Anne Bradstreet Vs Upon The Burning Of Our House Essay

In this essay, I will analyze Anne Bradstreet’s poem, Verses upon the Burning of our House, July 10th, 1666. Written after the destruction of her house, Bradstreet’s word choice, symbolism and allusion help to convey a message of gratitude and strong faith in God.
Beginning with the first few lines, (1-10), Bradstreet sets up a constant couplet rhyme scheme, drawing emphasis to the final word of each line. The use of strong description captures the urgency of the moment, and she finishes this opening section with the very important lines: “And to my God my heart did cry; To straighten me in my Distress; And not to leave me succourless.”
In these beginning lines, Bradstreet begins the poem by describing the gentle rest she settled into prior to the fire, stating “For sorrow near I did not look”, detailing the true surprising and unexpected nature of the fire. In the following lines, Bradstreet describes the moment, detailing the noise heard and the light she saw as she escaped from her burning house. The final three lines of the segment introduce the main idea of the passage, but from a different position. Instead of being grateful for still having her life after the fire, Bradstreet calls upon her god to save her

possessions along with herself and her family.
In the next lines, (11-20) Bradstreet describes a sudden change of heart, saying “I blest His name that gave and took” as her house is engulfed in flame. She continues, defending God and his ability to destroy her possessions while leaving her with her life and family, still able to live. Her defense shows a complete trust in God, even beginning to justify her losses, as “[i]t was His own, it was not mine; [f]ar be it that I should repine;”.
In this section, Bradstreet recounts her emotion as she watched her house burn; in lines 13-14, she states “[…] when I could no longer look, I blest His name that gave and took,” her faith strong enough to force her to ignore her loss, instead driving her to thank God.
In the following lines, (21-30), Bradstreet describes her feelings when she sees the ruins of her house. As she walks past the charred rubble of her home, she recalls where her various possessions used to be prior to the fire.
In the first two lines, she states that she ruminates on the damage caused by the fire many times, saying “[…] by the ruins oft I past, [m]y sorrowing eyes aside did cast,”.

As the section continues, she explains how she constantly returns to the home, sitting and recounting how and where her objects used to be. In the couplet “My pleasant things in ashes lie; And them behold no more shall I.”, Bradstreet expresses a solemn sort of acceptance, almost regretful, and contrary to her previous gratitude and praise given to God. In the finishing couplet, “Under thy room no guest shall sit; Nor at thy table eat a bit” she begins to list memories and experiences that she had in the house that cannot be recreated, stating that they cannot happen at

all.
In the next section, (31-40), Bradstreet continues to list events, finishing with questions posed at her devotion to her objects.
In lines 29-34, she states past memories of hers, her tone becoming solemn and slightly angry. The events, having occurred in the house prior to the fire, are pleasant, and by listing them she creates a sentiment that the house represented and housed only good experiences, and with the house’s destruction, Bradstreet is unable to experience any good.
In the next few lines (35-40), she has another sudden change of tone, from a sorrowful anger to a tone of solemnness and regret. The final few lines, “And did thy wealth on earth abide? Didst fix thy hope on mold’ring dust? The arm of flesh didst make thy trust?” are strong, expressing a sort of anger towards herself for feeling such sadness for her possessions, questioning if she truly trusted solely in her wealth, if she truly placed hope upon her objects, if she truly feared the power of man more than the power of God. At this point of the poem, the narrator begins to address herself, as if she’s convincing herself to rationalize her own thought.
In the last complete section of 10 lines (41-50), Bradstreet continues her tone, encouraging the reader and herself to discard their possessive thoughts, stating that God, the great “Architect” has a great house for all.
In the section, she revisits her pious and devoted tone once more. In the last 8 lines, Bradstreet goes to length detailing what God and heaven have for believers, calling him an Architect, and stating that the house He crafts will stand permanent, in obvious reference and also in slight consolation for her destroyed house. The final couplet, “A price so vast as is unknown, Yet by His gift is made thine own” is another reference to the generosity of God, and is yet another example of Bradstreet’s gratitude and devotion.
The final four lines of the poem (51-54) end the poem with a sense of closure and true acceptance of the past events. She says goodbye to her objects, with the final couplet “The world no longer let me love, My hope and treasure lies above” finishing the poem with one last declaration of alliance and trust in God, asking the world to allow her to value nothing else, instead choosing to focus on the reward contained in the afterlife.