Upon the Burning of Our House Essay Example

Upon the Burning of Our House Paper Upon the Burning of Our House by Anne Bradstreet LITERARY FOCUS: THE PLAIN STYLE The Puritans favored â€Å"plainness† in all things: in dress, in the architecture and design of their churches, in their forms of worship, and in language. Unlike the ornate â€Å"high style† popular in England at the time, the Puritan plain style used simple sentences and common words from everyday speech. The plain style contained few or no classical allusions, Latin quotations, or elaborate figures of speech. The plain style, Puritans felt, was much more effective in revealing God’s truth than the ornate style. Despite the fact that the style used by Puritan writers now seems hard to read, it was considered simple and direct in the 1600s. Although Anne Bradstreet’s â€Å"Upon the Burning of Our House† contains some figurative language, it is a good example of the plain style. REVIEW SKILLS As you read â€Å"Upon the Burning of Our House,† notice the way the following literary devices are used. RHYME The repetition of vowel sounds in accented syllables and all syllables following. METER A pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. Make It Plain In the left column of the chart below are two descriptions of everyday objects written in an ornate style. We will write a custom essay sample on Upon the Burning of Our House specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Upon the Burning of Our House specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Upon the Burning of Our House specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Rewrite each description in plain style_as a Puritan might have. Copyright  © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. Ornate Style Shabby but beloved, my shoes house my feet as they carry me from place to place. The pen spills ink-blood as it brings words to life. Plain Style READING SKILLS: ANALYZING TEXT STRUCTURES â€Å"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 â€Å"I wakened was with thund’ring noise† instead of â€Å"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. Literary Skills Understand the characteristics of plain style. Reading Skills Understand the use of inversion. Review Skills Understand rhyme and meter. Use the Skill As you read Anne Bradstreet’s poem, underline the places you find inversion. Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 15 Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Anne Bradstreet In silent night when rest I took Circle the inversions you find in lines 1-4. For sorrow near I did not look I wakened was with thund’ring noise And piteous shrieks of dreadful voice. 5 That fearful sound of â€Å"Fire! † and â€Å"Fire! † Let no man know is my desire. I, starting up, the light did spy, And to my God my heart did cry To strengthen me in my distress What is the speaker doing in lines 11-12? 10 And not to leave me succorless. 1 Then, coming out, beheld a space The flame consume my dwelling place. And when I could no longer look, I blest His name that gave and took,2 Copyright  © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. 15 That laid my goods now in the dust. Yea, so it was, and so ’twas just. It was His own, it was not mine, Far be it that I should repine; He might of all justly bereft In lines 16-17, why does the speaker say that the fire was â€Å"just? † 20 But yet sufficient for us left. When by the ruins oft I past My sorrowing eyes aside did cast, And here and there the places spy Where oft I sat and long did lie: 1. succorless (sukv? r  · lis) adj. : without aid or assistance; helpless. 2. that gave and took: allusion to Job 1:21, â€Å"The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. † 16 Part 1 Collection 1: Encounters and Foundations to 1800 25 Here stood that trunk, and there that chest, There lay that store I counted best. My pleasant things in ashes lie, And them behold no more shall I. Under thy roof no guest shall sit, What is the â€Å"house on high erect† described in lines 43-46? 30 Nor at thy table eat a bit. No pleasant tale shall e’er be told, Nor things recounted done of old. No candle e’er shall shine in thee, Nor bridegroom’s voice e’er heard shall be. 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? Didst fix thy hope on mold’ring dust? In line 44, who is the â€Å"mighty Architect†? 40 The arm of flesh didst make thy trust? Raise up thy thoughts above the sky That dunghill mists away may fly. Thou hast an house on high erect, Framed by that mighty Architect, Practice reading the boxed passage aloud. As you read the first time, notice the rhymes and strong meter. On your next readings, try to vary the rate of your reading to avoid sounding sing-song. 45 Copyright  © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. With glory richly furnished, Stands permanent though this be fled. It’s purchased and paid for too By Him who hath enough to do. A price so vast as is unknown 50 Yet by His gift is made thine own; There’s wealth enough, I need no more, Farewell, my pelf,3 farewell my store. The world no longer let me love, My hope and treasure lies above. Bradstreet’s plain style helps to convey a complex message. In your own words, what is this message? The poem is rhymed in couplets. Circle any end rhymes that do not rhyme exactly. (Review Skill) 3. pelf: wealth or worldly goods (sometimes used as a term of contempt). Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 17 Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 Reading Skills and Strategies: Analyzing Text Structures â€Å"Upon the Burning of Our House† contains many instances of inversion, in which words appear in an unusual order. The left-hand column of the chart below lists several examples of inversion from the poem. In the right-hand column, write the inverted words or phrases in normal word order. Example of Inversion from Poem Restatement of Inversion â€Å"In silent night when rest I took† (line 1) â€Å"I, starting up, the light did spy,† (line 7) When by the ruins oft I past† (line 21) â€Å"My pleasant things in ashes lie,† (line 27) â€Å"And them behold no more shall I. † (line 28) 18 Part 1 Collection 1: Encounters and Foundations to 1800 Copyright  © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. Coyote Finishes His Work Upon the Burning of Our House by Anne Bradstreet LITERARY FOCUS: THE PLAI N STYLE REVIEW SKILLS Reading Skills: Understanding Cultural Characteristics Look back over the details you highlighted or underlined that reveal characteristics of Nez Perce culture. The chart below contains a list of different aspects of Nez Perce life. Fill in the right-hand column with details from â€Å"Coyote Finishes His Work† that tell you about each aspect. Sample entries are given. Aspect of Nez Perce Life Details from the Story religious beliefs As you read â€Å"Upon the Burning of Our House,† notice the way the following literary devices are used. RHYME The repetition of vowel sounds in accented syllables and all syllables following. METER A pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. I will send messages to the earth by the spirits of the people who reach me but whose time to die has not yet come. . . When their spirits come back into their bodies, they will revive and tell you their experiences. (lines 53=57) The Puritans favored â€Å"plainness† in all things: in dress, in the architecture and design of their churches, in their forms of worship, and in language. Unlike the ornate â€Å"high style† popular in England at the time, the Puritan plain style used simple sentences and common word s from everyday speech. The plain style contained few or no classical allusions, Latin quotations, or elaborate figures of speech. The plain style, Puritans felt, was much more effective in revealing God’s truth than the ornate style. Despite the fact that the style used by Puritan writers now seems hard to read, it was considered simple and direct in the 1600s. Although Anne Bradstreet’s â€Å"Upon the Burning of Our House† contains some figurative language, it is a good example of the plain style. customs (what they are, how they are followed) Ornate Style He taught the people how to eat and how to hunt the buffalo and catch eagles. He taught them what roots to eat and how to make a good lodge and what to wear. (lines 10=12) Make It Plain In the left column of the chart below are two descriptions of everyday objects written in an ornate style. Rewrite each description in plain style_as a Puritan might have. Plain Style Shabby but beloved, my shoes house my feet as they carry me from place to place. The pen spills ink-blood as it brings words to life. My shoes are old, brown, kind of worn-out, but comfortable for walking around in. The pen is a blue ballpoint with a leaky tip. social life Copyright  © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. Copyright  © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. Coyote was ugly too. The girls did not like him. But he was smart. He could change himself around and trick the women. Coyote got the girls when he wanted. (lines 23=25) READING SKILLS: ANALYZING TEXT STRUCTURES â€Å"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 â€Å"I wakened was with thund’ring noise† instead of â€Å"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. Literary Skills Understand the characteristics of plain style. Reading Skills Understand the use of inversion. Use the Skill As you read Anne Bradstreet’s poem, underline the places you find inversion. Review Skills Understand rhyme and meter. Student Pages with Answers Collection 1 Student pages 14–15 14 Part 1 Collection 1: Encounters and Foundations to 1800 Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 15 9 Copyright  © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. Copyright  © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. 10 25 Here stood that trunk, and there that chest, There lay that store I counted best. My pleasant things in ashes lie, And them behold no more shall I. Under thy roof no guest shall sit, What is the â€Å"house on high erect† described in lines 43-46? Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 The â€Å"house on high erect† is heaven, or eternal life with God. 30 Nor at thy table eat a bit. No pleasant tale shall e’er be told, Nor things recounted done of old. No candle e’er shall shine in thee, Nor bridegroom’s voice e’er heard shall be. Anne Bradstreet In silent night when rest I took 35 The Holt Reader: Teacher’s Manual 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? Didst fix thy hope on mold’ring dust? 40 In line 44, who is the â€Å"mighty Architect†? Circle the inversions you find in lines 1-4. For sorrow near I did not look I wakened was with thund’ring noise And piteous shrieks of dreadful voice. 5 That fearful sound of â€Å"Fire! † and â€Å"Fire! † The mighty Architect is God. What is the speaker doing in lines 11-12? Let no man know is my desire. The arm of flesh didst make thy trust? Raise up thy thoughts above the sky That dunghill mists away may fly. Thou hast an house on high erect, Framed by that mighty Architect, 45 She has escaped her I, starting up, the light did spy, And to my God my heart did cry house and is now To strengthen me in my distress atching it burn. 10 And not to leave me succorless. 1 Then, coming out, beheld a space The flame consume my dwelling place. And when I could no longer look, With glory richly furnished, Stands permanent though this be fled. It’s purchased and paid for too By Him who hath enough to do. A price so vast as is unknown Practice reading the boxed passa ge aloud. As you read the first time, notice the rhymes and strong meter. On your next readings, try to vary the rate of your reading to avoid sounding sing-song. I blest His name that gave and took,2 15 That laid my goods now in the dust. Yea, so it was, and so ’twas just. 0 It was His own, it was not mine, In lines 16-17, why does the speaker say that the fire was â€Å"just? † Far be it that I should repine; Yet by His gift is made thine own; There’s wealth enough, I need no more, Farewell, my pelf,3 farewell my store. The world no longer let me love, My hope and treasure lies above. Bradstreet’s plain style helps to convey a complex message. In your own words, what is this message? The house and goods He might of all justly bereft The only wealth a person needs is a relationship with God. 20 But yet sufficient for us left. are God’s, not the When by the ruins oft I past speaker’s. My sorrowing eyes aside did cast, And here and there the places spy Where oft I sat and long did lie: The poem is rhymed in couplets. Circle any end rhymes that do not rhyme exactly. (Review Skill) 3. pelf: wealth or worldly goods (sometimes used as a term of contempt). Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 1. succorless (sukv? r  · lis) adj. : without aid or assistance; helpless. 2. that gave and took: allusion to Job 1:21, â€Å"The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. † Collection 1 Student pages 16–17 16 Part 1 Collection 1: Encounters and Foundations to 1800 7 Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666 World, in hounding me . . . by Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz LITERARY FOCUS: SONNET Reading Skills and Strategies: Analyzing Text Structures â€Å"Upon the Burning of Our House† contains many instances of inversion, in which words appear in an unusual order. The left-ha nd column of the chart below lists several examples of inversion from the poem. In the right-hand column, write the inverted words or phrases in normal word order. Example of Inversion from Poem Restatement of Inversion â€Å"In silent night when rest I took† (line 1) In silent night when I took rest A sonnet is a fourteen-line poem that follows a strict structure. The writer Petrarch (1304-1374) created the model for what is now referred to as the Petrarchan, or Italian, sonnet. Here are the characteristics of a Petrarchan sonnet: †¢ The first eight lines, or octave, ask a question or pose a problem. †¢ The rhyme scheme of the octave is abba abba. (The first and fourth lines rhyme, as do the second and third, and so on. ) †¢ The last six lines, or the sestet, respond to the question or problem. †¢ The sestet may contain the rhyme scheme cde cde or cdc dcd. Sor Juana’s â€Å"World, in hounding me . . . is a Petrarchan sonnet. Note that some of the rhymes are approximate, because of the translation from Spanish to English. â€Å"I, starting up, the light did spy,† (line 7) I, starting up, did spy the light READING SKILLS: FINDING UNITS OF MEANING In many poems the speaker’s ideas do not end at the ends of lines. Instead, those ideas may fi ll up two, three, four, or even more lines. When you read poetry, look for punctuation clues like commas, periods, and question marks to help you identify units of meaning. Look at the following example from â€Å"World, in hounding me . . . †. The end punctuation clues are circled. The other marks are underlined. This passage from the poem contains two complete thoughts over four lines of poetry. World, in hounding me, what do you gain? How can it harm you if I choose, astutely, rather to stock my mind with things of beauty, than waste its stock on every beauty’s claim? â€Å"When by the ruins oft I past† (line 21) When I oft past by the ruins Copyright  © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. â€Å"And them behold no more shall I. † (line 28) And I shall behold them no more. Copyright  © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. â€Å"My pleasant things in ashes lie,† (line 27) My pleasant things lie in ashes Use the Skill As you read â€Å"World, in hounding me . . . ,† look for capitalization and punctuation clues that indicate the beginning and ending of the speaker’s ideas. Literary Skills Understand the characteristics of a Petrarchan sonnet. Reading Skills Find units of meaning. Student Pages with Answers Collection 1 Student pages 18–19 18 Part 1 Collection 1: Encounters and Foundations to 1800 World, in hounding me . . . 19 11 Name Selection: Class Author: Date Plain Style The plain style is a way of writing that stresses simplicity and clarity of expression. DIRECTIONS: Read the selection, and find examples of the four characteristics of plain style. Fill in the chart below with the examples. Answer the questions below to help you analyze the plain style. Everyday language Simple sentences Direct statements Biblical references Copyright  © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. Questions to Help Analyze Plain Style 1. What other style of writing was popular in England during the time of the Puritans? How was this style different from the plain style? 2. Why does the plain style seem difficult to today’s reader? Graphic Organizers 211