Here Follows Some Verses Upon The Burning Of Our House Analysis

Imagine standing in the dead of night watching everything you hold dear go up in flames. Every possession, memory, and treasure that you have kept over the years gone in a single instant. That is exactly what happened to Anna Bradstreet on that July night in 1666. She stood and watched her whole life disappear into ashes. Like most people she could not understand why this has happened to her, yet in the same instant she praises God for reminding her that the Lord gives and takes without prejudice. Anna Bradstreet is like any person who believes in God, one moment being reminded of His love and the next wondering if your faith is for naught. In the poem “Here Follows Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10th, 1666” Bradstreet cries out to God to not leave her to deal with the loss of her house and then not five lines later she bless Him for giving and taking away (Bradstreet lines 8-14). Here is a woman who has literally watched her entire house burn to the ground yet she is able to give thanks to God. According to John Winthrop, who was the leader of the Puritans, stated that a model Christian is to remember that all of your possessions or gifts are His property and He may call for them back (Winthrop). Bradstreet shows this model
There is some who would even curse God for letting such a tragedy happen to them. Bradstreet praises “The world no longer let me love,/ My hope and treasure lies above” (Bradstreet 53-54). Yet in another poem “As Weary Pilgrim” she states “ A pilgrim I, on earth perplexed/ With sins, with cares and sorrows vext” (Bradstreet 19-20). This is a clear view that at times Bradstreet questions her faith. She also states in a letter that she wrote to her children that she questioned the scriptures and that she never saw any miracles (Bradstreet). She is like many followers who wonder if they are really blind in their