COVE

The image above is an actual picture of the arrest warrant for Sarah Good. Good's warrant was released on February 29th, 1692. Sarah was one of many people who were convicted of witchcraft. However, there was one issue, Sarah Good was pregnant. Due to this major confliction Sarah was held in a prison until she gave birth. Unfortunately, Good’s newborn child passed away and she was executed in July; this turn of events lead to phycological damage to the rest of her family, specifically her daughter Dorcas (Jobe). During her execution Sarah was asked by the minister to confess to witchcraft and be saved; however, her last words were as so: “You’re a liar! I’m no more a witch than you are a wizard! If you take my life away, God will give you blood to drink!” (Jobe). 

This is when the pattern of death and darkness began in Salem. Similar, to “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe, which also explores patterns of darkness. Poe states, “Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before” (Poe). The narrator is attempting to grasp the fear within him like many had to do during the Salem Witch Trials. Both situations create a climate of fear and uncertainty, whether it be living through the situation as Sarah Good did or reading the history of her unfortunate circumstances. The narrator also mentions “Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling, By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore” (Poe). The narrator is visited by a raven in this scene which is often a symbol of darkness and even death. During the trials, Good went through the death of her fellow community members. Both circumstances resulted in a strong feeling of death and darkness. In Poe’s poem, it provided it towards the reader. However, Sarah Good had to live through these morbid patterns.

Jobe, Sarah. “Sarah Good .” Salem Witch Trials: Sarah Good, 2001, salem.lib.virginia.edu/people/good.html.

Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48860/the-raven. Accessed 5 May 2024.

“SWP No. 063: Sarah Good Executed July 19, 1692.” SWP No. 063: Sarah Good Executed July 19, 1692 - New Salem - Pelican, salem.lib.virginia.edu/n63.html. Accessed 2 May 2024.