Question

Which type of figurative language is Bradstreet using in these lines from "Upon the Burning of Our House?"

"Thou hast an house on high erect,
Framed by that mighty Architect,
With glory richly furnished,
Stands permanent though this be fled."

A). Simile
B). Metaphor or extended metaphor
C). Personification
D). All of the above

Answer 1

Answer:

The type of figurative language used in these lines is:

B) Metaphor or extended metaphor.

Explanation:

Metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things in order to attribute a quality of one of them to the other. An extended metaphor happens when such a comparison continues throughout a series of lines in a poem. In Bradstreet's poem, we have the extended metaphor in which Heaven is compared to a house and God to an architect. Since this comparison lasts for at least four lines, we can say it is an extended metaphor. Bradstreet wrote this poem after a fire destroyed her house and her belongings. What she means in these lines is that God has a better place waiting for her. Even though her home here on Earth has been destroyed, she has a permanent, strong home waiting for her. A home God Himself prepared for her.