Upon the Burning of Our House

Upon the Burning of Our House “Upon the Burning of Our House”, by Anne Bradstreet, is a very interesting poem. It illustrates some of the puritan’s ideas. It also illustrates many archetypes. Some of these archetypes are helplessness, materialistic desires, and comfort in religion. When a disaster occurs that drastically changes our lives there is an unnerving sense of helplessness. Bradstreet shows this helplessness with lines such as, “…And to my God my heart …

…appears that Bradstreet, and probably many other puritans, had difficulty with always having faith and unquestioning acceptance in Gods “actions”. This is further supported in a quote by Bradstreet, “I have often been perplexed that I have not found that constant Joy in my Pilgrimage and refreshing which I supposed most of the servants I supposed most of the servants of god have.” This makes me wonder if she didn’t often question her religion.