America's history is documented in numerous cultural artifacts. Judgments about the past can be made by visiting a museum, reading a history book or historical novel, watching a film, or listening to a teacher. These are all good resources for learning about history, but one of the most interesting ways is to critically read a piece of literature from a period to learn about the culture and values ​​of the people of that time. It allows each reader to actively participate as a historian when evaluating a text. Two poems by Anne Bradstreet serve as perfect examples of this type of reading of history. The poems "In memory of my dear niece Elizabeth Bradstreet, who died in August, 1665, aged a year and a half" and "Following some verses concerning the burning of our house July 10, 1666 copied from a loose sheet" may both can be used to investigate a variety of questions relating to life in the 1600s. Poems can be used to reveal a great deal of information from a wide variety of topics. A careful reading of Bradstreet's poem reveals a great deal of information. Reading "In memory of my dear niece Elizabeth Bradstreet, who died in August, 1665, aged one year and a half" reveals a great deal of information. The title of the poem shows that poetry was considered a serious art form because poetry deals with a very serious matter and not simply nonsense. The title also reveals to the reader an exact year to identify the period under study. The title shows that people of the time had relatively close families because the poem is about a person mourning a young grandson. The actual poem shows that people of the time equate the cycles found in nature with the cycle of human life. This is highlighted in the second stanza, which talks about the rotting of trees in old age and the death of young shoots. This verse is intended to be an extended metaphor that compares human existence to plant life. The use of such a metaphor in the poem demonstrates that the poets of the 1600s were sophisticated in their use of language. The poem illustrates the views of people in Anne Bradstreet's religious community on the role of God in their lives. The phrase "It is only through His hand that He guides nature and destiny.