This paper discusses Anne Bradstreet's poem "Upon
Burning of Our House" written in 1666 about a burning house and the loss
of all
material goods. It analyzes how the work is based on the Puritan theological concepts of the time which tended reveal a sense of hopelessness and despondency as far as life was concerned. It shows how the willingness of the poet to shun the world and its possessions for bigger rewards is a purely Puritan concept which seems to lack substance. Material accomplishments were viewed as selfish desires, which had to be abandoned if a man sought to achieve happiness in the world thereafter.