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Michael Wigglesworth

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Michael Wigglesworth - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia

Michael Wigglesworth

 

General Information:

Michael Wigglesworth was born in 1631. At 20 years of age, he graduated from Harvard College. A majority of his life was spent serving as the Minister of the Congressional Church in Malden, Massachusetts. Even though he is most famously known for being a writer, Wigglesworth also practiced medicine. 

Life:
Born in Yorkshire, England, Wigglesworth was raised by his devout parents. At the age of seven, Wigglesworth and his family left England in 1638 to join a promising community of Puritans growing in Charlestown, Massachusetts. Eventually the family would end up in New Haven, Connecticut. Wilderness hardships took their toll as the family struggled to build a farm in the New Lands. The father, broken in health, was unable to manage the farm alone and had to ask Michael to interrupt his schooling and come home. He went back to school and was an excellent student, which led his parents to send him to the newly established Harvard College in 1648. Originally, he went to Harvard to become a physician, but while he was attending, he decided that God had different plans for him. He put away his medicinal studies and started to express the religious and philosophical ideas that he grew up with, which would become the substance of his writings. His works reflected on God’s grace and the examination of his own soul, a practice which led Wigglesworth to pick up his studies at the ministry. Along the way, he rejected several ministerial positions so that he could remain at Harvard to achieve his master’s degree, become a Fellow of Harvard (see Society of Fellows), and tutor others. He graduated from Harvard in 1651. Being fitted for the ministry, he preached at Charlestown in I653—1654, and was pastor at Malden from 1656 until his death. Even though he was a pastor at Malden, he never gave up the flame for medical studies. For twenty years or more bodily infirmities prevented his regular attendance upon his pastoral duties, time in which he used to study medicine again and started a practice. He married three times (outliving two wives) and had eight children. In 1697 he was again elected a fellow of Harvard; some say that he was offered the presidency but refused it because of his health history. In the last years of his life, his health improved and he preached more fervently and more often. With his vast knowledge of medicine, deep wisdom in religion, and thought-provoking poetry, he gained the eternal respect of many as a spiritual and physical healer. He died at Malden on the 10th of June 1705.

Life as a Speaker and a Writer:
 Wigglesworth's most significant piece of work, The Day of Doom, was all about the Day of Judgment. The main purpose of this assertion of impending doom was to re-ignite the flame for God and Puritan theology in the colonies during an era of declension. He claims that the Last Judgment comes without warning and he warns readers to be wary of their actions, for they will be judged by God in death. In his message, Wigglesworth emphasizes horrible punishments for the wicked and just rewards for the righteous, balancing God’s mercy and justice. He insisted that God could not be fooled by those with false hearts and false intentions.  He also wrote a long lamentation about the spiritual apathy in the colonies, called God's Controversy with New-England in 1662, around the same time The Day of Doom was published, but it wasn't until two centuries later it was published. A little later, he wrote Meat Out of the Eater (See Sampson's Riddle),  which derives from the Biblical story of Samson and suggests that blessing arises from suffering.

His works, especially The Day of Doom, were very popular among the colonies as it was easily accessible and written in a relatable language.  The Day of Doom was so popular that, by some estimations, there was one copy for every 35 people in New England. The first edition, published in 1662, sold out within a year, and the volume was reprinted many times in both America and England.

Writing Style:
 Wigglesworth wrote his poetry in a hymn meter, internal rhyme, and plain style when writing, that was familiar to New England Puritans. Wigglesworth's up-bringing and pastoral education greatly influenced his writing, and as a pastor, his writing skills were very important to him. Even though he was unable to lecture consistently in his own parish, Wigglesworth still found a way to preach to an enormous audience through his writing. His works and themes of goodness arising out of suffering perhaps inspired by his own experience as he attempted to turn his physical ailment into spiritual health. Wigglesworth writings are grounded in scripture and he analyzes secret sin more than overt transgression. The excerpt included below is from The Day of Doom and provides an example of his pastoral writing. 

"For at midnight brake forth a Light,
     which turned the night to day,
And speedily an hideous cry
     did all the world dismay.
Sinners awake, their hearts do ache,
     trembling their loins surpriseth;
Amazed with fear, by what they hear,
     each one of them ariseth."

Quotes:
 "Thus every one before the Throne
of Christ the Judge is brought,
Both righteous and impious
that good or ill hath wrought." -The Day of Doom


''If this my foolishness
Help thee to be more wise,
I have attained what I seek,
And what I onely prize.''- To the Christian Reader
 
 

 

Dominant Thematic Concerns: 
 As a Puritan minister, Michael Wigglesworth wrote many poems on the purity of faith and the accuracy of the Christian belief. Simply put, he revolved around the theme of religion in most of his works. This theme encompasses the creation of the world, sin, faith, and priesthood, which all play an important part in his works. He wrote in The Day of Doom, "The Judge draws night, exalted high/ upon a lofty throne,/ Amidst the throng of angels strong,/ lo, Israel's Holy One!" (Levine 253). Here, Wigglesworth is talking about God as the judge of all people, and He is sitting on His throne. Also, this quotes alludes to Jesus among the angels as He is the Holy One. Overall, this perfectly describes his religious themes portrayed in The Day of Doom and throughout his other works. 

 

List of Works:


 
The Day of Doom; or a Poetical Description of the Great and Last Judgment”  | Regeneration, Repentance and Reformation (Front page of The Day of Doom)

  Other Works:

The Diary of Michael Wigglesworth (1653 - 1657)
A Song of Emptiness (1657)
The Day of Doom (1662)
Meat Out of the Eater (1670)

Further Readings:
Cassell, Marcia Haynes. "Voice In Michael Wigglesworth's Poems." Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities And Social Sciences 57.7 (1997): 3016. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.

Sloan, Gary. "Wigglesworth's The Day Of Doom." Explicator 56.2 (1998): 64-67. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.


Sources:
"Michael Wigglesworth." Biographies. Answers Corporation, 2006. 
     Answers.com  04 Sep. 2013. http://www.answers.com/topic/michael-wigglesworth

"Michael Wigglesworth." Find a Grave. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Sept. 2013. <http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=18784172>. 
"Michael Wigglesworth (1631 - 1705 / England) Biography of Michael Wigglesworth." Poem Hunter. N.p.,
     n.d. Web. 4 Sept. 2013. http://www.poemhunter.com/michael-wigglesworth/biography/ 

Danielle, Hinrichs. "Michael Wigglesworth (1631-1705)." Cengage Learning. Online Study Center, n.d. 
     Web. 4 Sept. 2013. http://college.cengage.com/english/lauter/heath/4e/students/author_pages/colonial/wigglesworth_mi.html.

Levine, Robert S. Beginnings to 1820. 9th ed., New York, W.W. Norton, 2017. 

James Decker, Wigglesworth Lecture, Sept 1st 2021  

 





 

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