The Poetry of Anne Bradstreet's Poems

Paper Summary:

By reviewing Anne Bradstreet's poems "The Flesh and the Spirit" and "Upon the Burning of Our House" , this paper analyzes Anne Bradstreet's views of how the Earth cannot fulfill her heavenly desires, in which only God can. Her concern with how people become less attached to God when they have many material possessions is another theme that is addressed in the paper. Finding God's will though hard work, prayer, and sacrifice is the only way to attain salvation, according to Bradstreet. The reluctance of people to practice these values makes the world an evil place to live in, according to the poet.

From the Paper:

"The pursuit of spiritual gains rather than earthly items is a major theme Bradstreet uses to show how important eternal salvation is for humans, especially the Puritans of her time. Bradstreet illustrates how important it is to look to heaven in her poem, "The Flesh and the Spirit." She states, "My garments are not silk nor gold, / Nor such trash which earth doth hold, / But royal robes I shall have on, / More glorious than the glistering sun" (304). According to Bradstreet, all the riches of the Earth cannot compare to what is stored in heaven, which contains treasures far beyond imagining. This unimaginable treasure stored in heaven should be motivation enough to pursue God's will. She also describes in the poem achieving eternal salvation from working God's will rather than pursuing earthly desires. She says, "The stately walls both high and strong, / Are made of precious jasper stone, / The gates of pearl, both rich and clear, / And angels for porters there; / The streets thereof transparent gold, / Such as no eye did ever behold" (304). Heaven is two times better than Earth because not only does it contain an infinite amount of treasure, but it is made of treasure as well. Bradstreet feels the Earth does not offer this type of reward, and in essence fails her, because the world contains nothing more than weak-willed people who choose to sin."

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