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Anne Bradstreet
Anne Bradstreet, born 1612, died 1672, was not a preacher in the traditional sense but an English Puritan poet whose deeply religious writings reflected a preaching-like devotion to faith, making her a significant spiritual voice in early colonial America. Born Anne Dudley in Northampton, England, to Thomas Dudley, a steward for the Earl of Lincoln, and Dorothy Yorke, she was educated unusually well for a woman of her time, studying history, languages, and theology under her father’s tutelage. At 16, she married Simon Bradstreet in 1628, and in 1630, the couple sailed with her family on the Arbella to Massachusetts Bay Colony as part of the Puritan migration, seeking religious freedom. Settling in Ipswich and later Andover, she raised eight children while grappling with the harsh realities of colonial life. Though not ordained or preaching from a pulpit—roles reserved for men in Puritan society—Bradstreet’s poetry served as a form of spiritual exhortation, weaving biblical themes and personal faith into works like The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America (1650), published without her consent by her brother-in-law in London. Poems such as “Upon the Burning of Our House” and “To My Dear and Loving Husband” reveal a preacherly meditation on God’s providence, submission, and eternal hope, resonating with Puritan sermons of her day. Her health declined after a bout with smallpox in 1656, and she died on September 16, 1672, in Andover, likely from tuberculosis or childbirth complications.
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Anne Bradstreet reflects on a tragic event where her house is consumed by fire, leading her to contemplate the fleeting nature of earthly possessions and the importance of placing one's hope and treasure in heaven. She acknowledges God's sovereignty in giving and taking away, finding solace in the eternal home prepared by God. Bradstreet urges listeners to shift their focus from worldly wealth to the priceless inheritance awaiting them in heaven, emphasizing the need to detach from material possessions and set their hearts on things above.
On the Burning of My House
In silent night when rest I took, For sorrow neer I did not look, I waken'd was with thundring nois And Piteous shreiks of dreadfull voice. That fearfull sound of fire and fire, Let no man know is my Desire. I, starting up, the light did spye, And to my God my heart did cry To strengthen me in my Distresse And not to leave me succourlesse. Then coming out beheld a space, The flame consume my dwelling place. And, when I could no longer look, I blest his Name that gave and took, That layd my goods now in the dust: Yea so it was, and so 'twas just. It was his own: it was not mine; Far be it that I should repine. He might of All justly bereft, But yet sufficient for us left. When by the Ruines oft I past, My sorrowing eyes aside did cast, And here and there the places spye Where oft I sate, and long did lye. Here stood that Trunk, and there that chest; There lay that store I counted best: My pleasant things in ashes lye, And them behold no more shall I. Under thy roof no guest shall sitt, Nor at thy Table eat a bitt. No pleasant tale shall 'ere be told, Nor things recounted done of old. No Candle 'ere shall shine in Thee, Nor bridegroom's voice ere heard shall bee. In silence ever shalt thou lye; Adieu, Adeiu; All's vanity. Then streight I gin my heart to chide, And didst thy wealth on earth abide? Didst fix thy hope on mouldring dust, The arm of flesh didst make thy trust? Raise up thy thoughts above the skye That dunghill mists away may flie. Thou hast an house on high erect Fram'd by that mighty Architect, With glory richly furnished, Stands permanent tho' this bee fled. It's purchased, and paid for too By him who hath enough to doe. A Prise so vast as is unknown, Yet, by his Gift, is made thine own. Ther's wealth enough, I need no more; Farewell my Pelf, farewell my Store. The world no longer let me Love, My hope and Treasure lyes Above. Text notes: Line 5: fire and fire, Fire! and Fire! Line 11: beheld a space, watched for a time Line 14: I blest his name that gave and took, see Job 1:21 Line 24: Sate, sat Line 40: Arm of flesh, see 2 Chron. 32:8; Isa. 9:18-20; Jer. 17:4-7 Line 42: Dunghill mists, see Ezra 6:9-12. Line 43: House on high erect, see 2 Cor. 5:1; Heb. 11:10 Line 48: Enough to doe, ie. enough to do it Line 52: Pelf, property, possessions Line 54: Treasure lyes Above, see Luke 12:34
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Anne Bradstreet, born 1612, died 1672, was not a preacher in the traditional sense but an English Puritan poet whose deeply religious writings reflected a preaching-like devotion to faith, making her a significant spiritual voice in early colonial America. Born Anne Dudley in Northampton, England, to Thomas Dudley, a steward for the Earl of Lincoln, and Dorothy Yorke, she was educated unusually well for a woman of her time, studying history, languages, and theology under her father’s tutelage. At 16, she married Simon Bradstreet in 1628, and in 1630, the couple sailed with her family on the Arbella to Massachusetts Bay Colony as part of the Puritan migration, seeking religious freedom. Settling in Ipswich and later Andover, she raised eight children while grappling with the harsh realities of colonial life. Though not ordained or preaching from a pulpit—roles reserved for men in Puritan society—Bradstreet’s poetry served as a form of spiritual exhortation, weaving biblical themes and personal faith into works like The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America (1650), published without her consent by her brother-in-law in London. Poems such as “Upon the Burning of Our House” and “To My Dear and Loving Husband” reveal a preacherly meditation on God’s providence, submission, and eternal hope, resonating with Puritan sermons of her day. Her health declined after a bout with smallpox in 1656, and she died on September 16, 1672, in Andover, likely from tuberculosis or childbirth complications.