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Bradstreets 'The Spirit And The Flesh'

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In Bradstreet’s “The Spirit and the Flesh” the poem’s purpose was to show how the Puritans struggled daily with doing the right thing, but being a victim of sin, they struggled with being perfect in an imperfect world. Bradstreet did a great job of portraying this battle in “The Flesh and the Spirit” by having twin sisters argue about what is right and what is wrong. For example, " 'Sister, ' quoth Flesh, 'what liv 'st thou on nothing but Meditation? Doth Contemplation feed thee so regardless to let earth go" (p.222)? Flesh unlike Spirit believed that it is earthy pursuits of wealth and pleasure that are more satisfying than the spiritual pursuits of meditation and contemplation. Battling good and evil, the Puritans also struggled with doing

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