ENGL 220
Literary Analysis
Fall 2012
The Puritans were simple people who did not believe in wealth or decoration.
Because of this, the Puritans constantly struggled with maintaining their religious beliefs
and resisting the temptations of the earth. Anne Bradstreet’s poem, “The Flesh and the
Spirit,” focuses on this war between faith and the sinful desire for material possessions.
In this poem, the Spirit strives to resist the temptations presented by the Flesh. However,
the Spirit and the Flesh are from the same person; therefore, it is difficult for the Spirit to
ignore the Flesh’s persuasion. As a result, there is a constant battle between the Spirit and
the Flesh that will only end at death.
The speaker opens the poem with the lines, “In secret place where once I stood/
Close by the banks of Lacrim flood,/ I heard two sisters reason on/ Things that are past
and things to come” (1-4). While it may not be evident who are the two sisters from
these lines, the speaker continues, “One Flesh was called, who had her eye/ On worldly
wealth and vanity;/ The other Spirit, who did rear/ Her thoughts unto a higher sphere” (58). It can be concluded that the two sisters are the Flesh and the Spirit. The Flesh is a
representation of sin, while the Spirit symbolizes the Puritan faith. They are sisters
because they come from the same mother or father. In addition, they are connected to one
another until death.
The speaker states that the Flesh and the Spirit were arguing on “Things that are
past and things to come” (4). It can be interpreted that the conflict is centered on the
Flesh and the Spirit’s different interests. The Flesh has a love for “…worldly wealth and
vanity” (6), while the Spirit has “thoughts unto a higher sphere” (8); in other words, the
Flesh is interested in material possessions, while the Spirit’s interests are intangible. This
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becomes more apparent as the speaker continues with, “Sister, quoth Flesh, what liv’st
thou on,/ Nothing but meditation?/ Doth contemplation feed thee so/ Regardlessly to let
earth go?” (9-12). The Flesh is questioning how the Spirit can enjoy intangible interests,
such as meditation and contemplation, so much as to completely forgo any desire for
wealth.
The Flesh is trying to tempt the Spirit to strive for material possessions. The Flesh
tries to appeal to the Spirit’s interests by stating that honor can be achieved through
material goods. The Flesh states, “Dost honor like? Acquire the same,/ As some to their
immoral fame,/ And trophies to thy name erect/ Which wearing time shall ne’er deject”
(25-29). The Flesh explains that the Spirit can gain honor through riches, which will last
much longer than moral honor. Later, the Flesh declares that “Earth hath enough of what
you will./ Then let not go, what thou may’st find/ For things unknown, only in mind”
(34-36). The Flesh is trying to persuade the Spirit that material possessions are better than
intangible interests because material possessions are concrete; there is no mystery to
material possessions as there is to philosophy and theology.
The Spirit does not does not want to give in to the Flesh’s temptations. The Spirit
states, “…Be still thou unregenerate part,/ Disturb no more my settled heart” (37-38). By
declaring she has a settled heart, the Spirit claims that she is not interested in the Flesh’s
temptations; however, this does not mean that the Spirit believes that the struggle is over.
The Spirit continues, “For I have vowed (and so will do)/ Thee as a foe still to pursue./
And combat with thee will and must,/ Until I see thee laid in th’ dust” (39-42). The Spirit
views the Flesh as its enemy and believes the war will end only when the Flesh has died
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and the two finally separate. While the Spirit has decided she will resist the Flesh’s
temptations, it knows that she will struggle with the Flesh as long as they are together.
The Spirit seems to be very opposed to obtaining material possessions. For
instance, the Spirit says, “Thy flatt’ring shows I’ll trust no more” (50) and “They sinful
pleasures I do hate,/ Thy riches are to me no bait” (58-59). However, the Spirit, once
again, declares that battle with Flesh is not over yet. According to the Spirit, “My greatest
honor it shall be/ When I am victor over thee” (61-62). According to this line, the Spirit
does not believe herself to be triumphant yet; however, the Spirit is confident she can
overcome temptation. This is because she truly enjoys intangible ideas and activities
more than material possessions. The Spirit confirms this by stating, “My thoughts do
yield me more content/ Than can thy hours in pleasure spent” (69-70) and “Eternal
substance I do see/ With which enriched I would be” (75-76). The Spirit believes that her
introspective interests are more enjoyable and more valuable than material goods.
Though the Spirit talks abundantly about not wanting to obtain material goods
while living on Earth, she becomes materialistic when talking about Heaven. When
referring to Heaven, the Spirit asserts, “The gates of pearl, both rich and clear,/ And
angels are for porters there;/ The streets thereof transparent gold,/ Such as no eye did e’er
behold” (88-92). She also states, “There’s none on earth can parallel” (86). These
statements contradict what the Spirit has previously asserted about being above a
materialistic life; however, this merely supports the idea that the Spirit has to perpetually
battle the Flesh’s temptations. Even though the Spirit has other interests, she thinks about
material possessions and believes they are a reward in Heaven for good behavior on
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Earth. Also, this Spirit is a human Spirit and humans are flawed; therefore, the Spirit will
be flawed.
Another way to view this contradiction is as a fight between two actual sisters.
One sister, Flesh, is encouraging her sister to break the rules. The other sister, Spirit,
though tempted, does not want to break the rules. This is because she thinks that if she is
good, their parents, which in this case is God, will reward her with Heaven and the other
sister would be punished for being bad. It is a very similar argument that is made between
actual sisters.
Finally, the Spirit talks about how Heaven is no place for Flesh. Heaven is a place
for the Spirit after the Flesh can no longer live. The Spirit states, “From sickness and
infirmity/ For evermore they shall be free;/ Nor withering age shall e’er come there”
(101-103). The Spirit believes that Heaven is a place for the Spirit to be free from the
Flesh. The Spirit then specifies how Heaven is not a place for its Flesh by declaring,
“This city pure is not for thee,/ For things unclean there shall not be” (105-106). The
Flesh is not pure; it is sinful and, therefore, not allowed in Heaven.
This poem was written in Puritan style. That means it is simple; figures of speech
were seen as elaborate and, therefore, sinful. As a result, figures of speech were not used.
This poem, however, does have an iambic tetrameter. For example, the line “Dost dream
of things beyond the moon” (15) can be separated in four parts of an unstressed syllable
followed by a stressed syllable. “Dost,” “of,” “be” in “beyond,” and “the” are unstressed.
“Dream,” “things,” “yond” in “beyond,” and “moon” are stressed. Each line also contains
eight syllables. The rhyme scheme of this poem is AABB. Many of these rhymes are
slant rhymes. For example, “How oft thy slave, hast thou me made,/ When I believed
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what thou hast said” (51-52) and “A crystal river there doth run,/ Which doth proceed
from the Lamb’s throne” (93-94) are examples of slant rhymes used in this poem.
Within the Puritan religion, there was a struggle between faith and sin. This
struggle is reflected in Anne Bradstreet’s poem, “The Flesh and the Spirit” in which the
Spirit and the Flesh battle with one another. While the Flesh is interested in material
possessions, the Spirit’s interests are intangible. The Flesh strives to tempt the Spirit with
material goods; however, the Spirit attempts to resist these temptations. The Spirit
understands that to give in to such temptations would be sinful and sinful souls are not
allowed in Heaven. Even though the Spirit claims not to be interested in material
possessions, she still desires them and views them as a reward for being pure. As a result,
the Flesh and the Spirit are in a perpetual battle with one another until death.
Works Cited
Bradstreet, Anne. “The Flesh and the Spirit.” The Norton Anthology of American
Literature. Vol. A. Ed. Nina Baym et. al. 7th ed. New York: Norton, 2007. 202204. Print.