Anne Bradstreet

Vince Tang
English 48A
Journal for Anne Bradstreet
November 29, 2011

Reading Quote:

“And when I could no longer look,

I blest His Name that gave and took,
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;” (page 212, lines 13-18)

Research Quote:

“She is the first in a long line of American poets who took their consolation not from theology but from the ‘wondrous works’…” (187).

Summary of Reading Quote:

The poet speaker is saying that God is the true owner of our earthly belongings and that it is not our place to complain about losing something that is not truly ours.

Response:

Anne Bradstreet’s devotion to Christianity is seen in many of her writings including her poem Here Follows Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10^th, 1666. The speaker in this poem finds consolation through her acceptance of God’s will. It is natural for us to feel the emotional devastation of losing a home; a place where we live our lives of love and comfort. When this place of pleasant memory is burned to ruins, we are left with few options. We can grieve over the loss and never let it go or accept the reality of the situation and move forward. Grief is easy because it is our natural reaction when we lose something memorable. Moving forward takes strength to overcome the emotional impact. The speaker in the poem laments over the loss but accepts the situation and moves forward in life. She understands that “all’s vanity” compared to her love for Christ. In fact, losing her home brings her closer to her religious belief of the Almighty; the Creator of life. She accepts what He “gave and took” and anticipates her new home with “that mighty Architect”. So what happens when we don’t believe in the Trinity? What if, instead, we believe in some other god or maybe no god? It essentially boils down to our very own personal reaction to the circumstance. God or no god; the decisions to be made are the same.  The poem reflects the real life incident of the poet and Bradstreet’s response show how her spirit is lifted from her love of the Lord. Despite such a significant loss, Bradstreet’s reaction exemplifies a Christian truly faithful to her religion.