Question

How do you think a Puritan writer such as William Bradford or Jonathan Edwards might have responded to the ideas presented in "A Psalm of Life" by Henry Wadsworth?

a) They would have embraced the ideas in "A Psalm of Life."
b) They would have strongly opposed the ideas in "A Psalm of Life."
c) They would have remained indifferent to the ideas in "A Psalm of Life."
d) They would have adapted their own ideas to align with "A Psalm of Life."

Answer 1

Puritan writers like William Bradford or Jonathan Edwards would likely b) have strongly opposed the ideas in "A Psalm of Life" by Henry Wadsworth, seeing them as contradictory to Puritan beliefs in predestination and the spiritual focus of life.

Step-by-step explanation:

Considering the Puritan belief system and their view of life as being under the strict guidance of religious doctrine and predestination, Puritan writers such as William Bradford or Jonathan Edwards would have likely strongly opposed the ideas presented in "A Psalm of Life" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Longfellow's poem encourages living life to the fullest, being heroic, and leaving behind a legacy, which can be seen as a contradiction to the Puritan belief in predestination and the idea that only God's grace, not individual action, leads to salvation.

The Puritans would see the earthly focus of Longfellow's poem as potentially detracting from the spiritual focus of life and the preparation for the afterlife.