Upon the Burning of Our House

¶ … Burning of Our House -- July 10, 1666

The poem Upon the Burning of Our House -- July 10, 1666 was written by Anne Bradstreet. Bradstreet is considered by many to be America's first authentic poet was born and raised a Puritan. She and her husband, Simon, who she married at the age of eighteen, lived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Bradstreet composed her poetry while raising eight children and performing her other domestic duties. She only wrote for herself and only shared her writings with family and friends; however her brother-in-law took some of her poems back to England without her knowledge and had them published. In this poem Bradstreet speaks of the lessons she learned from the fire that destroyed her home and her devotion to a higher being.

One of the meanings Bradstreet takes from the fire is that all of her possessions that were burned she did not actually own, they belonged to God. Therefore, she could not mourn the lost because He had the right to take them away:

"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;" (Lines 13-18).

These lines are an indication of her submission to a higher being and her willingness to define the tragedy that has happened as a reflection of God's will. He had the right to take these things away for they belonged to Him and she should not morn there loss. Bradstreet also asserts that earthly pleasures are temporal. In lines 31-36 she notes that material possessions are as easy to gain as they are to lose:

"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.

In silence ever shall thou lie,

Adieu, Adieu, all's vanity" (Lines 31-36).

The author expresses the sentiment that her wealth does not come from the things she gains on earth but her true wealth lies in heaven. She begins lines 37-42 chastising her self for thinking of what will no longer take place in her home due to the loss. She then describes her vision of heaven in lines 43-48, which is built on permanent grounds and consist of expensive furniture all built by God. Bradstreet ends the poem by affirming her faith that her true rewards lie in heaven:

"A price so vast as is unknown

Yet by His gift is made thine own;

There's wealth enough, I need no more,

Farewell, my pelf, farewell my store.

The world no longer let me love,

My hope and treasure lies above" (Lines 49-54).