Notes- “Huswifery” (116)
Mr. Huitt
American Literature and Composition
Edward Taylor
- Only published two stanzas of poetry over the course of his lifetime.
o Minister in Westfield, Massachusetts
o Tried to defend the original faith of the Puritans against newer, more liberal religious ideas
o Only people who achieved grace should be able to be full members of the church
- Poetic style differs from other Puritan authors
o Often difficult and intricate
o All poems are religious
o Tried to understand how human beings could be joined with God
“Huswifery”- the work of a housewife
- Poem begins by comparing God’s grace to cloth making
- The poem is a conceit
o A kind of metaphor that makes a comparison between two startlingly different things. May be brief or the subject of an entire poem
§ In this case, Taylor compares a common housework (cloth making) and finding grace.
o First stanza uses and ababcc rhyme scheme
§ Compares himself to the spinning wheel and the Bible to a distaff (a staff with a cleft end for holding wool, flax, etc., from which the thread is drawn in spinning by hand)
§ Basic meaning of this stanza is that no one can achieve grace without knowing the basics of the Bible/
· Emotions are like Flyers that twist and carry the wool
· Soul is the spool (gathers wool)
· Social behavior is like the reel that gathers the finished wool
o Second stanza- same rhyme scheme- moves his discussion to the loom, where the raw wool is made into the cloth
§ God is now the weaver
§ Once the cloth (soul) is ready, it is cleaned by Fulling Mills (communion)
§ They are dyed (formed) into a specific color/shape
o Third stanza- make the cloth into beautiful robes to go over his understanding, wills, affections, judgment, etc.
§ Wants God to focus on word and action as well- has complete faith
§ Robes will then display God’s full glory forever
- Overall idea- Grace transform one from imperfect to complete purity, just as the transformation of wool from coarse thread to beautiful clothing