Huswifery

The poem, Huswifery, written by Edward Taylor, was referring to predestination as a Puritan woman. This poem is about her relationship and connection with God. When I read the title of the poem, it made me think of “housewife”. I figured this would be a clue on better understanding the writing. Taylor also used feminine expressions in the poem, such as “pinkt and Varnish’t Flowers” and him referring to yarn and knitting. This would be a piece of writing that a Puritan woman can relate to.

I believe this poem can be referred to as concrete poetry. The spacing of the poem is the same in each verse. The second, fourth, fifth, and sixth lines in each verse is indented. I think the first and third lines are the main ideas in the verse, and the indented lines are used to support them. I noticed that Taylor capitalized some nouns throughout the poem. These words maybe important key words to look at. For example, the words “Conversation”, “Spinning Wheele”, “Loome”, “Ordiances”, etc. are capitalized. Lastly, Taylor uses feminine words to illustrate that it might be a woman’s feelings.

The plot of the poem is a “conversation” a Puritan woman hopes to have with God to convince him that she is a visible saint. She is telling God her conscience, judgment, and way of life is good, and she deserves to go to heaven. I believe Taylor’s purpose was to show people the faith this woman has and her making her way to salvation. She has to live God’s way of life in order for her to get to the Holy land. “And make my Soule thy holy Spoole to bee.” (Line 4). This Puritan woman hopes to be dressed in the Holy robe as said in the last two lines of the poem. I found that Taylor used imagery in this poem. He painted out the words using phrases like “Spinning Wheele” which I believe is talking about her life, “Fulling Mills” meaning large dinners, and “Heavenly Colours” meaning a soft and spiritual atmosphere.

The persona is different than the author. I believe this poem is talking about a Puritan woman. The title Huswifery makes me think he’s referring to a housewife and her relation with God. He uses knitting to illustrate her way of life. In line 11, she says when she dies; she wants to pick the colors of heaven. Then in line 12, she chooses the color pink.

This poem by Edward Taylor is enjoyable and I found myself reading beyond the words. His word choices really made me think and try to figure out his purpose and what he was trying to say. It took me a couple tries to understand the writing, but each time it became a little easier. In addition, this poem shows me how much Puritans had faith in God and how serious they took their relationship with him.