En-209-006, Smith En-209-135, Wiley 22 September 2015 Bradstreet “Upon the Burning of Our House” Anne Bradstreet’s poem Upon the Burning of Our House was during 1666 and in this time a women’s main role was having and raising children. Bradstreet had eight children and some of her poems were about her love for them. The health and success of her children made her mindful of God’s love. Bradstreet was also a Puritan and a lot of her poems are about God and her faith, this is shown throughout Upon the Burning of Our House. When Bradstreet suffers with a tragedy she tries to look at the bigger picture and find the good in whatever the tragedy may be. In this poem she does this by knowing that all her stuff does not belong to her. Her things …show more content…
“It was His own, it was not mine, Far be it that I should repine; He might of all justly bereft But yet sufficient for us left.” In the scene after she walks by the place that was once her home she remembers the things she once owned. She expresses her memories with the place that was once her home. “My pleasant things in ashes lie, And them behold no more shall I. Under thy roof no guest shall sit, Nor at thy table eat a bit.” Even though the poet is sad when she sees that all her memories from that house might be gone she realizes that better is coming. She talks about how there is a better home built by God waiting for her in heaven. “Thou hast an house on high erect, Framed by that mighty Architect, With glory richly furnished, Stands permanent though this be fled. It’s purchased and paid for too By Him who hath enough to do.” These few lines show how there is a better house in her future that is made by God, she talks about how it is paid for and is framed by a mighty architect and is nicely …show more content…
Later on in this poem in line 41 Bradstreet explains her house being “house on high erect” this is a metaphor showing how she went from thinking she was hopeless to realizing her faith in God was growing. Bradstreet’s tone throughout the poem does change some; it starts to change when she is focusing on her things not belonging to her but to God. Then it changes once again when she passes by the place that was once her home. Looking at this text as a whole shows how throughout the whole poem Bradstreet never questioned there wasn’t a God. The last lesson that Bradstreet learned is that her wealth will improve in heaven. She explains this in lines 51 through 54 “There’s wealth enough, I need no more, Farewell, my pelf, farewell my store. The world no longer let me love, My hope and treasure lies above.” She is explaining that she doesn’t need any more wealth on earth because in heaven she will gain
Bradstreet was a Puritan and was therefore raised with a simplistic view of the world. This, combined with the fact that she was a woman, carried over into her way of writing. Her writing style was not eloquent but plain, humble, and pleasant to read. Her poems dealt with topics such as faith, family, and adversity and were easy to understand. Bradstreet had great faith which she gained through the experiences she encountered in life.
She writes a letter to husband, almost instructing him on what to do after her death. Unlike other demure housewives of her time, she acknowledges the risk birthing her child brings by saying, “And when thy loss shall be repaid with gains / Look to my little babes, my dear remains” (107). Bradstreet also approaches a taboo subject by acknowledging that her husband might remarry. Bradstreet does not tread lightly on this subject either by writing, “And if thou love thyself, or loved’st me, / These o protect from step Dames injury” (107). In this poem, Bradstreet faces the possibility of not only the loss of her life but the loss of her husband’s love. Bradstreet challenges Puritan beliefs by showing that she will still be concerned with her earthly life after her
Bradstreet also made it appoint to compare the sudden death of her grandchild to nature stating, “But plants new set to be eradicate, / And buds new blown to have so short a date, / Is by His hands alone that guides nature and fate”( lines 12-14). Conversely, Edward describes his loss of his child as a honor from God. Taylor states, “ Lord take’t. I thank Thee, Thou tak’st ought of mine: / It is my pledge in glory, part of me / Is now in it, Lord glorified with Thee” revealing his honor to have his child sitting with the lord (Edward lines 28-30). Both authors took their faith into great consideration when speaking of the loss of a family
Bradstreet’s last learned lesson is her wealth does not come from the things she gains on earth but her true wealth lies in heaven. She begins Stanzas 37-42 rebuking her thoughts of what will no longer take place in her ash filled home. Furthermore, Bradstreet gives her depiction of the “heavenly” place in Stanzas 43-48; which is built on permanent grounds and consist of expensive furniture all financed by God. In the last Stanzas of the poem Bradstreet begins focusing on the place where wealth is defined:
Edward Taylor’s “Huswifery”, Anne Bradstreet’s “A Letter to Her Husband, Absent upon Public Employment,” and “In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Elizabeth Bradstreet, Who Deceased August, 1665, Being a Year and a Half Old” all demonstrated strong feeling toward either domestic life or Puritan spiritual beliefs. These three poems dealt with one or more of these topics: death, marriage, spousal duties, and the God’s role in the Puritan life. Taylor and Bradstreet both approach the belief God has His elects and those chosen will precede to heaven but their viewpoints on domestic roles are slightly different; where Taylor is glorifying the work of a housewife, Bradstreet is displaying the dependence and submissiveness that Puritan women have to their husband.
It dictated most of her way of living. She writes about her many struggles between her “flesh” and “the Spirit”. She is honest about sometimes feeling inadequate and wanting to digress away from God’sS way. She includes a constant tension between her selfish thoughts and what she know is the best path. It is not so much a battle between personal beliefs and what one is expected to do. Rather it is a battle between what one is doing and what one already knows is the best route in thinking and living. Bradstreet’s family moved from England to the New England in order to follow this movement of Puritans creating a new life in accordance to the church (White, p.103). So she was well aware of Christian principles and very familiar with the Bible. In Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House she talks mostly about the many vanities of this world and that one should focus on things that are eternal. She
During the 17th century religion was a major them of American writing. The difference between these New World Puritans and the Old World Roman Catholics and church of England Anglicans, the obstacles the settlers faced in the New World, and their own personal struggles with faith made this subject inevitable. Bradstreet portrays her struggles with death, life, and faith in the poems” Before the Birth of one of her Children” and ‘’Here Follows Some Verses upon the Burning of our house 1666” As well as her letter “To My Dear Children’’. Rowlandson in her text “A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Rowlandson” provides an account of her captivity at the hands of Indians. Both authors are good examples of Puritan thinking as both depict their personal struggles and solutions they found as good
...e from her love to the world. Perhaps, she believed that in this love of her, she became God-like and God thus punishes her. Nevertheless, the presence of God in her poems is more than clear. Perhaps, it was due to religious beliefs that she though that it was wrong to feel too strong feelings to world and she considered herself to be a sinner who deserves punishment. Today, there are few followers of Bradstreet, but she, her ideas and her thoughts about sufferings still remain in modern books.
Anne Bradstreet wrote poetry in a time when only Puritan men were publishing writing, mostly about their faith and religion. Thus, she was the first woman in the colonies to be published and received a lot of criticism for it. At this time, there were roles that women were expected to fill, specifically wife and mother roles, and going against these roles could have grand consequences. While her poems may seem simple and domestic, they contain a more complex meaning when looked at closely. Through many of her poems, Bradstreet expressed her frustration towards her society’s gender norms and went against the Patriarchal ideas of the Puritan society.
In spite of the fact that she composes the verse, clearly, the lyric is a great deal more convoluted than it at first appears. It offers many intriguing bits of knowledge into the part of the female artist, her brain science, and the verifiable setting of the work. Bradstreet composed the lyric in measured rhyming. The lyric communicates Bradstreet 's emotions about her brother by marriage distribution of some of her sonnets in 1650, which she didn 't know about until the volume was discharged. Utilizing the allegory of parenthood, she depicts the book as her youngster. Like a defensive mother, she noticed that the volume was "sick formed" and grabbed far from her before it was prepared for freedom. The "companions" who took it were "less astute than genuine," implying that while their activities were imprudent, these individuals absolutely did not have malignant goals. Since the work has been distributed without giving the artist time to redress any blunders, it is out on the planet while it is back in her grasp. At initially, she depicts the recently bound volume as "maddening in my sight," not able to overlook the blemishes she wished she had the chance to address. She wishes she could show her work in its best form yet that is presently inconceivable - she portrays washing its face yet at the same time observing soil and stamps. Be that as it may, the artist can 't resist the
This piece of literature although certainly expected to be frowned upon, was accepted quite openly and many had read it. She wrote a poem named, "Upon the Burning of Our House July 10th, 1666." This poem was inspired from when her house was burned down along with the majority of her estimated 800 books! She rejects the anger of this world and instead looks to God for reassurance. She was a Puritan by religion, and her husband often appeared in much of her poetry and sometime even the central theme of the literature even though her religion clearly states that a earthly marriage should not distract from full devotion to God. An often present theme in Anne Bradstreet's work was the principles of deliverance and redemption. She believed that she was punished with marital problems and illness because of any sins she has committed. She also believed that, "Suffering was God's way of preparing the heart for accepting His
In Bradstreet’s poem ‘In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Elizabeth Bradstreet, Who Deceased August, 1665, Being a Year and a Half Old’ religion plays a key part on managing the grief of death. Being ‘with the Lord forever’ was a promise in ‘My Dear and Loving Husband’ whereas in ‘Memory of My Dear Grandchild it is used to bring comfort. The promise that Elizabeth Bradstreet is ‘then ta’en away unto eternity’ where the Puritan belief suggests she will endure for ‘forever’ and thus they shall meet again. The Puritan belief that ‘we are parted for a little while, but we shall see them again’ helps Bradstreet deal with the grief of the death of her grandchild. Puritanism has clearly permeated every aspect of Bradstreet’s life as her first act in desperate times is to look to her faith but also seeks her religion in every relationship she has whether it be romantic, with her husband, or familial. Bradstreet seeks to celebrate her faith in God through her poetry, using it as a form of worship making it a clear tool for voicing her Puritan
Anne Bradstreet believes if she lives her life the way God meant her to live it, things will work out fine for her. She writes, "About 16, the Lord laid His hand sore upon me and smote me with the smallpox. When I was in my affliction, I besought the Lord and confessed my pride and vanity, and He was entreated of me and again restored me" (145). Bradstreet has a traditional view about God. She believes if she lives her life as a good person, she will be rewarded for it. If she lives her life full of pride and vanity, then she will pay the consequences. The good and just are rewarded ...
For the most part of the poem she states how she believes that it is Gods calling, [Then ta’en away unto eternity] but in other parts of the poem she eludes to the fact that she feels more like her granddaughter was stolen from her [or sigh thy days so soon were terminate]. One of the main beliefs in these times was that when someone died it was their time; God needed them and had a better plan. Both poets found peace in the idea that God had the children now and it was part of the plan, but are also deeply saddened and used poetry as a coping mechanism.
She caught severe disease after only two years of arriving in America. Her sickness and expectation of death strengthened her faith and made her consider each day as being her last day. After she recovered from her sickness, she believed that to be blessing. Her sickness became a turning point and self realization for Bradstreet. She built a strong foundation for her faith as a Puritan woman and overcame all her doubts about the existence of God and started to seek salvation from God. When her husband was a way for business, she missed him because of her true and deep love for him. Yet his absent and severe physical and emotional feeling created inner conflict between worldly desire and spirituality. Her love for her husband competed with her love for God. But by using her writing, she sustained her faith and overcame her physical