Anne Bradstreet
In the early seventeenth century the one and only thing that concerned the Puritan's was their status with God. No matter what they did it was in order to please Him. Their reverence to God was everything to them. They modeled their community as a patriarchal community. This meant that the father or husband was the head of the household, just as God was head of the church. They also believed that the leader of the community should be the leader of their church. The puritan's took the Word of God much more seriously than many other communities. They would constantly remind themselves, their neighbors, and their family if someone was not doing what he or she need to be doing. This is evident in both Anne Bradstreet's "Upon the Burning of Our House" and in Mary French's "A Poem Written by a Captive Damsel." In Bradstreet's "Upon the Burning of Our House" she rises to find that her house is burning down. She immediately begins to think about her worldly possessions. The thought of her tables, chests, and all of her personal belongings consumes her in every way. She watches as the roof that she had lived under for so long burns to the ground. Then among the chard remains of what used to be her home she realizes that
Lauter, Paul. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Houghton Mifflin Company. Like Bradstreet, French see what she has done wrong. She has never professed the Lords undying love to her sister. She feels that it is time for her to take up her duty and let her sister know what she maybe missing by not having the Lord in her life. No, French was taking for granted her earthly belongings but she was taking for granted her God by not giving other people His love. These two poems show the intensity of the love the puritan's had for God. Bradstreet, while watching her house burn to the ground, takes the time to examine herself and realize that it is God's will that her house burn. French, while being held captive by Indians, takes the time to write her sister and tell her about the Lord. This shows that the puritan's would at any time examine themselves, their family, or their neighbors. these are not the things of importance. She understands that she no long has a house to live in but almost automatically says "Thou has an house on high erect, Framed by that mighty Architect"(312). At this very moment she realizes what is the most important thing in her life. Not the chests, the tables, or other things that she owned, but her love for God and
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Approximate Word count = 859
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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