Puritanism

What is it? Religious Reform Began in England, 16th century Remember (this is the 1500’s) People sought to reform the Church of England They wanted to reshape society to their beliefs Led to Bad public opinion about them Governmental persecution Many Puritans fled to America

What did they believe? “The doctrine of predestination kept all Puritans constantly working to do good in this life to be chosen for the next eternal one. God had already chosen who would be in heaven or hell, and each believer had no way of knowing which group they were in. Those who were wealthy were obviously blessed by God and were in good standing with Him. Any deviations from the normal way of Puritan life met with strict disapproval and discipline. Since the church elders were also political leaders, any church infraction was also a social one. There was no margin for error.”

What did it look like? They had few possessions Dressed uniformly Frowned upon creativity Lived a life of hard work “The Protestant work ethic was the belief that hard work was an honor to God which would lead to a prosperous reward.” Very self-disciplined Religiously devoted Few things were left behind = still a mystery to us

…A little more… God was at the forefront of their minds He directed all actions Very unified, worked together, understood each other’s struggles Each church congregation was responsible to God, as was each person New Testament was their guide Any person that opposed was asked to reform, or leave

Their Writing Puritan Plain Style – Short words, direct phrases and statements, reference to ordinary and everyday objects Puritans and Poetry – Poetry should serve God by clearly expressing only useful and religious ideas Believed that senses and emotions were dangerous

Edward Taylor 1642-1729 Teacher in England Moved to Boston in 1668 Went to Harvard College Became a minister and physician in Westfield, MA 5 of 8 children died as infants Wife died while still young Remarried and had 6 more children

More on Edward Taylor Viewed poetry as a form of worship Uses wit, intellect, and subtle argument to explore faith and affection

Anne Bradstreet 1612-1672 --- “The First American Poet” Settled in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1630 She was 18 Had 8 children “Un-lady like” to write Bradstreet wrote for herself, not to be published 1650 – Her brother-in-law had her collection published

More on Bradstreet The 10th Muse Lately Sprung Up in America 1st Original Poetry Collection written in America Examined the rights of women to learn and express themselves Later poems (To My Dear and Loving Husband) express feelings of love and Puritan Life Poetry reflects Knowledge of stories & language of the Bible, concern between earth and heavenly life

Works Cited http://www.nd.edu/~rbarger/www7/puritans.html www.wordpress.com www.wikipedia.com http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/Puritan/purhist.html http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/Bradstreet/Warrlado.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/Bradstreet/bradbio.htm&usg=___EtJFKx5UtJhPuQx5cycvyttpv4=&h=173&w=252&sz=36&hl=en&start=7&sig2=BlGaeFNtkbgAj1_zTa9PGw&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=x0oTi9szCzkFyM:&tbnh=76&tbnw=111&prev=/images%3Fq%3Danne%2Bbradstreet%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1&ei=OudqS9u9D6Pk8AbHlJiIBg

http://mb-soft.com/believe/txc/puritani.htm http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/PURITAN/purrot.html http://www.nd.edu/~rbarger/www7/puritans.html