Mrs. Floyd's English



Background Information:

•1630 came from England to Boston

•Grew up in a Puritan household

•Married Simon Bradstreet at age 16

•Father (Thomas Dudley) and husband both became governor of Massachusetts

•Published 1st book of poetry by an American; 1st volume of poetry by a woman; considered 1st American poet.

•1st volume of poetry contains long poems on subjects such as medicine, history, & qualities of fire.

•2nd volume of poetry contains shorter poems in a simpler style about children, family, & home.

•Later poems are more intimate and express her deep attachment to family and a sense of loss.

•Poems express the Puritan belief that one must not get too attached to the things of the world.

•Typical Puritan wife; quick to acknowledge the superiority of men.

Notes on “To My Dear and Loving Husband”

•2nd volume of poetry; it is short, written simply, and addresses family (specifically her husband).

•Uses anaphora, or the repetition of sentence structure (“If ever”).

•Lines 5-6 create an image of wealth (mines of gold & riches of the East).

•Bradstreet contrasts this material wealth with spiritual wealth (the love of her husband and God).

•Last 2 lines = Puritan belief that successful marriages (faithfulness) are rewarded in the afterlife.

Answer the following questions after reading the poem:

1. Though a devout Puritan, Bradstreet’s poem is a passionate plea for true and eternal romantic love. How might the ideas she expresses in this poem be considered contrary to popular opinions of the time period? __________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

2. Label the rhyme scheme of this poem: _______________________________________________

3. Identify one metaphor Bradstreet incorporates into this poem and explain what is being compared:

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Notes on “Upon the Burning of Our House July 10th, 1666”

•1st volume of poetry; it is longer and concerns the qualities of fire.

•Lines 8-10 “And to my God…leave me succorless” show Bradstreet relying on God to give her strength in tough times and to be fair in his actions

•Lines 14-16 “I blest his name…so ‘twas just” show the Puritan belief in God’s purpose (it must have happened for a reason)

•Bradstreet began valuing earthly possession more than her faith; therefore, God took them away.

•Puritans believe all things in this world are God’s and he has the right to take them away when he sees fit.

•Lines 43-48 illustrate that Puritans have a permanent house in heaven “house on high erect/Framed by that mighty Architect”.

•The end of the poem reinforces the Puritan belief in simplicity and plainness “There is wealth enough, I need no more…my hope and treasure lies above”.

•“Upon the Burning of Our House” is filled with inversions. In an inversion, sentences are not written in normal word order. For example, Bradstreet writes “I wakened was with thund’ring noise” instead of “I was wakened with thund’ring noise.” Inversion is often used to make a poem’s rhyme scheme work out or to maintain a fixed meter.

•Plain style is a way of writing that stresses simplicity and clarity of expression. There are four characteristics of plain style: everyday language, simple sentences, direct statements, and Biblical references.

|Ornate Style |Plain Style |

|Shabby but beloved, my shoes house my|My shoes are old, brown, kind of |

|feet as they carry me from place to |worn-out, but comfortable for walking|

|place. |around in. |

|The pen spills ink-blood as it brings|The pen is a blue ballpoint with a |

|words to life. |leaky tip. |

Answer the following questions after reading the poem:

1. What is the speaker’s initial reaction when she wakes up to find her house on fire? ________________

2. In the second stanza, Bradstreet shows the Puritan belief that God is the true owner of everything she possessed. Write the lines that show this belief. _________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

3. List three of the items in the house (mentioned in the poem) that burned. ______________________

__________________________________________________________________________

4. What is the metaphor in lines 43-48? ______________________________________________

5. Bradstreet chides (scolds) herself. She is having trouble accepting the loss of her house. She asks herself where true wealth abides (lives). If true wealth is not on earth, according to Puritans, where is it? (Tip: Read the last line of the poem.) ________________________________________________________

6. What did Bradstreet value more than her house? How did this help her accept the loss of her house by fire? ______________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

7. Complete the chart below using plain style.

|Example of Inversion from the Poem |Restatement of the Inversion |

| | |

|“In silent night when rest I took” (line 1) | |

| | |

|“I, starting up, the light did spy,” (line 7) | |

| | |

|“When by the ruins oft I past” (line 21) | |

| | |

|“My pleasant things in ashes lie,” (line 27) | |

| | |

|“And them behold no more shall I.” (line 28) | |

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download