Read "Huswifery," by Edward Taylor. Take notes and define any unfamiliar words. Then, respond to the following prompt, in no more than three sentences:
What comparison does the speaker make in "Huswifery"? Why does he make it? What effect does it have?
The deadline for responses is 3:00 PM on Thursday, September 29th, 2011. By 5 PM on the same day I will post all acceptable responses. After 5, it is up to you to go online to ensure that your response is posted; if it is not, let me know on Friday. Otherwise, I will assume there are no problems. Therefore, claiming you posted but had a problem with the technology will not be an excuse.
There will be no late penalties. If you miss the deadline, you will get a 0.
Think about the discussion we had on Tuesday. I will be looking for focus, structure, clarity and grammar/mechanics. With such a short format, remember to use words wisely and avoid "excess verbiage."
Think about the discussion we had on Tuesday. I will be looking for focus, structure, clarity and grammar/mechanics. With such a short format, remember to use words wisely and avoid "excess verbiage."
The speaker of "Huswifery" makes use of metaphorical conceit, with the purpose of equating each part of a spinning wheel with spiritual ideas. He uses images apprehensible or understandable to the people of his era. The poem therefore has a relatable effect, as the making of the cloth becomes a figurative expression of the "purification" of his soul.
ReplyDeleteTaylor compares himself to God's spinning wheel. He makes this comparison because he wants to glorify God by wearing the robes spun on said wheel. The effect it has is to make Taylor look conceited, thinking that it's his responsibility alone to wear clothing spun by God himself.
ReplyDeleteIn the poem, the speaker compares various aspects of spiritual life with the parts of a spinning wheel. His reason for this is that the garment created by the device is fresh and new, similar to what God makes out of an individual.
ReplyDeleterandy: Not bad. I'd argue that apprehensible and understandable are the same. Best sentence is the 3rd - perhaps some brief text support to explain this.
ReplyDeleteIn his poem Huswifery, Edward Taylor compares god to a weaver, and himself to the loom god is using. He makes this comparison to show his devotion to god by professing his desire to be used as god's instrument of creation. through his use of conceit, Taylor demonstrates a longing to be helpful in god's work, and exhibits the classic puritan characteristic of wanting to work hard to help god any way he can.
ReplyDeleteIn “Huswifery” by Edward Taylor, the speaker makes a comparison between himself and God’s spinning wheel in order to show that he wants God to use his life to make things in his world better. The speaker compares different aspects of his life, such as his soul, his words, his actions, etc., to tools that can be used by God, resulting in the speaker being able to glorify God in everything he does. The effect of this poem is that how much this puritan man loves, trusts, and lives to follow God by wanting God to use his life in every way possible is clearly illustrated.
ReplyDeleteEndt1996: You got the comparison, but is conceit truly a Puritan virtue?
ReplyDeleteSoilentGreen2: On the right track, but how does God make something fresh and new from an individual? Be specific.
thewave: Good tie-in of hard work, the signature Puritan characteristic, to your analysis. Cap errors.
I didn't realize that the third question, as to the effect of the comparison, was asking about Puritan virtues. I thought it was aimed at the reader.
ReplyDelete(Revision): The speaker of "Huswifery" makes use of metaphorical conceit, with the purpose of equating each part of a spinning wheel with spiritual ideas. He uses images apprehensible to the people of his era. The poem therefore has a relatable effect, as the making of the cloth becomes a figurative expression of the salvation or "purification" of his soul, for instance, when the speaker is robed in "holy robes," only then can he repay God or truly "glorify" him.
ReplyDeleteIn "Huswifery," Edward Taylor makes a connection between him and a spinning wheel, which represents all aspects of spiritual life. He makes this connection with the spinning wheel because God works through us to spread his word and serve him, just like how one would work with a spinning wheel to create a beautiful piece of cloth. Serving God and letting him fully influence your doings takes a lot of discipline but the outcome is magnificent; his love and hopefully his kingdom (hopefully; because Puritans believed in pre-destination).
ReplyDeleteThe speaker of “Huswifery” uses a conceit to compare God’s influence on himself to a spinning wheel for the function of making clothing. Edward Taylor justifies this by describing how the Lord sculpts his body in God’s work in resemblance to sculpting clothe from yarn to “make my soul Thy holy spoole to be” (Line 4). Lastly, Taylor concludes that he is “clothed in holy robes for glory” (Line 18) which gives the reader the effect that God has influenced the speaker to follow His guidance in life, and clothe him to bring praise in God’s name.
ReplyDeleteIn his poem Huswifery, Edward Taylor compares God to a weaver, and himself to the loom God is using. He makes this comparison to show his devotion to God by professing his desire to be used as God's instrument of creation. through his use of conceit, Taylor demonstrates a longing to be helpful in God's work, and exhibits the classic puritan characteristic of wanting to work hard to help God any way he can.
ReplyDeleteIn Edward Taylor's poem "Huswifery", the speaker compares himself to a spinning wheel, while God is the spinner. Taylor describes himself as the "spoole" of the wheel, showing how he can change himself to follow God's intent. This sense of following God's demands directly corresponds to the Puritan value of living on an unswerving path to God.
ReplyDeleteThe comparison that Taylor makes is how God is portrayed as a "Housewife" from the title, and how he is the glorious one that will weave a holy robe for you when arriving in heaven. The author makes this comparison in order to show a different way of representing God's power and how he is in charge of everybody's fate. The effect that is left is a reminding effect to fellow Puritans as well as a learning experience to non-Puritans.
ReplyDeleteIn the poem, Huswifery, Edward Taylor compares himself to God's spinning wheel. He makes this comparison because he wants to be closer to God and he wants God to sew him into his "holy robes of glory." This comparison exemplifies the need for the speaker to progress the grace necessary for salvation and it demonstrates the Puritan ideal of hard work.
ReplyDeleteIn Edward Taylor's poem, "Huswifery", a puritan woman takes us into her contented, Godly thoughts that we enter through her otherwise mundane task of spinning wool. Her spinning wheel represents her life and revolving days with the wool's colors and the wheel's motion representing God's influence on her, making her life more beautiful and meaningful. "The yarn is fine. Thine ordinances make my fulling mills. Then dye the same in heavenly colors choice. All pinked with varnished flowers of paradise", depicts God's spirit intertwining with the fabric of her life and consciousness.
ReplyDeleteEdward Taylor compares himself to a spinning wheel that God uses to “knit this twine”, or to spread his glory. Taylor makes this comparison because he, as a Puritan, hopes to glorify God on Earth by sharing his teachings. He humbly gives himself up as an instrument of God's will in order to maintain a strong spiritual connection with God.
ReplyDeleteIn "Huswifery", Taylor compares God to the loom and himself to the spinning wheel. A spinning wheel cannot work alone and needs a loom to help it function, which parallels Taylor's belief that humans needs God's guidance through life. With the poem's conceits of the spinning wheel making a cloth of "Understanding, Will, Affections, Judgment, Conscience, Memory" (13,14), gives an effect that relates to the Puritan belief of the need for God's control on the choices you make in life.
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ReplyDeleteThe speaker in "Huswifery" compares the craft of weaving to describe each spiritual part of his/her self as an utensil being controlled by God. This is displayed in line four when the speaker says, “And make my soul thy holy spoole to be."
ReplyDeleteThe speaker demands God to use his/her soul as the yarn for the Lord's holy rob; the image of ultimate devotion and allegiance of an average Puritan during this time period is clearly conveyed to readers.
In the poem Huswifery, the auther uses the comparison between himself and the God's weaver. He compared himself and God's weaver in order to expresses his praise to the God. The metaphors of each single part of the weaver in the poem implies the author's spirits and his wishes about working hard and stay with God and being guided by God.
ReplyDeleteThe author of "Huswifery" uses a metaphor to compare a spinning wheel making cloth to God spinning the human race's fate. The author does this to show that God makes everything and that spinning thread and making it into cloth is just like God deciding everyone's fate. This causes readers to feel that God has control over everything you do and that it is out of your hands but that is not an excuse for not trying.
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