Puritan Poetry: Bradstreet & Taylor

Puritan Poetry

Puritan Poetry

Style: Plain Language

Puritan poetry tried to address the world around it in simple and direct ways, and always relate everything back to religion.
Puritans believed that beauty distracted from God, and so simple, severe styles were preferred.

Puritan poetry was written in first person and sought to teach and educate, not entertain. Every form of letters, poems, and historical narratives was designed to teach and reflect upon faith and religion.

Purpose

Conceit: a particular extended metaphor, usually employed to convey a complex thought
Personification: giving human characteristics to non-human objects
Hyperbole: exaggeration to emphasize a point
Inversion (or anastrophe): changing the normal order of words in a sentence

Literary Devices used

Taylor was a prominent American poet who used his poetry to reach a wide audience and spread religion.

Edward Taylor

The first female poet of America, Bradstreet wrote to glorify God and share her beliefs on religion.

Anne Bradstreet

Anne Bradstreet & Edward Taylor