ESSAY CEMETERY

Themes ·        Loyalty to God ·        Spreading Christianity ·        Loyalty to England and broadening the reaches of the empire ·        Creation of laws ·        Editing laws ·        Loyalty to the colony ·        Electing a governor ·        Starting a settlement ·        Keywords: mutinous, God, King James, Carver, governor, Virginia, ship, ashore ·        Overcoming disagreements William Bradford

In the ship there had been disagreements about government on shore. Some passengers said they intended to behave freely because there was no-one to rule them directly. Since the patent that sent them to America covered only Virginia, they would settle in other areas of New England. So Bradford saw fit to write a compact. Evoking God, he states that the reason for their settlement is to spread the word of God and broaden the rule of England. They intend to create the first colony, in Virginia. In order to do this well they will write laws as needed to benefit the good of the colony. They will sign their names to the document as a promise to adhere to the laws. After doing this they elected John Carver as governor for that year. They unloaded the goods which took a long time due to poor means, and built small cottages. They made laws and edited them as needed. The beginning was difficult and there were disagreements but these were settled as time went on, mostly thanks to Car...

Prologue THEMES AND AUTHORIAL ATTITUDE Self- criticism Self-reflexiveness Metaliterature: "the Greeks", Bartas Feminism- objection to traditional gender role I am obnoxious to each carping tongue Who says my hand a needle better fits. Men are better But women are still good Defense of woman writers To My Dear and Loving Husband THEMES Love Contentment in marriage Repayment in heaven Eternal life through love Verses Upon the Burning of Our House THEMES Burning house Fear Lamenting her possessions gone Chastisement for material thoughts Riches lie in belief in God STYLE Shift in tense: first, the poet speaks in past tense and then she addresses her heart, and then back to thinking of herself KEYWORDS Fire Ruin ashes Posthumous depiction of Anne Bradstreet by Edmund H. Garrett.  Source: Wikipedia

Prologue At first she is reluctant to tell of the beginning of the creation of the commonwealth because she feels unworthy. But then she is inspired by Bartas and begins. She apologizes for her irreparably inferior skill. She objects to the convention against women writing and addresses the scorn with which women writers are regarded. She concedes that men do everything better, but asks men not to completely disregard women's smaller talents. She says her poetry is worthy of recognition. To My Dear and Loving Husband She loves her husband and is joyful to be with him. She loves him more than all the riches and though she cannot repay him she prays heaven will reward him. She asks him to persevere in love so that through this love they may live forever. Verses Upon the Burning of Our House When she went to sleep she did not expect disaster, but she is awakened with cries of "fire!" She prays to god for help, leaves her house and looks upon her burning dwel...

THEMES Variability of creatures under god Quoting from Scripture Laws governing proper social behavior Interpretation of the bible Cockiness that they are the chosen ones Body of Chris Love Individual conduct to benefit the common good Generosity Assistance to those in need KEY WORDS His (God's) laws STYLE AND DEVICES Quoting scripture Question and answer format John Winthrop

God has made the world so that there are those who are less fortunate, and more fortunate. The reasons are: 1. To be in accord with the variability present in the natural world. Also, it is more satisfactory to gain followers of God secondhand, via a man messenger than directly by God accruing them.  2. The variation in the goodness of people gives God the opportunity to use his power to moderate vices, and support and endow with virtues.  3. Variety causes men to need one another and thus grow closer together. The difference in men is not because some are better than others but because this serves God and all God's men. People should show mercy and exercise justice toward one another, and be governed by the Laws of Nature (love thy neighbor as you love yourself) and Gospel (hospitality, as dictated by the Gospel). The following is in Q&A format: Men should help others in need. They should behave in this way because they care for one another as much as th...

Beowulf is an epic poem that relates the adventures of an Anglo-Saxon hero, composed to be recited in England in the early 8 th century. It was put into manuscript form, in Old English, in the late 10 th century, and the only surviving manuscript was partially destroyed by fire in 1731. Though the text as it was originally related is not available to us today, the many hands through which it passed and the numerous reincarnations thereof make this poem an invaluable tool. Through inferences about the changes made to the text as it changed hands, we may gain insight into the cultural values and religious beliefs prevalent in early Medieval Britain. The poem relates events that took place two centuries prior to its composition. It centers around two south Scandinavian tribes, the Danes and the Geats. The original audience of Beowulf, that of its oral incarnation, probably considered themselves descendents of the Geats (of whom Beowulf derived). Thus, much in the manner that the Aen...