Anne Bradstreet
First accomplished American poet
Educated by tutors in England, particularly the Bible
Influenced by Shakespeare and other English poets.
Born into a family of Puritans
At sixteen, she married and at 18 she traveled to Mass.
Her brother-in-law published her poems in 1650
In her poems, every event, no matter how trivial, carries a divine message; each blessing
or loss reveals God’s will and an opportunity for spiritual growth.
“Upon the Burning of our House, July 10,1666”
Bradstreet emphasizes the things she has lost and her memories of happy occasions in the
house.
Although she expresses feelings of fear, sadness, and surprise, this loss makes her more
spiritual.
She criticizes herself for valuing the material possessions.
“Then straight I ‘gin my heart to chide”
Bradstreet viewed all events within the context of God’s divine plan. This means that
God is responsible for a; things- we must trust His will.
Three Lessons:
Material possessions are unimportant.
One shouldn’t worry about what happens to him/her because our fates are in the hands of
God, and we must do His will.
God has prepared “an house on high erect” that will be our final dwelling, no matter what
befalls on earth.
Poetry Details
Lyric: expresses the feelings of the speaker
Plain style- language is clear and precise
Inversion – sentence structure in which the expected order of words is reversed
“When rest I took” – When I took rest
Archaic language – hast, hath, shalt, doth, didst, thou, thee , thy, thine
Rhyme scheme- AABBCCDD
Metaphor
The house is heaven, whose Architect is God. It is more perfect than the poet’s
earthly home because it is richly furnished with glory. It has also been paid for
too, most likely, with suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ.
Allusion
Line 1 “Silent night” Paradise Lost (Milton)
Line 14 “The lord gave, and Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the
Lord.” (Job 1:21
Line 36 “Vanity of vanities; all is vanity.” Ecclesiastes
Symbolism
Fire – usually associated with hell. The speaker’s things were destroyed forever by hell,
and hell’s fires might destroy her soul forever if she does not focus on the divine.