Arthi Selvaraj (7+)
Prompt #1 Essay: Anne Bradstreet
What is the purpose of writing? Of poems? Of speeches and sonnets? Of novels,
poems, and journals? We write to record, but more importantly express. Express what?
Anything. Express thoughts, express emotions, express thoughts on emotions, and the most
popular expression… of evolution. Epiphanies. Growth. Progress. All accomplished through
analysis of events, their effect, and introspection of one after experiencing the effect of the
event. An exemplary piece that not only records an experience but expresses the experienced
one’s recovery, “Verses Upon the Burning of Our House" details Anne Bradstreet’s
development that is stimulated by the burning of her house. She uses organization to record
what had happened, her reactionary response, and her gained maturity, all for personal
rumination; metaphor is used for an abstract and symbolic conclusion, representative of her
newfound maturity.
The poem is organized chronologically, as it also serves as a record, beginning with
Bradstreet awakening during the fire: “ In silent night when rest I took\ …I was waken’d with
thund’ring noise\ And piteous shrieks of dreadful voice”. This literal description sets the
scene, a visual reminder of the environment/setting. To add depth and emotional enormity of
the event, (as this is a personal recount), Bradstreet adds “ And to my God my heart did cry\to
straighten me in my distress\ And not to leave me succourless”. This pattern continues, the
literal, the emotional reaction, and then the literal again, giving an accurate recount of the
event as well as emotional depth that is personal and necessary to understand Bradstreet’s
growth. After “ the flame consume[d] my dwelling place”, the development begins, starting
from her last reaction and transitioning into her first epiphany: “And when I could no longer
look\ I blest his grace that gave and took… yea, so it was, and so ‘twas just”. Here the shock
wears away and the acceptance begins, “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”. This is her first
growth, her first realization, right after experiencing the event. The event is god’s work, and
therefore it is accepted and the perspective changes from the “glass is half empty” approach to
the “glass is half full”. The second event is the later grief felt “when by the ruins oft [she]
past”. The pain is old. The pain is subdued. The pain is worn. Bradstreet’s pattern repeats.
Here, however, she uses memories for her literal description rather than present events: “my
sorrowing eyes aside did cast\... Where oft I sate and long did lie\ Here stood that trunk, and
there that chest\ There lay that store I counted best”. After “under the roof no guest shall sit”
begins a repetition that creates a fast-paced rhythm, almost a rant: “Nor at the table eat a bit\
No pleasant talk shall ‘ere be told\ Nor things recounted done of old\ nor candle ‘ere shall
shine in thee\ Nor bridegroom’s voice ere heard shall be”. The final line telling of her
husband’s death for the first time is the finale—among previous memories it is easily and
shockingly the most depressing. For the audience, it is, amidst old sorrow, a new tragedy, and
“silence” from “ In silence ever shalt thou lie” seems to resonate for a moment, before
Bradstreet continues, following her previous pattern. She transitions from the emotional
response to her new learned lesson with “Adieu, adieu, all’s vanity”. Instead of a shift in tone
(as in the previous event), she chides herself wit rhetorical questions, as if this realization is
an old and tired one: “And did thy wealth on earth abide\ Didst fix thy hope on mouldring
dust\ the arm of flesh didst thy trust?” Here Bradstreet displays her maturity instead of
displaying her path to maturity. She reminds herself and therefore stating the idea, that
“wealth on earth” though what she had once cherished was not what should be cherished.
These two events, (during and after a tragic fire), are both analyzed in effect by Bradstreet’s
profound introspection; the analysis follows similar patterns that display her development
chronologically as caused by these events.
The concluding stanza in Bradstreet’s poem begins as a metaphor that serves to close
the poem off with the ideas gained from this experience. It begins with “thou hast a house on
high erect\ Fram’d by that mighty Architect\ It’s purchased and paid for too\ By him who hath
enough to do\... by his gift is made thine own”. The house represents Bradstreet’s saved life
and new knowledge; “the mighty Architect” is god, who “fram’d” her life, and “made [her]
own” the knowledge by causing the burning of her house. Transitioning out of the metaphor,
Bradstreet states “There’s wealth enough; I need no more\ Farewell my pelf, farewell my
store”, the reference back to items she previously mourned further serves as proof of her
acceptance and development. The “house” is an ideal symbol here as it helps connect the
literal subject to the enlightenment she gained from it—she is proving her growth equivalent
to or even more precious than her original home.
Glancing only at the beginning, containing grief and shock, and the end of Bradstreet’s
poem, full of content and wisdom, there is a large gap. Now include the body. What gap?
From the actual event to the reminiscing of it, Bradstreet recounts all in depth. This is
achieved by the literal description-the emotional reaction-gained knowledge pattern: this
organization creates the flow, and an effective chronological record. The concluding metaphor
completes it, serving more as a display/ last stand proving Bradstreet’s development. This
emotional, accurate and subsequent poem serves a profound example of the natural evolution
we go precede through daily, hourly, eternally.