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Literary analsis of upon the burning of our house
Literary analsis of upon the burning of our house
Literary analsis of upon the burning of our house
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Salvation Feelings of loss and grief are expressed differently with each individual person. Anne Bradstreet, a Puritan housewife, experiences feelings of loss after her house burns down. She compiles all of her thoughts into her poem, “Upon the Burning of Our House.” Daniel Smith, the composer of the song, “Things We Lost to the Fire,” expresses his grievances through music. Although both texts exhibit feelings of loss, Anne Bradstreet finds security through worship, while Daniel Smith is left feeling lost. Even though Bradstreet’s struggle with loss is contrary to that of Smith, both subjects undergo feelings of deprivation. Smith exhibits feelings of grief through his lyrics “Things we lost to the flame Things we’ll never see again” (Smith lines 1-2). These words depict images of destruction due to disaster. Smith does not have a solution to aid his feelings of loss, causing his emotions to feel more destructive. His feelings of loss continue to evolve, as is shown through his statement “we sure as hell have nothing now” (line 28). Again, Smith feels as if he has no way to recover from feeling this way. Smith’s emotions regarding a solution to his loss do not progress throughout …show more content…
the duration of the song. His journey concludes with his feeling no different from he did in the beginning. Smith remains feeling as if there is no way out of his struggle. Although Bradstreet’s encounter with loss is related to that of Smith, her outcome is unrelated.
Bradstreet’s home is destroyed by a fire, but because of her faith in providence she “blest His name that gave and took” (Bradstreet p.35 line 14). Bradstreet finds salvation through God, and accepts the disaster. She believes that God allows the fire, therefore her grieving process is less harsh because of her understanding that it was God’s intent. Bradstreet states that because “It was His own, it was not mine, Far be it that I should repine” (lines 17-18). She believes that because God allows this fire and it is His will, she should not complain, because God knows what is best. Bradstreet’s belief in providence is ultimately what saves her from feeling distraught after her
loss. Although both people experience loss, each has a different way of handling it. In the end, Daniel Smith’s experience with loss is ultimately harder for him to digest than Anne Bradstreet’s encounter because Bradstreet finds an outlet for her grievances through worship and providence, while Smith is left feeling distraught and walking around in his own mind, due to his lack of an outlet.
Bradstreet focuses on the joy of her grandchild in heaven instead of her own pain. In dealing with this common reality of colonial life, Taylor and Bradstreet respond with similar outpourings reflective of their faith.
Anne Bradstreet was a Puritan and wrote her religious faith about God. When Bradstreet was used to the Puritan culture she felt like God didn’t guide her through her struggles and she started to questioned God existence and as a Puritan’s religious belief was to always accept God. The letter, “To My Dear Children” was from Bradstreet to her children about her relationship with God. The summary of the letter is Bradstreet accepted the Puritan culture when she was about sixteen years old coming to America. After she was married she started to observe God and questioned him because she felt sickness and pain and hoped God would lift her up the light on her. Bradstreet also questions her afterlife with a quote, “And could I have been in heaven without the love of God, it would had been hell to me, for in truth it is the absence and presence of God that makes heaven or hell.” This quote can be pertained in today’s world because it’s
“Among all my experiences of God’s gracious dealings with me I have constantly observed this, that He hath never suffered me long to sit loose from him...” (Bradstreet 68). Anne Bradstreet is showing her devotion to God and is focusing on his love and mercy. Bradstreet found inspiration in William Shakespeare but more importantly what drove her poetry was religious beliefs. Being born into a Puritan family, Bradstreet became accustomed to Puritan behavior and had a strong belief in God. Jonathan Edwards, another strong believer in God, had the same Puritan beliefs but thought if a person shall sin they would be destined to end up in hell. Edwards is an extreme pastor and this is shown in the sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” The two being the ideal Puritan religion have strong opinions on viewing God
When Lee first introduced his readers, he started off with a beautiful metaphor to summarize how every human’s life goes as he wrote, “We are circuit boards swallowing the electricity of life upon birth,” (Lines 2 to 3, Lee). To clarify, Lee is explaining the beauty of life when we are alive and how we essentially use this electricity to create unforgettable memories along with emphasizing the importance of existing. However, not long into the poem, a sudden change in the emotion occurs as Lee depicted Stephen’s death with, “…as though his chest were an auditorium his life an audience leaving single file,” (Lines 24 to 25, Lee). In consideration with how the main lesson Lee was applying on his poem, it is easily visible that this sudden change in mood was done purposefully. With this dark simile, readers will be captured and feel that sudden shock in mixed emotion when someone’s death occurs. In effect, not only will readers who have seen death understand, but Lee also taught readers who have not seen a similar event what will happen, allowing any reader to understand the topic even without any past experiences. Quickly after though, Lee re-introduces a cheerful environment with similes to describe the people he has found as he visualized, “…his lungs flapping like sails,” and, “…teeth shinning like
She writes a letter to husband, almost instructing him on what to do after her death. Unlike other demure housewives of her time, she acknowledges the risk birthing her child brings by saying, “And when thy loss shall be repaid with gains / Look to my little babes, my dear remains” (107). Bradstreet also approaches a taboo subject by acknowledging that her husband might remarry. Bradstreet does not tread lightly on this subject either by writing, “And if thou love thyself, or loved’st me, / These o protect from step Dames injury” (107). In this poem, Bradstreet faces the possibility of not only the loss of her life but the loss of her husband’s love. Bradstreet challenges Puritan beliefs by showing that she will still be concerned with her earthly life after her
Bradstreet also made it appoint to compare the sudden death of her grandchild to nature stating, “But plants new set to be eradicate, / And buds new blown to have so short a date, / Is by His hands alone that guides nature and fate”( lines 12-14). Conversely, Edward describes his loss of his child as a honor from God. Taylor states, “ Lord take’t. I thank Thee, Thou tak’st ought of mine: / It is my pledge in glory, part of me / Is now in it, Lord glorified with Thee” revealing his honor to have his child sitting with the lord (Edward lines 28-30). Both authors took their faith into great consideration when speaking of the loss of a family
Anne Bradstreet, Jonathan Edwards and Arthur Miller were authors of Puritan writing that all contained one major object, the Bible. Jonathan Edwards, the writer of “Sinners in the hands of an angry God” spoke of the audience being damned for not turning in the path of the Lord. The Crucible by Arthur Miller was over adultery, Witchcraft and discussed God. Anne Bradstreet’s poems, “To My Dear and Loving Husband” and “Upon the Burning of our House” discussed how worldly things do not matter, and that the love she has with her husband and her Lord are whats important. The three authors are very similar, they all speak of God and use biblical illusions in their writings and teachings, giving them all similar characteristics.
Anne Bradstreet loves her children so much because she raised them all with pain and care. Bradstreet often talks about her children loving people, and people loving them, “And with her mate flew out of sight” (14) and out of her reach so she can not watch over them. Bradstreet’s strong Puritan heritage gives her unquestionable belief that God is watching over her children for her, and her children are watching for God. With this relationship between her and God, Anne Bradstreet accepts the departure of her children. In this poem Anne Bradstreet talks about success, “Coupled with mate loving and true” (23) this is Bradstreet’s idea of success for her children in this poem. Anne Bradstreet’s idea of success is so much more than just this line, in the fact that she wants her children to be educated, and live good productive Christian lives. All of these things are implied in the poem as simple as finding a mate and “flying” off.
The first lesson Bradstreet learns from the fire occurs when she decides to thank God in the midst of her house burning:
...e from her love to the world. Perhaps, she believed that in this love of her, she became God-like and God thus punishes her. Nevertheless, the presence of God in her poems is more than clear. Perhaps, it was due to religious beliefs that she though that it was wrong to feel too strong feelings to world and she considered herself to be a sinner who deserves punishment. Today, there are few followers of Bradstreet, but she, her ideas and her thoughts about sufferings still remain in modern books.
She caught severe disease after only two years of arriving in America. Her sickness and expectation of death strengthened her faith and made her consider each day as being her last day. After she recovered from her sickness, she believed that to be blessing. Her sickness became a turning point and self realization for Bradstreet. She built a strong foundation for her faith as a Puritan woman and overcame all her doubts about the existence of God and started to seek salvation from God. When her husband was a way for business, she missed him because of her true and deep love for him. Yet his absent and severe physical and emotional feeling created inner conflict between worldly desire and spirituality. Her love for her husband competed with her love for God. But by using her writing, she sustained her faith and overcame her physical
In “Verses upon the Burning of our House” Bradstreet explains how the act of God taking her house away will affect her family role and domestic
“I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold/Or all the riches that the East doth hold” (pg. 116 line 5-6). She wrote her feelings about her husband to express her love for him she didn’t know that they would be published. They make her look like kind of a bad puritan for putting her husband over God. Edwards wrote this sermon to persuade a group Puritans that God chooses your fate and you can’t control it. “And there is no other reason to be/given, why you have not dropped into hell since you arose in the morning, but/that God’s hand has held you up” (pg. 127 line 50-61). He persuades the people at his church that God will do whatever he wants with you, he defines your life. They both believed that God chooses what happens in your life Bradstreet chose to believe that God would help you out in the end, Edwards believed that God chooses your fate and he does what’s right whether it helps you or
Bradstreet is in conflict with herself. She’s mourns her loss of her earthly possessions and feels guilty because she is technically betraying her beliefs. She is causing herself sorrow because she just realized that her things were special to her. Even though she knows that she doesn’t need all those things, she still enjoyed having them. In the beginning she looks up to the sky and asks God why. Why did it have to be her home with her things in it? Why couldn’t it have been someone? Therefore her internal conflict begins. “I,starting up, the light did spy and to my God, my heart did cry, to strengthen me in my distress, and to leave me succorless.” (Bradstreet,29)
By reading Bradstreet’s work, a fair sense of what Mrs. Bradstreet was like can be grasped. She clearly stated her opinion of those who objected to her writing: “I am obnoxious to each carping tongue, / Who says my hand a needle better fits.” (Bradstreet,“ The Prologue”155). Bradstreet refused to give up her passion for writing even if it meant going against the opinions of anyone in her colony, including religious leaders. Although Bradstreet referred to herself as being obnoxious, her written works portray an entirely different Bradstreet. She seeks no reward or fame for her writing: “Give thyme or parsley wreath, I ask no bays” (155). Bradstreet seeks no reward for her writing because she doesn’t think her work is very good: “My foolish, broken, blemished Muse so sings” (154). She refers to her writing as her: “ill-formed offspring” (“The Author To Her Book”165). Even after her work is published she is ...