Huswifery Group

Question:

swagga561
swagga561
Student
High School - 12th Grade

In the first two stanzas of the poem "Huswifery" by Edward Taylor, to what household objects and activities does the speaker compare himself?

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Posted by swagga561 on Friday September 18, 2009 at 3:43 PM and tagged with comparison, conceit, household objects, loom, speaker, spinning wheel.

Answers:


  1. podunc Teacher
    College - Sophomore

    eNotes Editor

    In the first stanza, the speaker asks the Lord to make him a "spinning wheele." The rest of the stanza details the parts of the wheel, including the distaff (holds the wool), the flyers (guide the spinning), the spool (twists the yarn), and the reel (holds the finished thread).

    In the second stanza, the speaker asks the Lord to "make me thy Loome" and goes through a similar list of parts such as the quills (spools of a loom).

    Taylor uses the literary device of the conceit (extended comparison) in these stanzas to indicate that the speaker wants to be guided and used by God for God's purposes, just as a craftsman would use a spinning wheel or a loom.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/huswifery-salem/huswifery

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    Posted by podunc on Monday October 5, 2009 at 6:25 PM