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Anne Bradstreet's Poem Some Verses Upon The Burning Of Our House

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Some Verses Upon the Burning of Our House, a poem written by Anne Bradstreet in 166_, depicts a scene in which a Puritan woman’s house burns down. As one of the many Puritans residing in 17th century America, the author took to incorporating many teachings of Christian doctrine into her work; in this particular poem, Bradstreet centers her entire piece around God and how his actions affect one of his followers. In this particular poem, Bradstreet did so by having the narrator mourn the loss of her belongings in the fire, only to chide herself when she recalls that her possessions were never hers so much as God’s. Furthermore, the narrator determines that she must let go of the negative emotions the event prompted in her, for the only house she should care for as a Puritan is heaven. Through this chain of events one comes to see that, despite her momentary struggle to place her faith in God rather than despair, the incident ultimately strengthens the narrator’s faith by reminding her of everything God is and has made for her. …show more content…

In the beginning of the poem, we see the narrator perform an action that might be considered somewhat contradictory; though the lines “And to my God my heart did cry / To straighten me in my Distress” suggest that the narrator’s initial reaction to her house burning is grief, she “blest his grace that gave and took” when she could no longer stand to look at the sight (8-9, 14). At first, one wonders exactly why the woman would bless the God that stole her property from her. However, it is then made apparent that she believes her earthly belongings to be under the ownership of God rather than herself, and thus claims that God was perfectly within his rights to take back what he had loaned her. This is evidenced by the

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As the firemen arrive to burn the house and books they are confronted by an elderly lady who instead of fleeing or trying to escape was just standing still with her mouth murmuring something she's trying to remember. as the firemen all enter she starts to recite the verse bradbury page 7) “ play the man, Master ridley; we shall this day light such a candle, by god's grace, in england, as i trust shall never be put out. The elderly lady is quoting hugh latimer who recites this verse to his friend Nicholas Ridley, as they were both about to be burned as heretics for their teachings and beliefs. After the firemen escort her out they start to soak the house and everything in kerosene. before they set everything ablaze they try get her to enter the fire truck and she refuses she then instead reaches a match out of her pocket and lights the house and herself on fire.

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Jonathan Edwards’s sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” and Anne Bradstreet’s “Upon the Burning of Our House” seem at first glance quite similar to one another regarding context, however, after taking a closer look, it becomes apparent that there are some substantial differences. These differences cannot be understood without the knowledge of cultural context concerning the Puritan belief system and their lifestyle. “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” was written with the sole purpose of scaring and intimidating the people that purtinans believed to be sinners. Edwards’s work contributed to a movement called “The Great Awakening”. It’s objective was to make the so-called ‘sinners’ aware of their wrongdoings and compel them to repent.

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Like distinctive Puritans of her day, the purpose for Mary Rowlandson’s narrative was to express God 's inspiration in her life. In this

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He is saying that without God in your life you will be eternally tortured and unhappy. Bradstreet is much more happy and welcoming with her writing. She gives a sense that everything is going to be okay because God is there with her. She doesn’t let the devastation of her house along with all of her belongings burning to the ground disappoint her. She sees the bright side of it.

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During the Puritan times gender roles in the society were very anti-feminist. Women were required to act as housewives and do womanly duties such as cook, clean, and take care of their children. Women had very little freedom as far as their rights were concerned also. Puritan writers, Anne Bradstreet and Mary Rowlandson both experienced the struggle of the anti-feminist movement. From their writings we see that they both were against anti-feminism and they tried their best to abandon the whole idea.

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Both Bradstreet and Edwards are puritan writers, they are both believe in a higher more powerful God. In their writings “Upon the Burning of Our House”, by Anne Bradstreet and “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, by Jonathan Edwards they both talk about the higher being of God. They both are powerful writers and have a way of getting their points across, but they do it differently. They are both great writers and even though they have different religious views and different writing styles both of their poems, “Upon the Burning of Our House” by Anne Bradstreet and “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards, have the same goal of converting people.

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In this essay, I will analyze the poem Verses Upon the Burning of Our House (July 10th, 1666) by Anne Bradstreet, a puritan who most critics consider to be America’s first “authentic poet. The poem is based on a true story as Anne’s house really did burn down and illustrates her meditations on this event, the pain she felt after losing her home and the effect it had on her faith. The main theme is Anne’s struggle to not become attached to material things. I will begin by explaining the rhyme, style, and tone of the poem, continue by explaining which literary devices and interesting features we can find and the effect they have on the reader, then I will analyze the poem and finally I will give a brief conclusion. Verses Upon the Burning of Our House is a poem written in couplets in iambic tetrameter scheme which makes the story flow nicely.

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The value of earthly treasures versus eternal treasures is a key theme in Anne Bradstreet’s “Upon the Burning of Our House.” Throughout the poem, Bradstreet uses the following three examples to discover her feelings about losing her earthly treasures in the house fire and moving toward eternal treasures: her earthly possessions, her position in society, and her ultimate choice to focus on eternity. Anne Bradstreet is a woman who was the first English colonial poet. while she resided in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. She wrote this poem around July of 1666 to describe the event of her home burning to the ground.

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Theses writings were for personal use and despite their wishes were eventually published. Because of this, their writings showed true emotion and not that for entertainment or religious persuasion. Once released to the public their experiences were valued and passed on for generations to come. There was many simulates in the works of Anne Bradstreet and Mary Rowlandson’s describing signs from God to appreciate the nature, family and most importunely to put God first. Because of these signs and resulting tragedies, Anne Bradstreet and Mary Rowlandson had a very positive outlook on life and inspired many to follow and appreciate the simple things in life.

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“Thy love is such I can no way repay. The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray” (226). Lines 9 and 10 show a Feminist criticism point of view, these verses make the suggestion that the wife may be inferior to her husband, implying the husband’s superiority. Line 3, “If ever wife was happy in a man” (226), in which the word wife is used but man rather than husband is employed. The word wife in the line means belonging and dependency while man represents strength and independence.

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Furthermore, by using end rhyme, Bradstreet symbolically shows restraint. In the same way that a poet controls oneself by specifically using end rhyme, the poet is controlling her emotions when dealing with a sad experience and accepts her mortality. Similarly, in “Verses Upon the Burning of our House,” proof of Bradstreet’s faith is indisputable. After being initially distraught at her house burning down and losing all of her belongings, Bradstreet recounts how she reorients herself and blesses “His name that gave and took,

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Bradstreet knows the goodness in God and rather than fearing him she thanks Him or asks for help. While her house was burning she asked God “to strengthen [her] in [her] time of distress”(9) because she knows everything that happens is through the will of God and only He can help her through this difficult situation. Bradstreet sees God as a just one even though he took all of her physical possessions. She takes His justness a step further by saying in lines 18 and 19 that even if He took all of her belongings, it would still be reasonable. Bradstreet also believes in a positive afterlife for herself and most people around her.

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In the poems “To My Dear and Loving Husband” and “Upon the Burning of Our House” the author Anne Bradstreet allows the reader a glimpse of what she values. The two poems are alike because they both explore her religion and show her love for God. In these two poems they let you get a glimpse of the way she looked at things and saw the good side of everything. For example, in “ To My Dear and Loving Husband” it says “ if ever a man were loved by wife, then thee; if ever wife was happy in man,”.

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“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

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