In this poem, who is the "mighty Architect?"
God
The speaker mostly criticized herself for
valuing material possessions too much
In the last five lines, what does Bradstreet wish to no longer love?
Possessions
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
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 part of this poem, Bradstreet uses "house" as a metaphor for--
the afterlife or heaven
What is the speaker's first response to hearing the "fearful sound" of fire?
She prayed for strength.
What conclusion helps the poet overcome her sorrow?
She knows heaven will be her home.
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
When Bradstreet writes, "I blest his name that gave and took" she implies
material objects are God's not hers
Name a line which contains a metaphor.
Answers will vary.
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
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)
Bradstreet emphasizes both the things she has lost and
her memories of happy occasions in the house
When Bradstreet writes, "thou hast an house on high erect," she means
God has prepared an eternal resting place for all believers
What was the "thund' ring noise" that woke Bradstreet?
The burning of her home