Assertion Analysis #11- Cotton Mather

           The Puritan religion is one that is purely based on the teachings of the Bible, any subject otherwise was deemed as an abomination. Therefore any expression of art was seen as the work of Satan. Cotton Mather was a minister during the Puritan era, making him socially and politically influential. With the level of authority and power he had over the Puritan people, he voiced his opinion of poetry having a negative connotation, making it a sin. Puritans as a whole believed that entertainment amounted to sin, when they really should've deemed their own ministers hair and frizz an act of evil and sin.
             Cotton Mather expressed his ideology through the use of pamphlets. In ‘Chastity of Soul” he made an analogy between a meal and the pleasure of poetry coming in between the word of God. He claimed that poetry was essentially a sauce in that meal, making it a mere distraction from the main course which was the Bible. He explains that poetry can come as a great danger and people should be focused on the Bible and the lord rather that any expression of art.
                 Cotton Mather was a walking contradiction. He made Puritans believe that any form of artistry was considered a betrayal to the Lord therefore being inept for salvation. Although he preached about poetry being an evil danger he also wrote poetry, which ultimately makes his own argument invalid.