This poem shows that it is definitely not written by a
            Puritan in a number of different ways. Key to understanding this point is focussing on
            the speaker's view of the afterlife and identifying how sharply it differs from
            traditional Christian notions of heaven and a celestial realm where we end up. According
            to the speaker of the poem, what happens when we die is that we re-join
            nature:
readability="20">
Earth, that nourished thee, shall
            claim
Thy growth, to be resolved to earth
            again,
And, lost each human trace, surrendering
            up
Thine individual being, shalt though
            go
To mix forever with the
            elements...
This view of the
            afterlife, where we just return to the dust from which we were made, thus stands in
            sharp contrast to Puritan notions of heaven and an afterlife spent with
            God.
 
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