“Huswifery” Summary

“Huswifery” Themes

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  God and Humankind

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Huswifery”

• Lines 1-6

  Make me, O Lord, thy Spining Wheele compleate.
  Thy Holy Worde my Distaff make for mee.
  Make mine Affections thy Swift Flyers neate
  And make my Soule thy holy Spoole to bee.
  My Conversation make to be thy Reele
  And reele the yarn thereon spun of thy Wheele.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 7-9

  Make me thy Loome then, knit therein this Twine:
  And make thy Holy Spirit, Lord, winde quills:
  Then weave the Web thyselfe. The yarn is fine.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 10-12

  Thine Ordinances make my Fulling Mills.
  Then dy the same in Heavenly Colours Choice,
  All pinkt with Varnisht Flowers of Paradise.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 13-16

  Then cloath therewith mine Understanding, Will,
  Affections, Judgment, Conscience, Memory
  My Words, and Actions, that their shine may fill
  My wayes with glory and thee glorify.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 17-18

  Then mine apparell shall display before yee
  That I am Cloathd in Holy robes for glory.

  

  

  

  

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“Huswifery” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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• Apostrophe

  

  

  

  

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• Allusion

  

  

  

  

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• Assonance

  

  

  

  

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• Caesura

  

  

  

  

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• Consonance

  

  

  

  

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• Extended Metaphor

  

  

  

  

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“Huswifery” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Thy / Thyselfe
• Spining Wheele
• Compleate
• Distaff
• Mine
• Swift Flyers
• Spool
• Reele
• Yarn
• Thereon / Therein
• Loome
• Twine
• Holy Spirit
• Winde Quills
• Thine
• Ordinances
• Fulling Mills
• Pinkt
• Varnisht
• Therewith
• Apparell

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Huswifery”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“Huswifery” Speaker

“Huswifery” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “Huswifery”

More “Huswifery” Resources

• External Resources

  • Edward Taylor's Life and Work — A valuable resource on Taylor's biography and output from the Poetry Foundation. 

  • Edward Taylor's Sermons — A collection of Taylor's religious sermons.  

  • A Lecture on Taylor — Interesting thoughts on Edward Taylor's output from a university lecturer.

  • Puritan Poetry — Poems by other writers from the same era. 

  • Taylor's Place — An article about Taylor's place in American (and English) poetry.