Upon the Burning of Our House
by Anne Bradstreet
LITERARY FOCUS: THE PLAIN STYLE
REVIEW SKILLS
The Puritans favored “plainness” in all things: in dress, in the architecture
and design of their churches, in their forms of worship, and in language.
Unlike the ornate “high style” popular in England at the time, the Puritan
plain style used simple sentences and common words from everyday speech.
The plain style contained few or no classical allusions, Latin quotations, or
elaborate figures of speech. The plain style, Puritans felt, was much more
effective in revealing God’s truth than the ornate style. Despite the fact that
the style used by Puritan writers now seems hard to read, it was considered
simple and direct in the 1600s.
Although Anne Bradstreet’s “Upon the Burning of Our House” contains
some figurative language, it is a good example of the plain style.
As you read “Upon the
Burning of Our
House,” notice the way
the following literary
devices are used.
RHYME
The repetition of
vowel sounds in
accented syllables and
all syllables following.
METER
A pattern of stressed
and unstressed
syllables.
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
Make It Plain In the left column of the chart below are two descriptions
of everyday objects written in an ornate style. Rewrite each description in
plain style_as a Puritan might have.
Ornate Style
Plain Style
Shabby but beloved, my
shoes house my feet as they
carry me from place to place.
The pen spills ink-blood as it
brings words to life.
READING SKILLS: ANALYZING TEXT STRUCTURES
“Upon the Burning of Our House” is filled with inversions. In an inversion,
sentences are not written in normal word order. For example, Bradstreet
writes “I wakened was with thund’ring noise” instead of “I was wakened
with thund’ring noise.” Inversion is often used to make a poem’s rhyme
scheme work out or to maintain a fixed meter.
Use the Skill
As you read Anne Bradstreet’s poem, underline the places
you find inversion.
Literary Skills
Understand the
characteristics of
plain style.
Reading
Skills
Understand the
use of inversion.
Review Skills
Understand
rhyme and
meter.
Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666
15
Here Follow Some Verses upon the
Burning of Our House,
July 10, 1666
Anne Bradstreet
In silent night when rest I took
For sorrow near I did not look
Circle the inversions you find
in lines 1-4.
I wakened was with thund’ring noise
And piteous shrieks of dreadful voice.
5
That fearful sound of “Fire!” and “Fire!”
Let no man know is my desire.
What is the speaker doing in
lines 11-12?
I, starting up, the light did spy,
And to my God my heart did cry
To strengthen me in my distress
10
And not to leave me succorless.1
Then, coming out, beheld a space
The flame consume my dwelling place.
I blest His name that gave and took,2
15
That laid my goods now in the dust.
Yea, so it was, and so ’twas just.
It was His own, it was not mine,
In lines 16-17, why does the
speaker say that the fire was
“just?”
Far be it that I should repine;
He might of all justly bereft
20
But yet sufficient for us left.
When by the ruins oft I past
My sorrowing eyes aside did cast,
And here and there the places spy
Where oft I sat and long did lie:
1. succorless (suk√¥r · lis) adj.: without aid or assistance; helpless.
2. that gave and took: allusion to Job 1:21, “The Lord gave, and the
Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
16
Part 1
Collection 1: Encounters and Foundations to 1800
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
And when I could no longer look,
25
Here stood that trunk, and there that chest,
There lay that store I counted best.
My pleasant things in ashes lie,
And them behold no more shall I.
What is the “house on high
erect” described in lines
43-46?
Under thy roof no guest shall sit,
30
Nor at thy table eat a bit.
No pleasant tale shall e’er be told,
Nor things recounted done of old.
No candle e’er shall shine in thee,
Nor bridegroom’s voice e’er heard shall be.
35
In silence ever shall thou lie,
In line 44, who is the
“mighty Architect”?
Adieu, Adieu, all’s vanity.
Then straight I ’gin my heart to chide,
And did thy wealth on earth abide?
Didst fix thy hope on mold’ring dust?
40
The arm of flesh didst make thy trust?
Raise up thy thoughts above the sky
That dunghill mists away may fly.
Thou hast an house on high erect,
Framed by that mighty Architect,
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
45
With glory richly furnished,
Practice reading the boxed
passage aloud. As you read
the first time, notice the
rhymes and strong meter.
On your next readings, try to
vary the rate of your reading
to avoid sounding sing-song.
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
50
Yet by His gift is made thine own;
Bradstreet’s plain style helps
to convey a complex message.
In your own words, what is
this message?
There’s wealth enough, I need no more,
Farewell, my pelf,3 farewell my store.
The world no longer let me love,
My hope and treasure lies above.
The poem is rhymed in couplets. Circle any end rhymes
that do not rhyme exactly.
(Review Skill)
3. pelf: wealth or worldly goods (sometimes used as a term of
contempt).
Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666
17
Here Follow Some Verses upon the
Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666
Reading Skills and Strategies: Analyzing Text Structures
“Upon the
Burning of Our House” contains many instances of inversion, in which words
appear in an unusual order. The left-hand column of the chart below lists
several examples of inversion from the poem. In the right-hand column, write
the inverted words or phrases in normal word order.
Example of Inversion from Poem
Restatement of Inversion
“In silent night when rest I took” (line 1)
“When by the ruins oft I past” (line 21)
“My pleasant things in ashes lie,” (line 27)
“And them behold no more shall I.”
(line 28)
18
Part 1
Collection 1: Encounters and Foundations to 1800
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
“I, starting up, the light did spy,” (line 7)
Collection 1: Encounters and Foundations to 1800
Coyote was ugly too. The girls did not like him. But he was
smart. He could change himself around and trick the women.
Coyote got the girls when he wanted. (lines 23=25)
social life
Part 1
He taught the people how to eat and how to hunt the buffalo and catch eagles. He taught them what roots to eat and
how to make a good lodge and what to wear. (lines 10=12)
customs (what they are,
how they are followed)
14
I will send messages to the earth by the spirits of the people
who reach me but whose time to die has not yet come. . . .
When their spirits come back into their bodies, they will
revive and tell you their experiences. (lines 53=57)
Details from the Story
religious beliefs
Aspect of Nez Perce Life
Reading Skills: Understanding Cultural Characteristics
Look back over
the details you highlighted or underlined that reveal characteristics of Nez Perce
culture. The chart below contains a list of different aspects of Nez Perce life. Fill
in the right-hand column with details from “Coyote Finishes His Work” that tell
you about each aspect. Sample entries are given.
Coyote Finishes His Work
REVIEW SKILLS
15
Review Skills
Understand
rhyme and
meter.
Reading
Skills
Understand the
use of inversion.
Literary Skills
Understand the
characteristics of
plain style.
METER
A pattern of stressed
and unstressed
syllables.
RHYME
The repetition of
vowel sounds in
accented syllables and
all syllables following.
As you read “Upon the
Burning of Our
House,” notice the way
the following literary
devices are used.
Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666
Use the Skill
As you read Anne Bradstreet’s poem, underline the places
you find inversion.
“Upon the Burning of Our House” is filled with inversions. In an inversion,
sentences are not written in normal word order. For example, Bradstreet
writes “I wakened was with thund’ring noise” instead of “I was wakened
with thund’ring noise.” Inversion is often used to make a poem’s rhyme
scheme work out or to maintain a fixed meter.
READING SKILLS: ANALYZING TEXT STRUCTURES
The pen is a blue ballpoint with
a leaky tip.
The pen spills ink-blood as it
brings words to life.
Plain Style
My shoes are old, brown, kind
of worn-out, but comfortable
for walking around in.
Shabby but beloved, my
shoes house my feet as they
carry me from place to place.
Ornate Style
Make It Plain In the left column of the chart below are two descriptions
of everyday objects written in an ornate style. Rewrite each description in
plain style_as a Puritan might have.
Although Anne Bradstreet’s “Upon the Burning of Our House” contains
some figurative language, it is a good example of the plain style.
The Puritans favored “plainness” in all things: in dress, in the architecture
and design of their churches, in their forms of worship, and in language.
Unlike the ornate “high style” popular in England at the time, the Puritan
plain style used simple sentences and common words from everyday speech.
The plain style contained few or no classical allusions, Latin quotations, or
elaborate figures of speech. The plain style, Puritans felt, was much more
effective in revealing God’s truth than the ornate style. Despite the fact that
the style used by Puritan writers now seems hard to read, it was considered
simple and direct in the 1600s.
LITERARY FOCUS: THE PLAIN STYLE
by Anne Bradstreet
Upon the Burning of Our House
Collection 1
Student pages 14–15
Student Pages with Answers
9
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
10
The Holt Reader: Teacher’s Manual
16
Part 1
Collection 1: Encounters and Foundations to 1800
1. succorless (suk√¥r · lis) adj.: without aid or assistance; helpless.
2. that gave and took: allusion to Job 1:21, “The Lord gave, and the
Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Where oft I sat and long did lie:
And here and there the places spy
My sorrowing eyes aside did cast,
speaker’s.
But yet sufficient for us left.
He might of all justly bereft
Far be it that I should repine;
It was His own, it was not mine,
Yea, so it was, and so ’twas just.
That laid my goods now in the dust.
I blest His name that gave and took,2
And when I could no longer look,
The flame consume my dwelling place.
Then, coming out, beheld a space
And not to leave me succorless.1
To strengthen me in my distress
And to my God my heart did cry
I, starting up, the light did spy,
Let no man know is my desire.
That fearful sound of “Fire!” and “Fire!”
When by the ruins oft I past
20
15
10
5
And piteous shrieks of dreadful voice.
I wakened was with thund’ring noise
For sorrow near I did not look
are God’s, not the
The house and goods
In lines 16-17, why does the
speaker say that the fire was
“just?”
watching it burn.
house and is now
She has escaped her
What is the speaker doing in
lines 11-12?
Circle the inversions you find
in lines 1-4.
In silent night when rest I took
Anne Bradstreet
Here Follow Some Verses upon the
Burning of Our House,
July 10, 1666
50
45
40
35
30
25
There’s wealth enough, I need no more,
17
The poem is rhymed in couplets. Circle any end rhymes
that do not rhyme exactly.
(Review Skill)
relationship with God.
Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666
3. pelf: wealth or worldly goods (sometimes used as a term of
contempt).
My hope and treasure lies above.
The world no longer let me love,
Farewell, my pelf,3 farewell my store.
person needs is a
The only wealth a
Yet by His gift is made thine own;
A price so vast as is unknown
Bradstreet’s plain style helps
to convey a complex message.
In your own words, what is
this message?
By Him who hath enough to do.
It’s purchased and paid for too
Stands permanent though this be fled.
With glory richly furnished,
Framed by that mighty Architect,
Thou hast an house on high erect,
That dunghill mists away may fly.
Raise up thy thoughts above the sky
The arm of flesh didst make thy trust?
Practice reading the boxed
passage aloud. As you read
the first time, notice the
rhymes and strong meter.
On your next readings, try to
vary the rate of your reading
to avoid sounding sing-song.
God.
Didst fix thy hope on mold’ring dust?
The mighty Architect is
And did thy wealth on earth abide?
In line 44, who is the
“mighty Architect”?
eternal life with God.
erect” is heaven, or
The “house on high
What is the “house on high
erect” described in lines
43-46?
Then straight I ’gin my heart to chide,
Adieu, Adieu, all’s vanity.
In silence ever shall thou lie,
Nor bridegroom’s voice e’er heard shall be.
No candle e’er shall shine in thee,
Nor things recounted done of old.
No pleasant tale shall e’er be told,
Nor at thy table eat a bit.
Under thy roof no guest shall sit,
And them behold no more shall I.
My pleasant things in ashes lie,
There lay that store I counted best.
Here stood that trunk, and there that chest,
Collection 1
Student pages 16–17
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
18
Part 1
And I shall behold them no more.
My pleasant things lie in ashes
When I oft past by the ruins
I, starting up, did spy the light
In silent night when I took rest
Restatement of Inversion
Collection 1: Encounters and Foundations to 1800
“And them behold no more shall I.”
(line 28)
“My pleasant things in ashes lie,” (line 27)
“When by the ruins oft I past” (line 21)
“I, starting up, the light did spy,” (line 7)
“In silent night when rest I took” (line 1)
Example of Inversion from Poem
Reading Skills and Strategies: Analyzing Text Structures
“Upon the
Burning of Our House” contains many instances of inversion, in which words
appear in an unusual order. The left-hand column of the chart below lists
several examples of inversion from the poem. In the right-hand column, write
the inverted words or phrases in normal word order.
Here Follow Some Verses upon the
Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666
Use the Skill
As you read “World, in hounding me . . .,” look for
capitalization and punctuation clues that indicate the beginning and
ending of the speaker’s ideas.
than waste its stock on every beauty’s claim?
rather to stock my mind with things of beauty,
How can it harm you if I choose, astutely,
World, in hounding me, what do you gain?
Look at the following example from “World, in hounding me . . .”. The
end punctuation clues are circled. The other marks are underlined. This
passage from the poem contains two complete thoughts over four lines
of poetry.
Reading
Skills
Find units of
meaning.
19
Literary Skills
Understand the
characteristics of
a Petrarchan
sonnet.
World, in hounding me . . .
In many poems the speaker’s ideas do not end at the ends of lines. Instead,
those ideas may fill up two, three, four, or even more lines. When you read
poetry, look for punctuation clues like commas, periods, and question marks
to help you identify units of meaning.
READING SKILLS: FINDING UNITS OF MEANING
Sor Juana’s “World, in hounding me . . .” is a Petrarchan sonnet. Note that
some of the rhymes are approximate, because of the translation from
Spanish to English.
A sonnet is a fourteen-line poem that follows a strict structure. The writer
Petrarch (1304-1374) created the model for what is now referred to as the
Petrarchan, or Italian, sonnet. Here are the characteristics of a Petrarchan
sonnet:
• The first eight lines, or octave, ask a question or pose a problem.
• The rhyme scheme of the octave is abba abba. (The first and fourth lines
rhyme, as do the second and third, and so on.)
• The last six lines, or the sestet, respond to the question or problem.
• The sestet may contain the rhyme scheme cde cde or cdc dcd.
LITERARY FOCUS: SONNET
by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz
World, in hounding me . . .
Collection 1
Student pages 18–19
Student Pages with Answers
11
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
Name
Selection:
Class
Date
Author:
Plain Style
The plain style is a way of writing that stresses simplicity and clarity of expression.
DIRECTIONS: Read the selection, and find examples of the four characteristics of plain
style. Fill in the chart below with the examples. Answer the questions below to help you
analyze the plain style.
Everyday
language
Simple
sentences
Direct
statements
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
Biblical
references
Questions to Help Analyze Plain Style
1. What other style of writing was popular in England during the time of the Puritans?
How was this style different from the plain style?
2. Why does the plain style seem difficult to today’s reader?
Graphic Organizers
211