Responding to Puritan Poetry Answer the following questions thoughtfully and with textual support.

Please refer to your handout as to the technicalities of citing poetry because the rules differ from those that dictate how to quote prose. To My Dear and Loving Husband by Anne Bradstreet 1. How does the speaker emphasize the magnitude of her feeling for her husband !. "hat does #radstreet mean by the apparent paradox in the last two lines$ %&let's so perse(ere ) *hat when we li(e no more+ we may li(e e(er, -. "hat ideas about hea(en and the afterlife does the poem con(ey .. /n ancient 0reece the lyre was a musical instrument+ and lyric came to mean %a song accompanied by music., /n common speech the words of songs are still called lyrics. /n literature a lyric is any short poem that presents a single speaker who expresses thoughts and feelings. /n this poem the speaker is almost certainly the poet herself+ speaking in an intensely personal way. "hat would you say is the purpose of this lyric 1. Although this poem is not arranged in separate stanzas+ the poem does appear to ha(e three parts. "here do the di(isions fall "hat different idea does the poet de(elop in each part "hat progression emerges in the thought pattern In Memory of My Dear Grandchild by Anne Bradstreet 1. How does the speaker feel in the first stanza about the loss of her grandchild "hat poetic de(ices alerts you to her tone !. "hat is the moment of change in this poem -. "hat does the speaker emphasize in the second stanza .. "hat is the purpose of this poem !"on the Burning of #ur House by Anne Bradstreet 1. 2escribe the speaker's initial feelings as she realizes that her house is on fire. "hat does she quickly conclude about the reasons for the fire !. *he speaker allows herself to mourn her house and her possessions. "hat does she focus on in lines !13-1 -. 4xplain the line+ %Adieu+ Adieu+ all's (anity., "hat gi(es the speaker hope after e(erything is destroyed "hat does she refer to in speaking of the house that is %purchased and paid for too, .. *he final two stanzas of this poem de(elop an extended metaphor. "hat is the speaker's metaphor for an afterlife "hat are the different parts to the comparison 1. 5otice the speaker's plain+ homely concerns as she (iews the destruction of her house. 6till+ in spite of this concrete focus+ the speaker is ob(iously an essentially spiritual person. "hat is the speaker's (iew of life of earth of hea(en "hat is her attitude toward prayer !"on a $"ider %atching a &ly by 'd(ard Taylor 1. *he poem begins with a parable+ a brief story drawn from e(eryday life that is used to teach a lesson. *his parable has three characters$ the spider+ the wasp+ and the fly.. How does the spider treat the wasp that has fallen

into its net+ and how does it treat the fly "hy does the spider treat its two (ictims differently !. 4xplain the metaphor of the spider. "ho is the spider meant to be compared to "hat warning does *aylor gi(e in lines !73-8 -. /n line -1+ *aylor begins to talk about connections he notices between this natural scene and something in our own existence. "hat is %Hell's spider+, and what does it do to %Adam's race, "ho alone can break the cords spun by Hell's spider .. 6ummarize the lesson *aylor is teaching in his parable of the spider+ the wasp+ and the fly. "hat kinds of people do you think the wasp and the fly represent from God)s Determinations Touching His 'lect by 'd(ard Taylor 1. According to the first two lines+ what was the whole world built from !. *he poet draws images from human life9specifically from life in a Puritan (illage9to talk about the act of creation+ something that is impossible for human beings to imagine. /dentify the (arious crafts and practical occupations that the poet refers to. -. :ind the lines in which the poet con(eys to us the terrifying power of 0od+ a power far greater than that of any human artisan. .. According to lines -;3-7+ what is the purpose of human existence in 0od's world 1. "hat is the %gem, that 0od sets in %nothing, <line -=> /n the last image of the poem+ what has become of this gem "hat #iblical e(ent might the poet be referring to here ?. *he first part of the poem is a series of questions. How does *aylor answer his own questions "hat feelings about 0od is this series of questions designed to create ;. *aylor often uses puns+ or plays on words+ and paradoxes+ or expressions that seem to be contradictory. "hat paradox do you find in line -? "hat pun does the poet use in line !7 !"on a *as" %hilled (ith %old by 'd(ard Taylor 1. <a> "hat human features does *aylor use in describing the wasp <b> How does the wasp warm itself <c> "hat does the wasp do after it has warmed itself !. <a> *o whom is the second stanza addressed <b> :or what does the poet ask -. /n the first stanza+ the poet creates a comparison between the warming of the wasp and the granting of 0od's grace. <a> "hat does the manner in which the wasp is warmed suggest about *aylor's beliefs concerning the granting of 0od's grace <b> "ith what can the actions of the wasp at the end of the first stanza be compared .. /n this poem+ the wasp ser(es as an example for the poet. @ist two other insects or animals you feel could ser(e as an example for humans+ and explain what you think we could learn from them. Hus(ifery by 'd(ard Taylor 1. *o whom is the poem addressed

!. <a> "hat type of machine does *aylor describe <b> "hat process does he describe <c> /n what does the poet ask to be clothed -. "hat does the poem suggest about the poet's attitude toward 0od .. <a> "hat seems to be the poem's o(erall purpose <b> How do the final two lines co(ey *aylor's belief that religious grace comes as a gift from 0od+ rather than as a result of a person's efforts 1. "hat process do you think *aylor might ha(e described in the poem if he had written it while li(ing in today's society ?. /n order to grasp the meaning of figurati(e language+ you must examine the suggestions and associations it e(okes. "hat is suggested by the first line of the poem$ %Aake me+ B @ord+ *hy spinning wheel complete, ;. A conceit is an elaborate+ often lengthy comparison between two startlingly different subCects. :or example+ in %Huswifery+, *aylor creates an intricate+ extended comparison between the making of cloth and the granting of 0od's grace. "hat do each of the following lines from %Huswifery, suggest <a> %And make my soul *hy holy spoole to be., <b> %*hat / am clothed in holy robes for glory., 7. *aylor belie(ed that the granting of grace in(ol(ed the transformation of a person from a flawed and imperfect state of being to a state of purity and perfection. How does *aylor's conceit express this belief =. "hat does *aylor's comparison of a common household task with the granting of grace suggest about his beliefs concerning the relationship between 0od and the earthly world