Analysis Of The Poem 'Verses Upon The Burning Of Our House'

“Verses upon the Burning of our House, July 10th, 1666” is an poem written by Anne Bradstreet that, at its surface, is about internal conflict that is experienced when the author (in this case a devoted and faithful Christian woman) believes she has become too fond of material or, rather yet, earthly things. However, once the reader has had the chance to appreciate all its aspects respectively, they uncover underlying layers that add meanings that would otherwise be overlooked. Throughout the poem, Bradstreet utilizes a number of literary devices in order to ensure that the poem’s theme is recognized and fully comprehended by the reader. The most significant theme of “Verses upon the Burning of our House, July 10th, 1666” is that no matter how dark times get, with the grace of God all will be well because He has better in store for His believers in their eternal life and in Heaven. When the sequence of the poem is intertwined with the poet’s personal background (which gives insight into how the author

Bradstreet was born in 1612—the beginning of the 17th century. Her father was Thomas Dudley and he taught he taught her to read and write at the prestigious estate of the Earl of Lincoln, where they lived at the time, because she was not able to attend school (poetryfoundation). In April of 1630 however, Bradstreet, her father, and her husband took a three month trip to the New World. Upon arriving, Bradstreet and her family moved “from Salem to Charlestown, to Newtown (later called Cambridge), then to Ipswich, and finally to Andover in 1645”. (poetryfoundation). Anne Bradstreet’s difficult trip and her extensive moving explains why she became so upset about her possessions being destroyed. She had finally found a place to call home and it was taken away from her by He “that gave and took” (Bradstreet