UPON BURNING OF OUR HOUSE poem analysis
Anne Bradstreet is known as a prolific poet of 17th century whose work islargely based on Puritan theological concepts. Puritan society had its ownunique set of Christian beliefs, which were slightly harsh compared tomodern Christian values. For this reason, English writings of this periodreveal a sense of hopelessness and despondency as far as this worldly lifeis concerned. Material accomplishments were viewed as selfish desires,which had to be abandoned if a man sought to achieve happiness in the worldthereafter. These were some of the common Puritan concepts, which must bekept in mind when reading and analyzing Bradstreet's poem, 'Upon Burning ofThis poem was written in 1666, a time when women were barred from enteringthe world of literature. Thus it was all the more important for femalewriters and poets to adhere to strict Christian beliefs and values in ordernot to infuriate the unyielding Puritan society. For this reason, we noticeevery line of Bradstreet's poem highlighting Puritan theological ideals.The poem begins with Bradstreet awakening to the sound of Fire. This firesymbolizes the Day of Judgment because like fire, that day would bring an
/Farewell, my pelf; farewell, my store/The world no longer letme love;/my hope and Treasure lies above. But her failure to doso indicates her submission to conventions and Puritan traditions. The fire consumed everything that she had and this makes theconnection between fire and the Day of Judgment clearer. Sound of Fire reminds the poet of herreal and most important goal in this world as she says, "That fearful soundof "fire" and "fire,"/ Let no man know is my Desire. Forexample, the willingness of the poet to shun this world and its possessionsfor bigger rewards is a purely Puritan concept, which upon closeexamination seems to lack substance. Thus we expect people as intelligent and well readas Bradstreet to add original flavor to such ideas. "There's wealth enough; Ineed no more. Here Bradstreet is mourning the sudden loss of her past life and all herfuture dreams. (108) This is the only time she shedsoff her Puritan guard and reveals her true self and honestly discusseshuman emotions of loss. "It was His own, it was not mine, / Farbe it that I should repine". However if the poem is studied in historical context, we can unearth manysignificant messages, which speak volumes about the times of the poet. ld be the day when man's worldlypossessions wouldn't matter, and he would only be worrying about whether ornot he would be accepted in Heaven. "In silence ever shaltthou lie/ Adieu, Adieu, All's Vanity.
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