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The Puritan Plain Style
Huswifery To My Dear and Loving Husband
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Edward Taylor Puritanism was a religious reform movement that began in England in the sixteenth century. The Puritans sought to reform the Church of England and to reshape English society according to their beliefs. These efforts led to both civil strife and government persecution of the Puritans. In response, many Puritans, including Edward Taylor, fled to American colonies.
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Edward Taylor Edward Taylor had worked as a teacher in England.
Upon arriving in Boston in 1668, Taylor entered Harvard College as a sophomore, graduating in 1671. After graduation, he accepted the position of minister and physician in the small frontier farming community of Westfield, Mass. He then walked more than one hundred miles, much of it through snow, to his new home.
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Edward Taylor Experience many hardships including personal tragedies.
Five of his eight children died in infancy. His wife died when she was still a young woman. He remarried and had five or six more children. (Biographies differ on the number).
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Edward Taylor Is now generally regarded as the best of the North American colonial poets. Yet because he thought of his poetry as a form of personal worship, he allowed only two stanzas to be published during his lifetime. In 1833, one of his descendants gave Taylor’s writings to Yale University, and in 1939, The Political Works of Edward Taylor was published. Most of Taylor’s poetry, including “Huswifery,” uses extravagant comparisons, intellectual wit, and subtle argument to explore religious faith and affection.
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Anne Bradstreet Arrived with her husband in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630 when she was only eighteen. Armed with convictions of her Puritan upbringing, she left behind her hometown of Northampton, England to start afresh in America. It was not an easy life for Bradstreet, who raised eight children and faced many hardships
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Anne Bradstreet Anne wrote for herself, not for publication.
In 1650, her brother-in-law, John Woodbridge, arranged for the publication in England of a collection of her scholarly poems, The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America, By a Gentlewoman of Those Parts. Generally considered to be the first collection of original poetry written in colonial America. The book examined the rights of women to express themselves.
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Anne Bradstreet Bradstreet’s later poems, such as “To My Dear and Loving Husband,” are more personal, expressing her feelings about the joys and difficulties of everyday Puritan life. In one she wrote about her thoughts before giving birth. In another, she wrote about the death of a grandchild. Bradstreet’s poetry reflects the Puritan’s knowledge of the stories and language of the Bible, as well as their concern for the relationship between earthly and heavenly life. Her work also exhibits some of the characteristics of the French and English poetry of her day.
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Puritans Unlike most of us today, the Puritans had few possessions, dressed uniformly, and frowned on creative expression. Because they left so few personal belongings behind, they remain a mystery. These poems provide us with glimpses into the poets’ inner lives They show the universal emotions individual Puritans experienced within the confines of their culture.
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Puritan Plain Style Writing style reflects the plain style of their lives – spare, simple, straightforward. The Puritan Plain Style is characterized by short words, direct statements, and references to ordinary, everyday objects. Puritans believed that poetry should serve God by clearly expressing only useful or religious ideas. Poetry appealing to the senses or emotions was viewed as dangerous.
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Comparing Literary Works
The poems by Taylor and Bradstreet are both expressions of devotion, but they are very different in the way they address the beloved. Taylor use apostrophe- a figure of speech in which a speaker directly addresses a person who is dead or not physically present, a personified object, or non-human thing, or an abstract quality or idea. Line 1: Make me, O Lord, Thy spinning wheel complete.
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Comparing Literary Works
By contrast, the title of Bradstreet’s poem indicates that the speaker is addressing her husband, but the poem contains no apostrophe. As you read, look for ways in which each poem reflects a distinct relationship between the speaker and his or her object of affection.
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Reading Strategy Paraphrasing
Although these poems capture the simplicity of Puritan life, they are not necessarily simple to understand. To help you better absorb the meaning of each poem, take time to paraphrase, or restate in your own words, the ideas expressed by each poet. Because it helps to clarify meaning, paraphrasing will allow you to make accurate statements about each poet’s ideas. Use the graphic organizer provided to help organize your paraphrases.
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Vocabulary recompense: n. Repayment; something given or done in return for something else. manifold: adv. In many ways persevere: v. persist; be steadfast in purpose.
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Puritan Names Learn-Wisdom Sin-denie Hate-evil Sorry-for-sin Assurance
Tribulation Merciful Stedfast Renewed Safe-on-Heighe Rejoyce Increased Sin-denie Sorry-for-sin No-merit Continent Accepted Thankful More-fruite Faint-not Joy-againe From-above Free-gift
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Called Meek Approved Be-courteous Elected Arise Sincere Wrestling Remember Peaceable Revolt Supply Pardon What-God-Will Given Reformation Earth Dust Ashes Delivery The-Lord-is-Near Discipline Purific Hopeful Faith-my-joy Original Restraint Zeal-of-the-Land
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Perseverance Contemplation Love Humanity Clemency Justice Truth Silence Experience Endure Obedience Victory Confidence Comfort Repentence Humiliation Humility Abstinence Humble Godly Lively Faithful Magnify Give-thanks Be-strong Sin-deny Refrayne Repent
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Return Depend Learn-Wysdome Hate-evill Hatill (Hate-ill) Lament Live-well Fare-well Free-gift From-above Replenish Increase Deliverance Much-mercie Thanks Accepted Unfeigned Preserved Beloved Joye-in-sorrow Lamentation Stand-fast-on-high Aid-on-high Restore Helpless Forsaken
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Flie-Fornication A name like this would probably be given to a foundling or illegitimate child, as a reminder to not behave like their sinful parents Fortune Wealthy Unity Providence
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