Analysis
A brief history of these poets will not be out of place here. Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672) was born in England and was among the first of poets in the American colonies. She was religious but stood for freedom of expression and rights of women. She also wrote of the difficulties faced by the early settlers.
Like Anne, Taylor (1642-1729) too was born in England and migrated to the United States. His work was not published as per his will. In 1883 one of his descendents gave his writings to the Yale university. Belatedly in 1939 the scholar Thomas H. Johnson published ‘The Poetical Works of Edward Taylor’.
Anne’s poetry reflects sensitivity to beauty and her unabounding We have selected for review "Contemplations" which is one of her best poems. In this long poem she reflects deeply on the wonder of nature and by default reflects on the creator of nature. Her verses drip with the profound joy and deep sense of delight at witnessing the marvels of nature. Some of the verses are oozing with this steadfast love for the supreme being whose signs are strewn before the eyes. We cannot capture the beauty of her writing unless we read a few lines. So let us sample of few lines:
The trees all richly clad, yet void of pride,
Were gilded o're by his rich golden head.
Their leaves and fruits seem'd painted but was true
Of green, of red, of yellow, mixed hew,
Rapt were my senses at this delectable view.
I wist not what to wish, yet sure thought I,
If so much excellence abide below,
How excellent is he that dwells on high?
Whose power and beauty by his works we know.
Sure he is goodness, wisdom, glory, light,
That hath this under world so richly dight.
More Heaven than Earth was here, no winter and no night.
(RPO -- Selected Poetry of Anne Bradstreet)
It is like an artist who has spread all the different colors on the canvas. And the underlying message is summed up in the reference to … he (who) is goodness, wisdom, glory, light…….
Also
How full of glory then must thy Creator be!
Who gave this bright light luster unto thee
To her the ‘view is delectable’. Her use of the words ‘richly clad’, ‘gilded’ makes us think how deeply she was moved. And yet she declares the ‘humility’ of nature by using the phrase ‘yet void of pride’. This theme of admiration and eulogization continues in the poem. She turns to creatures when she says …. I heard the merry grasshopper then sing … Cricket bear a second part …they kept one tune and played on the same string. She then recounts the story of Able and Cain for her religious beliefs. Finally she again turns to the birds that seem free of cares unlike the humans. She ends the poem by pointing out that man is mortal.
To sum up she is truly a poet of the nature not per se but as a way to pay tribute to the creator.
Taylor, an American puritan, discussed religious themes and is famous for his religious verse. His prominent works are “Preparatory Meditations” and “God's Determinations Touching His Elect.” Taylor gave the concept of the perfect union of the human and the divine in Christ. We will select his poem ‘The Joy Of Church Fellowship Rightly Attended’ for our review and comparison. In this poem Taylor denotes the great status of Christ. He talks of the Saints riding in a coach with Christ which is heaven bound because that is the destination which Christ can go to. The Saints sing with joy. The opening verses read thus:
In Heaven soaring up, I dropt an Eare
On Earth: and oh! sweet Melody!
And listening, found it was the Saints who were
Encoacht for Heaven that sang for Joy.
For in Christs Coach they sweetly sing,
As they to Glory ride therein.
Taylor next uses the phrase ‘inward fire of joy’ to portray the thrill felt in the company of Jesus Christ. He goes on too say that if accidentally a piece of musical instrument falls apart it is quickly repaired which gives out a melody sweeter than before because of the company of Christ. Sample the quote:
And if a string does slip by Chance,
They soon Do screw it up again: whereby
They set it in a more melodious Tune
And a Diviner Harmony. For in Christs
Coach they sweetly sing,
As they to Glory
ride therein.
The poem ends when the poet talks of Acts Divine, and Worship and travel on foot if the coach is full.
We see that Taylor ’s style is somewhat abstract as compared to Anne’s who is more conventional and forthright. Taylor does not use nature to glorify the creator as does Anne. Because Anne is in ardent love of nature and it is through this medium that she expresses her inner feelings by using beautiful words and phrases. These are missing altogether from Taylor ’s poetry. Besides Taylor is not so easy to understand because of his Both are though passing on the same message to mankind which is that we human beings are nothing but humble creatures of God. Their common message is spread of nobility, humility and humanity.
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