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Burning Of Our House

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The Breakdown Of, “Here Follow Some Verses Upon the Burning of Our House, July 10 1666”
Ann Bradstreet’s poem, “Here Follow Some Verses Upon the Burning of Our House, July 10 1666” is based on a true event. Bradstreet uses different objects in her house for different meanings throughout the poem. Bradstreet uses a good amount of literary devices in her poem that give a deeper meaning to her valuables lost in the fire and to the poem in general. Two important devices are used and they are, end rhyme and anaphora. Bradstreet has end rhyme throughout her poem to have a sense of control. Symbolically using the poetic device, end rhyme helps her get back the feeling of no control in her life because of the fire. Another device Bradstreet uses …show more content…

The tone in Bradstreet’s poem is another important literary device. The tone changes multiple times from, shocked to whiney, and finally to accepting. Bradstreet’s personality grows throughout this poem, as she comes to realize that God doesn’t give you anything you can’t handle. The first three stanzas show that Bradstreet is shocked to wake up and see that her house is burning down, she is also in awe and called to God saying, “I starting up, the light did spy,/
And to my God my heart did cry” (7-8). The three stanzas after, Bradstreet’s shrill tone is revealed as she names items that she has lost forever and the chances that have been taken away from herself and her family. In the last three stanzas her tone changes to accepting, this is because she accepts her house burning down to the ground. Closer towards the middle of the poem there is a turning point in which Bradstreet realizes that the burning of her house was God’s will. The tone changes from low-spirited to cheerful, the new tone is accomplished through the use of extended metaphors:
Then straight I ‘gin my heart to chide, And did they wealth on earth

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