cast them all, both great and small, into the lake forever”. It is evident that the poem is written emotionally, with grim, pathetic undertones. The poet expresses the “chant of Christian fatalism, the moan of earthly vanity and sorrow, the physical bliss of the saved, the physical tortures of the damned” states Tyler (p.278). “Where day and night, without respite, they wail, and cry, and howl For tort’ring pain, which they sustain in body and in Soul”. (Wigglesworth 80). The moving quality of the stanzas by Michael Wigglesworth along with the rhythm and rhyme make the poem easy to memorize, which may have been one of Wigglesworth’s poetic goals. Thus, Puritan children could learn the poem and follow its guidance to avoid being doomed to hell. Through the ballad meter, the sense of the divine is reduced, and He is now on a level distinctly human level. “There is a disparity between the meter and topic in Wigglesworth’s poetry” (Reed 189). The Centrality of Religion in all the Three Poems Thus, the ballad meter of the poem appears to be correctly chosen by the poet. This is particularly in view of the highly charged Oedipal atmosphere of Puritanism where, according to Reed (p.189) the meter “provides another symbolization and transformation for the Oedipal energy generated in the religious context”. It is clearly evident that where there is a sense of demeaning of God, it is actually an expression of the Wigglesworth’s intense love for God revealing the depths of his religious beliefs. Further, from a psychoanalytical dimension, the Oedipal energy present in the poem becomes clearer. This energy comes through the poet’s use of meter, which contains a disparity difficult for contemporary readers to grasp. However, from the psychoanalytic perspective this disparity is easy to comprehend, and the reader comes to understand the centrality of religion and God to the poet Wigglesworth’s life and compositions. Similarly, the key position of religion in Bradstreet’s life is evident in her perceiving God’s plan for her in heaven, even when in grief at the destruction of her house (Mays 53). In the poem Verses Upon the Burning of Our House, Bradstreet’s heart is full of emotional love for God and her acceptance of His ways. Referring to Him as the “mighty Architect”, she consoles herself in a philosophical mood: “It was his own: it was not mine; Far be it that I should repine” (Bradstreet et al 293). Bradstreet ends the poem with a plea to God to not allow her to be attached to earthly things, since His providing her with a home in heaven was more significant: “The world no longer let me love My hope and treasure lies above”. (Bradstreet et al 293). There is a similarity between Bradstreet’s abhorrence to attachment with earthly things as seen above in the poem Verses Upon the Burning of Our House and in The Flesh and the Spirit by the same poet. In this poem by Bradstreet based on the traditional debate between passion and the body against reason and the mind, the difference from tradition is that the disputing figures of Flesh and Spirit are women. According to Jaskoski (p.182), the poet stresses on the abstract, allegorical nature of the debating personae, locating them inside the speaker’s head near the source of tears, as seen in the opening lines of the poem: “In secret places where once I stood Close by the banks of Lacrim flood” (Bradstreet et al 215) Bradstreet was not averse to the flesh, but she observed that it was easier for her to be pious when she was unwell. The has expressed the intensity of her struggle between the flesh and the spirit in her poem through “a dialogue between two sisters about physical desires and pleasures, and the aspirations of the soul” (Martin 50). The following lines from the poem The Flesh and the Spirit are an example: “Sister, quoth Flesh, what liv’st thou on Nothing but Meditation? Doth Contemplation feed thee so Regardlessly to let earth goe? (Bradstreet et al 215). Flesh then enumerates the pleasures of this world: honor, fame, accolades, riches: “Earth hath more silver, pearls, and gold Than eyes can see or hands can hold” Spirit retorts in reply to Flesh, with the following lines: “Be still, thou unregenerate part, Disturb no more my settled heart, For I have vow’d (and so will doe) Thee as a foe, still to pursue. And combate with thee will and must, Until I see thee laid in th’ dust” (Bradstreet et al 216). The Flesh and the Spirit by Anne Bradstreet shows that “discipline and resolute resistance are pitted against the tangible rewards and pleasures of earthly existence” (Martin 50). In this confrontation, Spirit berates Flesh for trying to divert her from seeking God’s glory with the “bait” of worldly treasures. However, Spirit scornfully states that it would be her greatest honor when she would be the victor over Flesh. Bradstreet’s poem depicts the tension or conflict that exists between the body and the soul in the Christian ethos, which ends only with the destruction of the body or “the unregenerate part”, which sets the spirit free from the body’s cage. Only then can the spirit dress in royal robes “more glorious than the glist’ring sun” at such a place where disease and death or the illnesses of the flesh do not exist. In heaven, “mortality is subdued, conquered and finally transcended” states Martin (p.51). Meanwhile the conflict between body and soul continues in full power, in the same way as it has done since the fall from grace of Adam and Eve. As observed in Bradstreet’s poem Verse Upon the Burning of our House, about her house destroyed by fire, the poet uses Deductive Argument to infer that a better house awaits her in Heaven. Deductive argument is evident in her using specific premises first when remembering various aspects of her home before it was destroyed; this later broadens into general concepts regarding the heavenly abode waited for her. Similarly, Wigglesworth’s style of writing The Day of Doom also uses Deductive Argument starting with specific concepts related to the innocent and the sinners, and later invoking dread among those Puritans who do not comply with God’s Will, concerning the Day of Doom. Deductive Argument also underscores the dispute between the Flesh and the Spirit in Bradstreet’s poem. In this, the two sisters embodying Flesh and Spirit first begin arguing on specific issues of concern to them, and then continue onwards to more general areas of conflict. For instance, in the concluding lines of the poem, Spirit ends the argument with Flesh by describing the wonders waiting in heaven for those who live in the spirit and not by the flesh’s demands. Spirit concludes with the all-encompassing statement “If I of heaven may have my fill/ Take thou the world and all that will” (Bradstreet et al 218). Conclusion This paper has highlighted the similarities between the poems Verse Upon the Burning of Our House and The Flesh and the Spirit by Anne Bradstreet, and The Day of Doom by Michael Wigglesworth. The works of both poets reflect Puritan beliefs of living a pure life without indulences, seeking God, and complying with His will. The central position of religion in both poets’ lives is abundantly evident in all the three poems. For example, Bradstreet perceives God’s abode for her in heaven, even when grieving over the destruction of her house in a fire in the poem Verse Upon the Burning of Our House. Similarly, in her poem The Flesh and the Spirit, Spirit has the last word, enumerating all that heaven offers for the righteous and the disciplined, thus advocating the right path for all. Both poems also express aversion to fleshly attachments with earthly things. In Wigglesworth’s poem The Day of Doom, the same Puritanical religious beliefs are expressed, to warn people that only the right and difficult path leads to salvation; and the outcome of leading a degenerate life would be great suffering in hell. Thus, both poets worked with similar Puritan perspectives, and their argument styles and techniques had some common elements.Thus, in all the three poems, a common thread of deductive argument was identified, with the poets progressing from the specific to general concepts. On the other hand, the tones of the works differ. Wigglesworth’s poem is written with grim and sad undertones, while both of Bradstreet’s poems have a lighter vein of humor running through them, despite the seriousness of their themes. Works Cited Axelrod, Steven G., Roman, Camille & Travisano, Thomas J. The new anthology of American poetry: Traditions and revolutions, beginnings to 1900. New York: Rutgers University Press. (2003). Bradstreet, Anne, and Ellis, John E. The Works of Anne Bradstreet in prose and verse. The United States of America: A.E. Cutter. (1867). Bradstreet, Anne, Hensley, Jeannine, & Rich, Adrienne. The works of Anne Bradstreet. The United States of America: Harvard University Press. (1981). Jaskoski, Helen. The catacombs and the debate between the flesh and the spirit. Critique, 35.3 (1994): pp.181-191. Martin, Wendy. An American triptych: Anne Bradstreet, Emily Dickinson, Adrienne Rich. North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press. (1984). Mays, Dorothy A. Women in early America: struggle, survival, and freedom in a new world. California: ABC- CLIO Inc. (2004). Reed, Michael. Edward Taylor and Michael Wigglesworth: Reconciling the divine and the mundane in the preparatory meditations and the day of doom. Journal of Evolutionary Psychology, (2001): pp.182-191. Tyler, Moses C. A history of American literature, 1607-1765. New York: Cornell University Press. (1949). Wigglesworth, Michael. The Day of Doom or a poetical description of the great and last judgment. The United States of America: Biblio Bazaar. (2009). Read More