Anne Bradstreet

For Deliverance From A Fever

When sorrows had begirt me round,
And pains within and out,
When in my flesh no part was found,
Then didst Thou rid me out.

Medical autobiography

Bradstreet is documenting real symptoms—fever, sweating, delirium. Puritan women often wrote about illness as spiritual crisis, but she's unusually specific about the physical experience.

My burning flesh in sweat did boil,
My aching head did break,
From side to side for ease I toil,
So faint I could not speak.
Beclouded was my soul with fear
Of Thy displeasure sore,
Nor could I read my evidence

Evidence = assurance

In Puritan theology, 'evidence' meant proof of your salvation. During fever delirium, she literally can't remember the spiritual experiences that convinced her she was saved.

Which oft I read before.

Quoting Psalms

Direct quote from Psalm 27:9—'Hide not thy face far from me.' She's praying in biblical language, but the quotation marks show she knows she's doing it.

"Hide not Thy face from me!" I cried,
"From burnings keep my soul.
Thou know'st my heart, and hast me tried;
I on Thy mercies roll."
"O heal my soul," Thou know'st I said,
"Though flesh consume to nought,
What though in dust it shall be laid,
To glory t' shall be brought."
Thou heard'st, Thy rod Thou didst remove

The rod removed

God's 'rod' is both punishment and guidance (Psalm 23). He's not just healing her—he's stopping the divine discipline that caused the fever in the first place.

And spared my body frail
Thou show'st to me Thy tender love,
My heart no more might quail.
O, praises to my mighty God,
Praise to my Lord, I say,

Redeemed from pit

The 'pit' is both death and hell—Psalm 30:3 uses the same phrase. She's been literally pulled back from the grave and spiritually saved from damnation.

Who hath redeemed my soul from pit,
Praises to Him for aye.
Source Wikipedia Poetry Foundation

Reading Notes

Fever as Theological Crisis

Bradstreet wrote this around 1657, after recovering from a serious illness. For Puritans, sickness wasn't random—it was God's rod, a term meaning both punishment and correction. The question wasn't 'Will I survive?' but 'Why is God doing this to me?'

The poem's center reveals the real terror. She can't read her evidence—the Puritan term for proof of salvation. This evidence might be a spiritual diary, memories of conversion experiences, or simply the ability to feel God's presence. Fever delirium has erased it. She's facing death without knowing if she's saved.

Beclouded was my soul with fear
Of Thy displeasure sore

Notice beclouded—her soul has literal weather. The fever isn't just making her physically sick; it's creating spiritual fog. She can't see God, can't remember her salvation, can't think clearly enough to pray properly. The physical and spiritual crises are the same crisis.

What She Actually Says to God

The quotation marks in lines 13-20 are unusual—Bradstreet is showing us her exact words during the fever. Most devotional poems paraphrase prayer; she's giving us the script.

Her argument has legal precision. "Thou know'st my heart, and hast me tried"—God, you've already tested me, you know I'm sincere. "I on Thy mercies roll"—I'm betting everything on your mercy, not my worthiness. Then the crucial move: "Though flesh consume to nought"—even if you let this body die, you'll resurrect it to glory. She's simultaneously begging to live and accepting death.

The poem ends with "for aye"—forever. She's not just grateful for this one healing. She's been given proof that God won't abandon her, evidence she can read even when fevered. The physical recovery matters less than the spiritual certainty it provided.