Exploring the Text

1. In the first six lines, the speaker equates each part of the spinning wheel with an aspect of spiritual life. What is the correspondence with the distaff (a piece of wood on which flax or wool is spun into thread), the “Swift Flyers” (a device to regulate the action of the spinner), the “Spoole” (the instrument that twists the yarn into consistent cords), and the “Reele” (the instrument that winds the finished thread)?

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Exploring the Text: - In the first six lines, the speaker equates each part of the spinning wheel with an aspect of spiritual life. What is the correspondence with the distaff (a piece of wood on which flax or wool is spun into thread), the “Swift Flyers” (a device to regulate the action of the spinner), the “Spoole” (the instrument that twists the yarn into consistent cords), and the “Reele” (the instrument that winds the finished thread)?
2. In the second stanza, the speaker compares himself to a loom—that is, a mechanism on which to weave the thread into cloth. What is he asking when he implores, “Make me thy Loome” (l. 7)? What is the role of the Holy Spirit and the Lord in this process suggested by the conceit? (Note that “quills” are spindles on which thread is woven; “Fulling Mills” are where cloth is cleansed and prepared for dyeing.)

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Exploring the Text: - In the second stanza, the speaker compares himself to a loom—that is, a mechanism on which to weave the thread into cloth. What is he asking when he implores, “Make me thy Loome” (l. 7)? What is the role of the Holy Spirit and the Lord in this process suggested by the conceit? (Note that “quills” are spindles on which thread is woven; “Fulling Mills” are where cloth is cleansed and prepared for dyeing.)
3. According to stanza 3, what role does the speaker believe he can play once he is attired in the elaborate garment—“Holy robes for glory”—described in stanza 2?

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Exploring the Text: - According to stanza 3, what role does the speaker believe he can play once he is attired in the elaborate garment—“Holy robes for glory”—described in stanza 2?
4. The conceit of a mundane task, one usually reserved for women, roots the poem in everyday human experience in the physical world, yet its subject is spirituality and the relationship with the Divine. How does Edward Taylor bring the human and the spiritual together without appearing to be inappropriate or, possibly, heretical?

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Exploring the Text: - The conceit of a mundane task, one usually reserved for women, roots the poem in everyday human experience in the physical world, yet its subject is spirituality and the relationship with the Divine. How does Edward Taylor bring the human and the spiritual together without appearing to be inappropriate or, possibly, heretical?
5. Taylor approached writing poetry not only as an artistic expression but also as an act of devotion. In what ways can this poem be interpreted as a prayer?

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Exploring the Text: - Taylor approached writing poetry not only as an artistic expression but also as an act of devotion. In what ways can this poem be interpreted as a prayer?