Which description best fits the form of this poem?

Fifty-four lines of rhymed couplets, mostly eight syllables long

A sonnet of fourteen lines that closes on a single rhymed couplet

Free verse with no regular rhyme and lines of very uneven length

Long unrhymed lines of ten syllables, the form called blank verse

What wakes the speaker "In silent night"?

Thundering noise and pitiful shrieks, the sound of fire

The smell of smoke drifting in from a neighbor's barn

A servant shaking her awake and telling her to run

The crash of the roof as it falls in upon the sleeping house

When the speaker starts up and sees the light, what does she do?

Her heart cries to God to give her strength in her distress

She runs back inside the house to save her trunk and her chest

She blames herself for leaving a candle burning by the bed

She calls on her neighbors to help her put out the flames

When she "could no longer look" at the fire, the speaker says "I blest his Name that gave and took,". What does she mean?

She praises God, who gave the house and goods and took them

She curses the fire that took the house her husband gave her

She thanks a neighbor who gave the family shelter that night

She blesses the house itself for the happy years it gave her

In "When by the Ruines oft I past," what does the speaker do and see?

She walks by more than once and sees where she once sat and lay

She digs through the ashes and finds that her chest has survived

She goes back only once and never goes near the ruins again

She watches workmen raise a new house where the old one stood

In "Under thy roof no guest shall sitt," and the lines after it, whom is the speaker speaking to?

The burnt house itself, now in ruins

God, whom she asks to rebuild it

Her husband, who is far away from home

Her own heart, which she will scold

In "Adeiu, Adeiu; All’s vanity." what does vanity mean?

Emptiness; the worthlessness of earthly things

Pride in one's own looks and clothes

A small table with a mirror for dressing

Foolish boasting about all the goods one owns

In "Then streight I ’gin my heart to chide," what does the speaker begin to do?

Scold her own heart for trusting in earthly wealth

Comfort her children, who are weeping beside the ruins

Blame the servants for the fire that burned the house

Plead with God to give her back the goods she lost

According to the poem, who built the "house on high" and paid for it?

God, the mighty Architect, who built it and paid its price

Her husband, who promises to build the family a new house

The colony, which pays to rebuild houses lost in fires

The speaker herself, by saving her money for many years

In "Farewell my Pelf, farewell my Store." what does Pelf mean?

Money or riches, spoken of with scorn

An animal's skin, kept as a hunting trophy

A small shelf for household goods

A family's good name and standing

Why might the poem list the trunk, the chest, the table, the candle and the guests before the speaker turns to chide her heart?

To show that her grief is real, which the poem then works to turn to faith

To keep a record of the losses so that the family can claim payment

To prove that a candle left burning at the table started the fire

To plan which rooms the family should rebuild first, and in what order

Here Follows Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10th, 1666 quiz

By Anne Bradstreet

A cry of fire wakes a household in the night, and a woman watches her home burn and later walks past its ruins

11 questions · about 12 minutes

Read the story

Questions and answers

1
Question 1. Which description best fits the form of this poem?
- Correct answer: Fifty-four lines of rhymed couplets, mostly eight syllables long
- A sonnet of fourteen lines that closes on a single rhymed couplet
- Free verse with no regular rhyme and lines of very uneven length
- Long unrhymed lines of ten syllables, the form called blank verse
Correct. The poem's 54 lines rhyme in pairs (took and look, fire and Desire), and most lines have eight syllables, in a mostly regular iambic beat of four stresses.
Read the passage
2
Question 2. What wakes the speaker "In silent night"?
- The smell of smoke drifting in from a neighbor's barn
- A servant shaking her awake and telling her to run
- Correct answer: Thundering noise and pitiful shrieks, the sound of fire
- The crash of the roof as it falls in upon the sleeping house
She was woken "with thundring nois" and "Piteous shreiks of dreadfull voice." The next line names what they cried: "That fearfull sound of fire and fire,". The poem never says who cried out.
Read the passage
3
Question 3. When the speaker starts up and sees the light, what does she do?
- She runs back inside the house to save her trunk and her chest
- Correct answer: Her heart cries to God to give her strength in her distress
- She blames herself for leaving a candle burning by the bed
- She calls on her neighbors to help her put out the flames
"And to my God my heart did cry" and asked him "To strengthen me in my Distresse" and not to leave her without help. The poem reports her cry; it speaks of God, but does not speak to him.
Read the passage
4
Question 4. When she "could no longer look" at the fire, the speaker says "I blest his Name that gave and took,". What does she mean?
- She curses the fire that took the house her husband gave her
- She thanks a neighbor who gave the family shelter that night
- She blesses the house itself for the happy years it gave her
- Correct answer: She praises God, who gave the house and goods and took them
Instead of complaining, she praises God, who gave her everything and has now taken it. The line echoes Job 1:21 in the King James Bible: 'the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD'. Her reason follows: "It was his own: it was not mine;".
Read the passage
5
Question 5. In "When by the Ruines oft I past," what does the speaker do and see?
- Correct answer: She walks by more than once and sees where she once sat and lay
- She digs through the ashes and finds that her chest has survived
- She goes back only once and never goes near the ruins again
- She watches workmen raise a new house where the old one stood
She passed the ruins "oft", often, and her eyes picked out "the places" "Where oft I sate, and long did lye." Then come the lost things themselves: "Here stood that Trunk, and there that chest;".
Read the passage
6
Question 6. In "Under thy roof no guest shall sitt," and the lines after it, whom is the speaker speaking to?
- God, whom she asks to rebuild it
- Her husband, who is far away from home
- Correct answer: The burnt house itself, now in ruins
- Her own heart, which she will scold
She speaks to the house: under its roof no guest will sit, at its table no one will eat, no candle will shine in it, and no "bridegroom’s voice" will be heard there, since no wedding will be held there again. She ends with a farewell to it: "Adeiu, Adeiu; All’s vanity."
Read the passage
7
Question 7. In "Adeiu, Adeiu; All’s vanity." what does vanity mean?
- Pride in one's own looks and clothes
- Correct answer: Emptiness; the worthlessness of earthly things
- A small table with a mirror for dressing
- Foolish boasting about all the goods one owns
Vanity here means emptiness: earthly things do not last. The phrase echoes Ecclesiastes 1:2 in the King James Bible, 'vanity of vanities; all is vanity'. Pride in one's looks is the modern sense and does not fit a house in ashes.
Read the passage
8
Question 8. In "Then streight I ’gin my heart to chide," what does the speaker begin to do?
- Comfort her children, who are weeping beside the ruins
- Blame the servants for the fire that burned the house
- Plead with God to give her back the goods she lost
- Correct answer: Scold her own heart for trusting in earthly wealth
She asks her heart, "And did thy wealth on earth abide?" and "Didst fix thy hope on mouldring dust,". The arm of flesh, human strength, was the wrong thing to trust.
Read the passage
9
Question 9. According to the poem, who built the "house on high" and paid for it?
- Correct answer: God, the mighty Architect, who built it and paid its price
- Her husband, who promises to build the family a new house
- The colony, which pays to rebuild houses lost in fires
- The speaker herself, by saving her money for many years
The house on high is "Fram’d by that mighty Architect,", God. It is "purchaséd, and paid for too" (’Its means ’tis, it is bought) "By him who hath enough to doe.", God again, who has means enough to pay. The price is "so vast as is unknown," yet "by his Gift" the house is made hers.
Read the passage
10
Question 10. In "Farewell my Pelf, farewell my Store." what does Pelf mean?
- An animal's skin, kept as a hunting trophy
- A small shelf for household goods
- Correct answer: Money or riches, spoken of with scorn
- A family's good name and standing
Pelf is money or worldly riches, named with scorn, and Store is the goods she had laid up. This is her second farewell: the first, "Adeiu, Adeiu", was to the house. Now she lets go of her goods, because "My hope and Treasure lyes Above."
Read the passage
11
Question 11. Why might the poem list the trunk, the chest, the table, the candle and the guests before the speaker turns to chide her heart?
- To keep a record of the losses so that the family can claim payment
- Correct answer: To show that her grief is real, which the poem then works to turn to faith
- To prove that a candle left burning at the table started the fire
- To plan which rooms the family should rebuild first, and in what order
The catalogue lets the loss be felt: "My pleasant things in ashes lye," and "In silence ever shalt thou lye;". Only then does the speaker argue her way toward faith. The list shows the grief is real, and the closing lines work to turn that grief into trust in what lies above.
Read the passage

Play it live with your class.

Put the code on the screen and students join on whatever they have.

Questions and answers

Question 1. Which description best fits the form of this poem?

Question 2. What wakes the speaker "In silent night"?

Question 3. When the speaker starts up and sees the light, what does she do?

Question 4. When she "could no longer look" at the fire, the speaker says "I blest his Name that gave and took,". What does she mean?

Question 5. In "When by the Ruines oft I past," what does the speaker do and see?

Question 6. In "Under thy roof no guest shall sitt," and the lines after it, whom is the speaker speaking to?

Question 7. In "Adeiu, Adeiu; All’s vanity." what does vanity mean?

Question 8. In "Then streight I ’gin my heart to chide," what does the speaker begin to do?

Question 9. According to the poem, who built the "house on high" and paid for it?

Question 10. In "Farewell my Pelf, farewell my Store." what does Pelf mean?

Question 11. Why might the poem list the trunk, the chest, the table, the candle and the guests before the speaker turns to chide her heart?