Question

How would Berryman’s poetry have been received by Puritan colonists if they could have read it? Be sure to consider the morals and beliefs of 17th century American settlers in your answer

Answer 1

John Berryman (1914 - 1972) was a confessional poet. He used explicit language to describe personal, intimate, private feelings that were seen as socially unacceptable, even in his time. He was alienated for his beliefs and independent mind, just like Anne Bradstreet was by the Puritans. Bradstreet and Berryman had similar ways of thinking and both went mostly unrecognized as artists. That was the reason why Berryman wrote Homage to Mistress Bradstreet in the first place. His poetry would not have been well received in Bradstreet's time, had they been able to read it.

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Answer 2

When analyzing Berryman’s poetry in regards to the time era it was written and the audience of those times, it is clear that some of his works may have been seen as controversial considering the Puritan society that he was living in when his works were written.