When Bradstreet writes, "thou hast an house on high erect," she means
God has prepared an eternal resting place for all believers
Bradstreet emphasizes both the things she has lost and
her memories of happy occasions in the house
There are two lines where the -ed ending of a word must be pronounced as a distinct syllable in order to preserve the poem's meter. Name one.
45, 47
Name a line which contains a metaphor.
Answers will vary.
The speaker mostly criticized herself for
valuing material possessions too much
What is the poem's rhyme scheme? How many syllables in each line?
AA BB CC...(rhyming couplets) Lines include 8 syllables. This is called iambic tetrameter.
In the last five lines, what does Bradstreet wish to no longer love?
Possessions
When Bradstreet writes, "I blest his name that gave and took" she implies
material objects are God's not hers
What is the speaker's first response to hearing the "fearful sound" of fire?
She prayed for strength.
What was the "thund' ring noise" that woke Bradstreet?
The burning of her home
Does EVERYONE in the Bradstreet family escape the fire? How do you know this?
Yes. "He might of all justly bereft/But yet sufficient for us left" (lines 19-20)
In this poem, who is the "mighty Architect?"
God
In the last part of this poem, Bradstreet uses "house" as a metaphor for--
the afterlife or heaven
The lines "When by the ruins oft past,/My sorrowing eyes aside did cast" emphasize that the speaker
is struggling to let go of her home
An inversion is a poetic device where the writer switches the usual order of words in a sentence or phrase. Find a line that includes an inversion.
lines 2, 7, or 20
What conclusion helps the poet overcome her sorrow?
She knows heaven will be her home.