Transcript Edward Taylor PP

Edward Taylor
1642 - 1729
Edward Taylor
Just Kidding!
Edward Taylor
1642-1729
Biographical Information
• Born the son of a farmer in England around 1642
• Crossed the Atlantic in 1668 at age 26
• Admitted with advanced standing to Harvard
College, graduating in 1671
• Roomed with Samuel Sewall, the judge who later
presided at the Salem witch trials
Literary Terms
A metaphor is a figure of speech in which two very
different subjects are shown to have a point of similarity.
A conceit is an extended metaphor over several lines, which
shows how two seemingly different subjects are alike not
just in one way but in many ways.
“Huswifery”
Make me, O Lord, thy Spining Wheele compleate.
Thy Holy Worde my Distaff make for meet
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.
Make me thy Loome then, knit therein this Twine:
And make thy Holy Spirit, Lord, wince quills:
Then weave the Web thyselfe. The yarn is fine.
Thine Ordinances make my Fulling Mills.
Then dy the same in Hcavenly Colours Choice,
All pinks with Varnisht Flowers of Paradise.
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.
Then mine apparel! shall display before yee
That I am Cloathd in Holy robes for glory.
“Huswifery”
Distaff n.: A staff on which raw flax or wool is
wound for use in spinning
Affections: emotions
Flyers n.: The part of a spinning wheel which
twists fibers into yarn
Reele n: The spool of a spinning wheel, on which
thread or yarn is wound.
Make mee, O Lord, thy Spinning Wheele complete.
Thy Holy Words 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.
A - wheel
B - distaff
C - flyer
D - spool
E - bobbin
Sleeping Beauty
Discussion
1. In the 1st line, what request does the poet
make?
2. Explain the metaphor.
3. What is the point of similarity between the
two dissimilar things?
4. What are the central metaphors in the second
and third stanzas?
5. Explain how the metaphors developed in each
stanza build to a conceit for the poem as a
whole.
6. What is the ultimate meaning of the conceit?