ANNE BRADSTREET Born to a family of Puritans in England Traveled to New England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony Never attempted to publish her poetry due to a good wife being subordinate “Burning of our House—July 10, 1666” Puritans believe it to be sinful to place too much pride on personal possessions Bradstreet’s emotional conflict between the loss of her home and her Puritan belief is what gives this poem its emotional and spiritual power

Puritans favored plain and unornamented writing and worship Plain style Puritans favored plain and unornamented writing and worship In the 1600s this writing style seemed simple and direct The PLAIN STYLE emphasized uncomplicated sentences and the use of everyday words from common speech The Puritans plain style differed greatly from the ornate “high style” that was in fashion in England at the time—a style that used classical allusions Even though she uses figurative language, her writing is still influenced by stong, simple Puritan style and diction In the second poem of hers we will read (Here Following some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666), she records her journey from grief to spiritual solace rather than a straightforward account of her house burning. It reflects the plain style used by Puritan writers by showing the idea of predestination (everything good or bad is predetermined by God)

INVERSION In order to accommodate the demands of METER and RHYME, poets through the centuries have used INVERSION. In an INVERSION the words of a sentence or phrase are wrenched out of normal English syntax, or word order… EX: “In silent night when rest I took” instead of “In silent night when I rested”

“Powerful you have become, the dark side I sense in you.” INVERSION The following are quotes from Yoda in Stars Wars (he tends to frequently speak using inversions). Rewrite these independently so that they reflect modern-day English. “Powerful you have become, the dark side I sense in you.” “Patience you must have, my young padawan.” “Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force. Mourn them do not. Miss them do not. Attachment leads to jealously. The shadow of greed, that is.” SEND THREE PEOPLE TO THE BOARD TO WRITE DOWN THE TRANDLATIONS You have become powerful, and I sense darkness in you You need to have patience my young Padawan Death is a natural part of life. You may rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force, but do not mourn them. Also, do not miss them as attachment tends to lead to jealousy. It produces the shadow of greed.

Hear the tolling of the bells– Iron bells! INVERSION Hear the tolling of the bells–               Iron bells! What a world of solemn thought their monody compels! “The Bells” by Edgar Allen Poe Write down the inversion then write it in modern syntax. Monody = a poem lamenting a person’s death ANSWER— “What a world of solemn though their monody compels!” should be rephrased to “Their monody compels a world of solemn thought” What is the purpose of Poe using an inversion here? Think about the rhyming and meter as well as what is being emphasized? (DISCUSS with someone around you) He does this both to keep the rhyme scheme of “bells” with “compels” and also to place the emphasis on the “world of solemn thought.” Inversion is used for meter, rhythm, and emphasis.

Diction is used to convey a theme, tone, mood, etc. Literary Terms Diction—Author’s word choice (long, short, common, uncommon, varied, etc…) Bradstreet’s diction is of the plain style—short and conversational Diction is used to convey a theme, tone, mood, etc. Formal diction—They are not mad. Casual diction—They aren’t mad. Informal diction (slang)—They ain’t ticked off.

Couplet refers to two successive lines that rhyme Literary terms Iambic couplet – two successive lines that rhyme and have a rhythmic pattern. Iambic refers to rhythmical pattern of unaccented syllable followed by accented Couplet refers to two successive lines that rhyme The world no longer let me love, My hope and treasure lies above. IAMBIC Test by saying names—most names have one unaccented/accented syllable followed by and accented/unaccented (one is emphasized while the following isn’t) ASH ley RIV er SAL ly Poets tend to use this in order to have a specific meter every line (Shakespeare tends to rhyme in iambic pentameter (10 syllables per line); Bradstreet’s “Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of our House” has eight syllables per line using iambic pentameter)