“To My Dear and Loving
Husband”
Anne Bradstreet
1612-1672
What details suggest the intensity of Anne
Bradstreet’s love for her husband?
• “I prize thy love more than whole mines of
gold
Or all the riches that the East doth hold”
(Bradstreet 35).
• “My love is such that rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee, give
recompense” (Bradstreet 35).
Cite three lines from the same poem that
suggest that Bradstreets’ love was mutual
• “If ever two were one, then surely we.”
• “Then while we live, in love let’s so persevere
That when we live no more, we may live
ever.”
Persevere: here
Where does imagery contrast material
wealth with spiritual wealth?
• “I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.”
• Material Wealth:
– Gold
– Riches
• Spiritual Wealth:
– Repay
– Reward
What Puritan belief does the final
couplet assert?
• “The while we live, in love let’s so persevere
That when we live no more, we may live
ever.”
• Marriages that endure are rewarded in
afterlife.
Upon the Burning of Our House
July 10th, 1666
Anne Bradstreet
1612-1672
Identify three specific examples of
Bradstreet’s deep sense of loss.
• Literature focused on a deep sense of loss often
focuses on favorite places and specific objects.
• “…that trunk…” (Line 25)
• “…that chest…” (Line 25)
• “Under thy roof no guest shall sit…” (Line 29)
• “No pleasant tale shall e’er be told” (Line 31).
• “No candle e’er shall shine in thee,
Nor bridegroom’s voice e’er heard shall be”
(Lines 33-34).
In lines 37-54 what three things does Anne
Bradstreet do to warn herself against her
affection for worldly goods?
• Chides herself
– To scold mildly; reprimand
• Questions earthly wealth
• Raises her thoughts above the sky
Literary Element: Allusion
• A reference to a person, a place, an event, or a
literary work that a writer expects a reader to
recognize.
• Where does the following allusion exist in the
poem:
– Christian admonishment to build treasures in heaven
rather than on earth.
• “Didst fix thy hope on mold’ring dust?
The arm of flesh didst make thy trust?
Raise up thy thoughts above the sky
That dunghill mists away may fly” (Lines 39-42).
Bradstreet’s Rhythmic Pattern
• Iambic couplets
Writing and Responding to Literature
• A poet often reveals his or her feelings by
means of contrast; for example, by contrasting
feelings of sorrow and joy or of pride and
humility. In your own words, describe the
contrast Anne Bradstreet makes between her
feeling of distress and her feeling of serenity
over the burning of her house.