Hope in the face of death seems to be an impossible concept to adequately convey to a reader. After all, death itself seems to be the epitome of hopelessness and hopelessness. However, Anne Bradstreet conveys this very idea in her poetry. Bradstreet lived in a Puritan community in America where people lived very hard lives and struggled a lot. Under such conditions, death was a possibility that loomed over people on a daily basis. As such, it is a subject that Bradstreet chose for many of his poems. He strives to bring hope to his fellow colonists, even in the face of death, by broadening their field of vision to include the eternity promised to them by God. In his poems "Contemplations", "Before the Birth of One of her Children" and " As Weary Pilgrim,” Bradstreet uses nature to illustrate where to maintain focus in life and shows how to remain hopeful when death is an inevitable and ever-present event. -current fact of life. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay While Bradstreet praises nature in his poetry, he acknowledges its insufficiency while using it for a higher purpose. In his poem “Contemplations”, he speaks very highly of nature and the beauty it possesses. She praises nature's ability to rejuvenate in the eighteenth stanza by saying, "If winter comes and the green fades, / Spring comes again, and they grow younger" (Bradstreet 124-125). She seems envious of this trait and reveres it. He then observes that man falls short in these terms: “But man grows old, he lies down, he remains where he once lay” (Bradstreet 126). Man falls victim to time and age without the ability to regenerate. With this awareness, he tackles a topic that would have been widespread in his time: death. Life in America was harsh for the people of the communities where Bradstreet was located, and these harsh conditions led to very high mortality rates. This explains Bradstreet's admiration for the regenerative powers of nature and goes a step further by asking a question: "Shall I then praise the heavens, the trees, the earth / Why do their beauty and their strength last longer?" (Bradstreet 134-135). She quickly puts this thought to rest by observing that despite the longevity of trees, earth, and all other forms in nature, these things will eventually die and "man was created for infinite immortality" (Bradstreet 140) . She shows that despite where man fails, i.e. in strength and longevity, he will receive his reward in the eternal world and for this reason man is superior. This would have been a message of hope to the people of Bradstreet's day who were struggling. The idea that they would be rewarded in the next life was a comforting idea rooted in Puritan beliefs. However, making nature insignificant seems to be contradictory to the rest of the poem, which spends a good amount of time praising nature. Despite her seemingly contradictory statements about the value of flattery of nature, she is justified in her use of nature as a focal point and her praise of the beauty and superior aspect of nature because she speaks of nature as a reflection and illustration of religious ideals. He opens the poem by praising the beauty of the trees in autumn. He goes a step further by stating, “If so much excellence dwells below, / How excellent is He that dwelleth above…” (Bradstreet 9-10). He sees nature as a reflection of God himself. It's not just a reflection; Bradstreet also demonstrates that observations of nature can be used to illustrate religious concepts. For example, observea swimming fish deduces that it is struggling to achieve the goal of reaching the ocean. As he did with his previous description of nature, he deepens the illustration and connects it to something of greater value. In the same way that the fish struggles, man struggles through the vital difficulty of life with the promise of eternal life at the journey's end. Nature alone is not worthy of worship, but when seen as God's creation and reflection, it must be revered because it is meant to point back to Him. It is conveying the importance of keeping the focus on God in all things and of strive for the ultimate goal of eternity throughout life rather than earthly goals. In Kopacz's words, he is saying, “Earthly achievements and status, memorials and documents, have no meaning in the perspective of eternity. Only salvation can triumph over time” (Kopacz). As he refocuses attention on his audience, he is telling them through his use of nature that God and the salvation in him should be focused in life because it is the only thing that lasts for all eternity. He recognizes the difficulty of keeping his eyes on God and illustrates this struggle in his poem titled “Before the Birth of One of His Children.” This poem was written about the impending birth of one of Bradstreet's children and in it she acknowledges the possibility of dying in childbirth. He observes in the poems the far-reaching power of death stating, “No bond so strong, no friend so dear and sweet, / But death's parting blow will surely meet” (Bradstreet 3-4). With this statement and the previous examples of Bradstreet's poetry, one would expect a mention of the eternal life that awaits after death. However, as Dempsey points out, “the speaker does not sugarcoat the reality of death with pious words about waiting for heaven or repenting of sin” (Dempsey). Poetry lacks such promise. Instead, she laments having left her husband and begs him to love her children if he were to die. He also goes on to say, “And if I see not half my days, it is due…” (Bradstreet 13). In other words, she is saying that if anything happens to her, she will have been cheated out of her time on this earth. This is not the voice of someone who looks to the promised eternal life after death. This is a realistic and natural attitude to have, and here she illustrates the difficulty of keeping your eyes on these things when facing death. When faced with the possibility of leaving everything one has known, it shows that worrying thoughts set in and fall upon those they will leave behind. This gives the poem a desperate and hopeless tone. However, this is not the only insight into death that Bradstreet provides. In his poem titled “As a Weary Pilgrim,” he speaks of the hardships of life and the relief and comfort that can be found in life after death and states, “There I will see such abiding joys… Lord, prepare me for that day / Then come , dear Groom, come away” (Bradstreet 41-44). In his poem, he illustrates the desperate struggle with one's own death, showing the reader that relief can be found when one focuses on the eternal life promised by God. The religious beliefs of Anne Bradstreet are strongly rooted in her poetry, and the poem itself seeks to help people in their spiritual journeys. It shows how man is superior to nature because of the promise of eternal life nature itself is stronger and majestic than man, this has no value because man will receive his reward in the next life. Therefore, to understand this, one must always remain focused on God and the ultimate goal of eternity with Him He illustrates this very concept by connecting everything he sees in nature to religious ideas. However, as has.. 2016.