Anne Broadstreet's The Prologue, By Johnathan Edwards

Anne Broadstreet’s The Prologue is a poem that really catches one’s eye in aspects of life. Anne is one insecure woman and has self-doubting thoughts constantly. She also does not believe her work is good enough to be published. Anne shows her insecurity throughout the poem and specifically in the fourth stanza, “ Art can do much, but this maxim's most sure: A weak or wounded brain admits no cure.”(Bradstreet 111) This is simply saying art impresses her, but it cannot heal her “weak or wounded brain”. This seems to be the main topic of Broadstreet’s poems. Her insecurity and self-doubt backed up by her relationship with god is shown throughout the poem. This came from the background she grew up in. She overtook her father’s Puritan believes and used them in everyday life. The poem is intended for a wide spread audience and almost anyone can relate to it. …show more content…
Edwards uses the technique of fear to persuade his audience. The fear of hell itself is an epitomizing way of reminding yourself to live life humbly and to do right everyday. Edwards’ persuasion of fear is saying, god has no pity of throwing people in hell, and does not feel any remorse for those who are thrown in hell. If one agrees with Edwards’ sermon or not fear is something that can persuade anyone into doing anything. “He is not only able to cast wicked men into hell, but he can easily do it”. (Edwards 211) This is hard to read with an open mind, but the fear itself makes one think about it