1. 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.

2. Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Meet the Writer
Bradstreet, as other Puritan women, believed that men were superior to women.
She felt it improper for a woman to appear in print.
Too bad for her beliefs…she is considered the 1st American poet.

3. Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 by Anne Bradstreet

4. Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 by Anne Bradstreet
We increase our possessions only to the enlargement of our anxieties.
—Anna C. Brackett (1836–1911)

5. Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 by Anne Bradstreet
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.

6. Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Literary Focus: The Plain Style
Puritan writers favored the plain style—a way of writing that stresses
simplicity
clarity of expression
the use of everyday words
Puritan writings may now seem hard to read, but to readers in the 1600s, they sounded simple and direct.

7. Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Literary Focus: The Plain Style
According to Benjamin Franklin (not a Puritan) plain style writing should be “smooth, clear, and short.”
Perhaps this style has persisted over time because it appeals to American democracy:
* its straightforwardness
* its ability to be understood by all
* the fact that it doesn’t hide the
naked truth.

8. Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Literary Focus: The Plain Style
Although Bradstreet uses figurative language in her poetry, her writing is still influenced by strong, simple Puritan style and diction (word choice).
“Here stood that trunk, and there that chest,
There lay that store I counted best.”
Vocabulary:
“trunk” and “chest” refer to storage
“store” refers to a great quantity or an abundance of items

9. Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, Literary Focus: Figurative language
Figurative language in this poem includes the use of extended metaphor.

10. Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, Reading Skills: Analyzing Text Structures: Extended Metaphor
Extended metaphor – a lengthy comparison of two seemingly unlike things without the use of a connecting word
Bradstreet speaks of another house.
The house is Heaven – her heavenly home of the future
Bradstreet refers to the “mighty Architect” of that house
The Architect (or designer/builder) is God.
This house is better than her earthly home because it is furnished with spiritual glory.

11. Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, Reading Skills: Analyzing Text Structures: Inversion
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.
Normal order
My pleasant things lie in ashes,
And I shall behold them no more.
Inversion
“My pleasant things in ashes lie,
And them behold no more shall I.”

12. Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, Reading Skills: Analyzing Text Structures: Meter
Meter - iambic tetrameter
- iambic meter creates a meter that closely resembles the way humans speak
- ta tah ta tah ta tah ta tah
Iamb (the type of foot)
U / U / U / U /
In silent night when rest I took
Tetrameter (number of feet) – Four feet (four sets of iambs)

13. Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, Reading Skills: Analyzing Text Structures: Meter
Iambic Couplet – this poem is written in iambic couplets
Iambic refers to rhythmical pattern of unaccented syllable followed by an accented syllable.
Couplet refers to two successive lines that rhyme.
U / U / U / U /
In silent night when rest I took
For sorrow near I did not look

14. Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, Reading Skills: Analyzing Text Structures: Rhyme
Rhyme – repetition of vowel sounds in accented syllables and all succeeding syllables
End rhyme – rhyming words at the end of a line
Exact rhyme – perfect rhyme
“took” and “look”
Approximate rhyme (near rhyme, slant rhyme, half rhyme, imperfect rhyme) – close correspondence in sound but not perfect
“I wakened was with thundering noise
And piteous shrieks of dreadful voice.”

15. Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, Reading Skills: Analyzing Text Structures: Repetition
Repetition – purposeful poetic repetition to create an impact. Ex: lines 30-35
“Nor at they table eat a bit
No pleasant tale shall e’er be told,
Nor things recounted don of old.
No candle e’er shall shine in thee,
Nor bridegroom’s voice e’er heard shall be.”

16. Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, Reading Skills: Analyzing Text Structures: Repetition
Theme: an insight about human life that is revealed in a literary work; rarely directly stated; different than subject. (Although this poem’s subject is the burning of Bradstreet’s house, this is not its theme.)
Recurring theme: a theme that occurs in many of an author’s writing. Bradstreet’s poems contain a recurring theme of Puritan belief that one must not become too attached to things of the world.

17. Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, Reading Skills: Analyzing Text Structures: Turning point
Turning point: the point in the poem where the author finishes narrating an incident and begins to draw conclusions from the incident.
Where is the turning point in this poem?
The turning point in Bradstreet’s poem begins around line 35
“In silence ever shall thou lie,
Adieu, Adieu, all’s vanity.
Then straight I ‘gin my heart to chide,
And did thy wealth on earth abide?”

18. Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Background
The Puritans
Although the Puritans were industrious and often acquired worldly goods, they considered it sinful to place too much pride on personal possessions.
What emotional conflict might Puritan poet Anne Bradstreet have felt about losing her home to a fire?

19. Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666
Make the Connection
This poem is a response to a terrible personal loss. In trying to work through her loss, this poet portrays an internal debate, a dialogue between herself and her soul. Notice the points at which Bradstreet questions her thoughts and emotions.
PROMPT: What is the most important Puritan ideal that is presented in Edwards’ “Puritan Code” and represented in Bradstreet’s poem? Write one paragraph using the claim-cite-clarify model to answer this question and support your answer with evidence from both texts.