Puritan Literature Unit
The speaker says her husband's love is greater to her than ____________. "To My Dear and Loving Husband"
mines of gold
The Puritans' views on appropriate dress and behavior can best be described as ___________.
modest "In opposition to this, Puritans dressed plainly and held simple religious services in undecorated meetinghouses."
Define the word paradox (online dictionary), then identify the 2 consecutive lines that present a paradox in the poem and explain why they create a paradox. "To My Dear and Loving Husband"
paradox: 1 :a tenet contrary to received opinion 2: a :a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is perhaps true b :a self-contradictory statement that at first seems true c :an argument that apparently derives self-contradictory conclusions by valid deduction from acceptable premises 3 :one (such as a person, situation, or action) having seemingly contradictory qualities or phases -Then while we live, in love let's so perserver -That when we live nor more we may live ever Explanation- These statements are paradoxical because they proclaim how they want to preserve their marriage and relationship only to which they pass so they can live forever with each other. However, they can't live if they are dead. I believe that this is the speaker's way of giving us her religious views, because she believes they will spend the afterlife together.
Use context to determine the meaning of the word prize as it is used in "To My Dear and Loving Husband." Write your definition of "prize" here and tell how you got it. "To My Dear and Loving Husband"
prize- to value something over others I believe the definition of prize in this context is to value something over others because I feel that the author puts her husband first and rather have him than anything else.
Remember, a paradox is a contradiction that is actually true. There are at least 2 examples of paradox in the poem. Find one, identify the lines (2 consecutive lines per paradox) that present a paradox, and explain how it is a contradiction that is actually true. "Upon the Burning of Our House"
"The world no longer let me love. My hope and treasure lie above." This is a paradox because her belongings no longer exist and can't be above. Also, she no longer is attached to materials in this life and only cares for her god, and memories that are everlasting in her afterlife. In retrospect, she no longer cares for physical things around her, only for the people she loves and her faith.
What is the source of Bradstreet's hope and comfort? Cite evidence from lines 41-54 in your response. "Upon the Burning of Our House"
Bradstreet's source of hope and comfort in the poem is her religion and God. She uses her prayers to communicate with God and grieve her losses. "Raise up thy thoughts above the sky That dunghill mists away may fly. Thou hast a house on high erect; Framed by that mighty Architect, With glory richly furnished Stands permanent though this be fled. It's purchased, and paid for, too, By him who hath enough to do- A price so vast as is unknown, Yet, by His gift, is made thine own. There's wealth enough; I need no more." (Bradstreet 41-51)
What inference can most clearly be drawn from the following passage? "In the mid-1760s, unrest began to develop in the American colonies. A long war with France had left Britain in debt. To raise money, the British government passed a series of unpopular laws, including those that levied taxes on a variety of everyday items. By the mid-1770s, resentment over these taxes was leading to political violence and calls for colonial self-rule."
Britain's need for funding helped push the colonists towards independence.
Which of the following best describes Thomas Jefferson's views towards British governance?
He believed the colonies must become independent from Britain. He also believed that they had a right—indeed a duty—to end what he saw as Britain's tyrannical rule of the colonies by establishing their own independent government."
What does this preface reveal about women's status in Puritan society? "To My Dear and Loving Husband"
I think she believes in it because she complies to it, stays true to it, and shows thoughts that relate to the Puritan idea of predestination.
What references does the speaker make to money or wealth? What is the effect of these references? "To My Dear and Loving Husband"
In the second stanza, the speaker states, "I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold." This is interpreted as the speaker valuing their love and relationship over any material or wealth. This reciprocates the main idea that her and her husband share a deep and meaningful love.
"For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill."
John Winthrop
What is most strongly a theme of the poem? "To My Dear and Loving Husband"
Love can last longer than life, making lovers immortal. "That when we live no more we may live ever."
"He is an American who, leaving behind him all his ancient prejudices and manners, receives new ones from the mode of life he has embraced, the new government he obeys, and the new rank he holds."
Michel Guillaume Jean de Crevecoeur
Which of the following inferences is best supported by the first two paragraphs of the excerpt? When Europeans arrived in the Western Hemisphere in the 1490s, it was already home to hundreds of Native American peoples with different languages, cultures, and social values. The ancestors of these Native Americans had come to the Western Hemisphere from Asia thousands of years before. The descendants of these early travelers developed different types of social organization, often based on the local environment. Some peoples, such as the Aztecs of Mexico and Central America, created complex societies with great cities, large-scale farming, and elaborate record keeping based on systems of writing. Others, such as the Plains Indians, who hunted buffalo, lived in portable dwellings and passed on their knowledge through oral tradition.
Native American societies were well developed by the time Europeans arrived.
Which of the following religious groups mainly settled in Pennsylvania?
Quakers
What mainly can the reader infer about the speaker from the following lines (lines 7-10)? "Upon the Burning of Our House" I, starting up, the light did spy, And to my God my heart did cry To strengthen me in my distress, And not to leave me succorless.
She turns to faith as a source of comfort.
What is Bradstreet's initial response to the fire? Cite evidence from the poem to support your response. "Upon the Burning of Our House"
She was upset, but looked to God for strength during this crisis. "I, staring up, the light did spy, And to my God my heart did cry To strengthen me in my distress, And not to leave me succorless" (Bradstreet Lines 7-10)
What do the following lines from the excerpt mainly reveal about European contact with the Americas? The European exploration, conquest, and settlement of the Americas led to the founding of many new nations, including the United States. For the Native Americans, however, it was the beginning of an immense tragedy during which many of their societies were destroyed by war and disease.
The birth of the United States came at an enormous expense for the Native Americans.
What mainly happened while the speaker of the poem was sleeping (lines 1-5)? "Upon the Burning of Our House" In silent night when rest I took, For sorrow near I did not look, I wakened was with thundering noise And piteous shrieks of dreadful voice. That fearful sound of "Fire" and "Fire,"
The house caught fire.
What is most closely the meaning of the following lines from the poem (first stanza)? "To My Dear and Loving Husband" ---------------------------------------- "If ever wife was happy in a man, Compare with me ye women if you can."
The speaker believes she has more joy for her husband than other wives have for theirs. Correct. The speaker believes she has more joy for her husband than other wives because she tells them in a challenging way to "compare with me" in regard to her happiness with her husband.
Which sentence best summarizes the following passage (lines 21-27)? "Upon the Burning of Our House" When by the ruins oft I passed My sorrowing eyes aside did cast And here and there the places spy Where oft I sat and long did lie. Here stood that trunk, and there that chest; There lay that store I counted best, My pleasant things in ashes lie,
The speaker is mourning the loss of her home. "My pleasant things in ashes lie,"
The word persever is an outdated form of persevere, which means "to continue despite difficulty." In what does the speaker want herself and her husband to persever, and why? Cite textual evidence to support your answer. "To My Dear and Loving Husband"
The speaker wants them to persevere so that they can spend the afterlife together. She means that statement in the way of a vow we use to this day when we get married (in sickness and in health). Afterwards, she proclaims, "That when we live no more we may live ever." Meaning, they shall spend the rest of their existence in the universe amongst one another and not apart.
What can readers infer about the relationship between the speaker and her husband? What textual evidence in the poem supports this inference? "To My Dear and Loving Husband"
The speaker's love for her husband is immense and powerful. For example, she states, "If ever man were loved by wife, then thee;". "Ever" is reiterated and used to exemplify the love the author has for her husband. The repetition shows how their love only grows and gets stronger. She also says, "I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold," meaning she values their love over materials. And this love is assumed to be mutual. Finally, she compares their love to fire when she states, "My love is such that rivers cannot quench," comparing it to a raging and growing fire and that even rivers can't extinguish their love.
What do the bold words tell us about Bradstreet? What is Woodbridge trying to explain? "To My Dear and Loving Husband"
They tell us Bradstreet is a gift, and they have an undying love that Woodbridge cannot repay, but she hopes they will be honored for.
"These are the times that try men's souls."
Thomas Paine
The following is an excerpt by John Woodbridge, brother-in-law of Bradstreet. He wrote the following words which appeared in the preface of her book of poetry: "...the worse effect of his [the reader's] reading will be unbelief, which will make him question whether it be a woman's work, and ask, is it possible? If any do, take this as an answer from him that dares to avow it; it is the work of a woman, honored, and esteemed where she lives, for her gracious demeanor...her pious conversation, her courteous disposition, her exact diligence in her place...and more than so, these poems are the fruit but of some few hours, curtailed from her sleep..." Why would Woodbridge feel compelled to include this? "To My Dear and Loving Husband"
To show that her love is not something she is doing out of courtesy and that it is genuine and the love she feels is real.
Apart from material items, what else did Bradstreet lose when her house burned down? Cite evidence from the poem to support your answer. "Upon the Burning of Our House"
When Bradstreet's house caught aflame, she didn't just lose objects, she lost her home. The memories, connected to the objects, are the majority of what is lost and one day could be forgotten. "And them behold no more shall I. Under thy roof no guest shall sit, Nor at thy table eat a bit; No pleasant tale shall e'er be told, Nor bridegroom's voice e'er heard shall be. In silence ever shall thou lie." (Bradstreet 28-35)
"...plain style, with singular regard unto the simple truth in all things."
William Bradford
