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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