Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 by Anne Bradstreet Feature Menu Introducing the Poem Literary Focus: Metaphor Literary Focus: Literary Perspectives Reading Focus: Analyzing Text Structures: Inversion Writing Focus: Think as a Reader/Writer

How can people’s beliefs affect their actions? Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 by Anne Bradstreet The Granger Collection, New York How can people’s beliefs affect their actions?

Click on the title to start the video. Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Introducing the Poem Click on the title to start the video.

Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Introducing the Poem In this poem, the speaker awakens to shouts of “Fire!” She escapes from her burning house and then watches the flames consume it. The shock of losing her house causes her to reflect on what truly matters to her. [End of Section]

Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Literary Focus: Metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two unlike things without using like or as. What is being compared in each of these sentences? Our opponent’s defense was an impenetrable wall. The hawk, a bolt of lightning, caught its prey.

Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Literary Focus: Metaphor The Puritans preferred a plain style of writing that rarely included figurative language. The Puritan’s plain style stressed simplicity clarity of expression the use of everyday words A common and important device used in Puritan literature, however, is the implied metaphor.

Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Literary Focus: Metaphor An implied metaphor is a metaphor not directly stated in the text. Adorning her midnight blue gown was a constellation of jewels. This sentence implies a comparison between jewels and stars, as well as between the gown and the night sky. [End of Section]

Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Literary Perspectives Historical Context Historicism is the study of how the circumstances of a time period influence an author’s work. Influences can be social economic cultural intellectual religious political

Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Literary Perspectives Historical Context The context of Bradstreet’s poem is the seventeenth-century Puritan colonies in North America. Considering Puritan beliefs about earthly and spiritual existence, how might a Puritan react to the sudden loss of all of his or her material possessions? The Granger Collection, New York

Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Literary Perspectives Political Context Analyzing literature’s political contexts often includes the study of gender. The study of gender examines how concepts of masculinity and femininity influence an author’s work.

Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Literary Perspectives Political Context Puritan women’s influence was often limited to the domestic sphere. How might Bradstreet’s identity as a Puritan woman have influenced her reaction to the loss of her home? The Granger Collection, New York [End of Section]

Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Reading Focus: Analyzing Text Structures Inversion is the reversal of the normal word order in a sentence or phrase. Poets often use inversion to accommodate the demands of meter and rhyme. My pleasant things lie in ashes, And I shall behold them no more. Normal order “My pleasant things in ashes lie, And them behold no more shall I.” Inversion [End of Section]

Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Reading Focus: Analyzing Text Structures Into Action: Use a chart to rewrite Bradstreet’s inverted lines in normal, “noninverted” order. Into Action: Inversion Chart In silent night when rest I took Line 1. Original Order In silent night when I took rest Normal Order For sorrow near I did not look Line 2. Original Order Normal Order [End of Section]

Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Writing Focus: Think as a Reader/Writer Find It in Your Reading Implied metaphors are more difficult to identify than directly stated metaphors. Although most of Bradstreet’s images and words are literal, some are metaphorical. “Thou hast an house on high erect, Framed by that mighty Architect, . . .” As you read, look for images and terms that could metaphorically represent other things or ideas.

Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Writing Focus: Think as a Reader/Writer To understand an implied metaphor, first change inverted word order to normal order and update the vocabulary. “Thou hast an house on high erect, Framed by that mighty Architect, . . .” In heaven you have an intact house Built by that mighty Architect. Then, ask yourself what is being compared. In this case, who or what is the “mighty Architect”?

Vocabulary

Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Vocabulary piteous adj.: deserving pity or compassion. consume v.: burn away; destroy. vanity n.: something valueless. glory n.: great beauty; splendor.

Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Vocabulary The word piteous means “deserving pity or compassion.” After observing the piteous living conditions of our city’s homeless men, women, and children, the city council vowed to take action. What emotions are likely to have inspired the council to take action?

Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Vocabulary Which of these animals might emit a piteous cry?

Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Vocabulary The word consume means “to burn away or destroy.” The raging fire continues to consume acres of woodland dried by recent drought. Is this fire leaving many trees standing intact? How do you know?

Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Vocabulary Although the flood waters washed away Blanca’s possessions and destroyed her home, it could not consume her spirit. Which of these words best describes Blanca? a. determined b. pleased c. depressed

Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Vocabulary The word vanity means “something valueless.” “The time and attention you devote to socializing on the computer is vanity,” scolded Jose’s mother. Does Jose’s mother approve of his pastime?

Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Vocabulary After serving in the Peace Corps, Jenna realized the vanity of focusing on material goods. Which of these activities might appeal to Jenna? a. a shopping spree b. volunteering at the local children’s shelter c. buying a second car

Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Vocabulary The word glory means “great beauty or splendor.” Tourists flock to the Appalachian Mountains for the scenic glory of the fall foliage. What adjectives—descriptive words—might the tourists use when they describe what they see?

Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Vocabulary The hikers were mesmerized by the glory of the blazing sunset. Which of these words might best describe the sunset? a. boring b. beautiful c. frightening

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QuickWrite

Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 QuickWrite What events inspire people to write poetry? Think of an event in your life that moved you strongly and affected your beliefs about the world. What happened? How did you feel? Write a few sentences describing your experience. [End of Section]

Meet the Writer

Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Meet the Writer Born into a Puritan family in England in 1612, Anne Bradstreet married when she was about sixteen. She and her husband immigrated to New England, where she raised eight children and found time to write poetry. In 1650, her brother-in-law published her poems in England without consulting her. The book’s surprising success encouraged her to keep writing. More about the writer [End of Section]

Build Background

Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Build Background Although the Puritans were industrious and often acquired worldly goods, they considered it sinful to place too much pride on personal possessions. Bradstreet focuses on such pride in her poem.

Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Build Background Rather than narrating a straightforward account of the burning of her house, Bradstreet records her spiritual journey from grief to solace and the realization that her love of material things has been in danger of eclipsing her love of things divine. [End of Section]