How Did Anne Bradstreet Use Allusions In Upon The Burning Of Our House

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It was the late sixteenth century, life revolved around God, everyone had a relative unity that came from above, with the relief of being able to serve God in the way they believed was right. Anne Bradstreet followed the words of God, but not only did she follow his words, she lived by then in text. Puritan Ethics gave purpose and benefit to every puritan’s life including in Anne Bradstreet’s writing, which is demonstrated almost in every piece of her writing. This was the perfect time period to follow and obey God and Anne Bradstreet did just that; she captured the time period in her writing through the use of allusions and the choice of diction and thinking she put into her writing.

Anne Bradstreet brought to life and concluded to a deeper …show more content…

Often one can easily overlook an allusion in a piece of literature, but that was not the case in Bradstreet’s writing, the use of allusions captured everything that deeply really mattered at the time she was applying it in her writing. “Upon the Burning of Our House” captured just that, it capture the suffering that Bradstreet lived through, and even when all she had turned to ashes, she never turned on God but only focused on telling her heart humbly that all that was vanity, she didn't need all that material stuff due to the fact that “Thou hast a house on high erect Frameed 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. A price so vast as is unknown, Yet by His gift is made thine own; There‘s wealth enough, I need no more.” (Bradstreet 36-54) The allusion that Bradstreet used described the light that shunned on her after a dark period in her life, gave power to her hopes and expectations in the poem. This demonstrated that she found better …show more content…

"The Flesh and the Spirit" gave an understanding on choosing sides, the two characters we meant to represent the choice one needs to make for themselves. Bradstreet used great diction on choosing the names of her characters in the poem, she could have just named them any insignificant name but by using diction she demanded the time period with an understand that they would have captured immediately :Flesh was the black and Spirit was the white, the one everyone wanted to eventually find themselves in. " Sister we are, yea twins we be, Yet deadly feud 'twixt thee and me For from one father are we not. Thou by old Adam wast beg. But my arise is from above,Whence my dear father I do love." (Bradstreet 43-48) The thinking of Bradstreet was one, can choose be the son of "old Adam" who had acquired eternal hate from humanity but instead be the friend of God who gave in big quantities and never expected back but only obedience. The diction Bradstreet used in this poem gave excitement to the people in that time period because there was nothing better than reading the word of wisdom that Bradstreet used when she said for everyone "The City where I hope to dwell, There's none on Earth can parallel." (Bradstreet