Lesson 4.1: To My Dear Loving Husband

What does "quench" mean?

• To satisfy one's thirst or desire
• To increase one's thirst
• To start a fire
• To ignore one's desire

What does "recompense" mean?

• To exaggerate or overstate

• To apologize or express regret
• To repay someone

• To ignore or dismiss

What does "manifold" mean?

• Empty and void

• Many and varied

• Limited and restricted
• Single and uniform

What does "persevere" mean?

• To give up easily
• To continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty or with little or no indication of success
• To start something new when faced with difficulty
• To achieve success without any effort

What does "thee" mean: "If ever man were loved by wife, then thee"?

• We
• Your

• They
• You

What does "Thy" mean: "Thy love is such I can no way repay"?

• Your
• Our

• They
• Their

What does "doth" mean: "Or all the riches that the East

doth hold"

• did
• does
• do
• doesn't

What does the speaker in this poem feel?

• • She is happy that she is a woman.

• • She is surprised that she is in love.

• • She is upset that her husband is unhappy.

• • She feels emotionally connected to her husband.

What does the speaker think of her husband's love?

• • She feels his love is something that she will always miss.

• • She feels his love is that worst thing that ever happened to her.

• • She sees his love as something that she could only buy with lots of gold.

• • She sees his love as a gift that she will never be able to repay.

What do the structural similarities between the first 3 lines contribute to the whole poem?

• "If ever two were one, then surely we.

  If ever man were loved by wife, then thee;

  If ever wife was happy in a man,"

• • The repetition of “If ever… then…” emphasizes the narrator’s message of love as a commitment, similar to the repetition found in wedding vows.

• • The repetition of “If ever… then…” creates a serious and solemn tone, as the narrator confesses the depths of her affection.

• • The poem’s meter establishes a rhythmic sound in the piece, alluding to other romantic odes of Bradstreet’s time.

• • The use of rhyme provides a lyrical introduction, gently easing the reader into the poem as lovers would into each other’s arms.