Which Puritan wrote poetry about the burning of her house?

• A. Elizabeth I
• B. Anne Hutchinson
• C. Anne Bradstreet
• D. Hannah Duston

Answer: (C)

This question hinges on recognizing a Puritan poet who turned a personal calamity into a spiritual reflection. Anne Bradstreet, a prominent Puritan poet in colonial Massachusetts, wrote the well-known poem about the fire that destroyed her house. In that piece, she recounts the blaze and the loss of her belongings, but she quickly shifts to a perspective of humility and trust in God, reminding herself that earthly goods are temporary and true riches lie in heavenly grace. This combination of intimate domestic life with religious meaning is characteristic of her work and of Puritan poetry more broadly, where personal trials are interpreted through the lens of Providence and faith.

Elizabeth I, while a powerful historical figure, was not a Puritan writer of this type. Anne Hutchinson is known for religious dissent within the Puritan community rather than for poetry about personal loss. Hannah Duston is celebrated as a frontier figure rather than a poet of this subject. So the poet who wrote about the burning of her house is Anne Bradstreet.