Anne Bradstreet Research Paper

Anne Bradstreet was America's first noteworthy poet in spite of the fact that she was a woman. Both the daughter and wife of Massachusetts governors, Bradstreet suffered all of the hardships of colonial life, was a mother, and still found time to write. Her poem, "The Author to Her Book," is an example of Bradstreet's excellent use of literary techniques while expressing genuine emotion and using domestic subject matter.

In early America, women were expected to take care of the household and of the children. However, writers such as Anne Bradstreet and Judith Sargent Murray wanted to emphasize the importance of education for women. The two texts by these authors that will be discussed are the poem, “The Prologue” by Anne Bradstreet and the essay, “Desultory Thoughts upon the Utility of Encouraging a Degree of Self-Contemplacency, especially in Female Bosoms,” By Judith Sargent Murray. A theme seen prominently throughout both texts is fairer treatment of women through education. Although both women do believe in opportunity for women in education, Bradstreet focuses more on the idea that women should have more acceptance in the intellectual world by men while Murray however, emphasizes the importance of women to be raised properly which resulted in them understanding their self-worth.

Anne Bradstreet was not only the first English-speaking, North American poet, but she was also the first American, woman poet to have her works published. In 1650, without her knowledge, Bradstreet’s brother-in-law had many of her poems published in a collection called The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up In America. Although these poems did not reflect what would be her best work, they did emulate what would be the greatest influence on all of her writing. Anne Bradstreet’s Puritan life was the strongest, and the most obvious influence on her work. Whether it was her reason for writing, how she wrote, or what she wrote about, Bradstreet’s poems would reflect the influence of Puritan life and doctrine.

John Adams, Abigail Adams, and Anne Bradstreet were colonial Americans who contributed greatly to the nation. As each of them entered into a new life, they faced numerous challenging trials. Even though their difficulties were burdensome, these individuals overcame their circumstances to achieve great things. Their literary works are proof of the lives they lead and the goals they accomplished. Despite facing the challenges of a new government, an oppressive culture, and a strange land, Mr. Adams, Mrs. Adams and Mrs. Bradstreet were each able to overcome their hardships, document their experiences, and ultimately contribute to society.

Bradstreet acknowledging men are the dominant members of society and that all she wants is for some acknowledgement of her skill as a poet. I believe her poems spoke volumes about her culture and where she came from. Her poems reflect on her questioning scriptures and dealing with the confines of the wilderness.

Finally, literature can create a platform for those who typically are unable to influence society publicly or on a public platform. For example, women in the 17th and 18th centuries possessed very little societal influence and there for had to find a means to still leave their mark on the world and impact it for the better. Anne Bradstreet and Phillis Wheatley are two such women who sought out a way to impact the world. These two women, although from extremely different circumstances, both wrote about what life was like for women in these two centuries and both are considered courageous according to the standards of may despite being in the submissive female role that society had categorized and placed them in. For example, Anne Bradstreet

Feminism today remains prominent because even while women’s rights are very strong, women are still fighting for equality every day. In the time of Anne Bradstreet, women had few rights and they were seen as inferior to men. Anne lived among the puritans whom ruled her everyday life. Although it was against the puritan code for women to receive an education, Bradstreet’s father, Thomas Dudley, loved his daughter dearly and made sure that she was well educated which shows in her works. Anne Bradstreet’s literature became well known only because her family published her works under a male name. This was done because writing poetry was a serious offense to the puritans since poetry was

The Romantic Period built an environment where women were painted with flowery diction (Wollstonecraft, 216) and were incapable of independence. The Rights of Woman became a crucial topic, particularly in poetry which allowed women the freedom of expression. Accordingly, during the early eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, women writers did not need the prop of their male contemporaries like suggested. Evidently, women were able, successful, and professional writers in their own right. In fact, women often influenced male writers (Dustin, 42). Both Mary Wollstonecraft and Anna Letitia Barbauld are evidence that women did not need to rely on their male peers to become successful poets. Consequently, many poets took inspiration from them (Dustin, 32). In The Rights of Woman and Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Anna Letitia Barbauld and Mary Wollstonecraft had contrasting ideas. Barbauld’s The Rights of Woman was a documented reaction towards Wollstonecraft’s extremely controversial Vindication. Henceforth, both indicate a separate message for the Rights of the Woman. Assumedly, Barbauld misinterpreted Wollstonecraft and readings of The Rights of Woman in the twenty-first century appear antifeminist as a result.

Anne Bradstreet, as a poet, wrote as both a Puritan woman in her time and as a woman ahead of her time. Zach Hutchins analyzed this tension in “The Wisdom of Anne Bradstreet: Eschewing Eve and Emulating Elizabeth”, and makes a primary argument that three of Bradstreet’s poems provide evidence that Bradstreet rejects the Puritan views of a woman while keeping her own personal faith. Hutchins fither his argument by declaring that readers should not view Bradstreet as a symbol of rebellion or submission, instead as a symbol of wisdom.

To become a carpenter, one needs a saw. To become a forester, one needs an axe. Tools are required for—and are even symbolic of—their respective professions. For women, however, the tools required to become scholars, free-thinkers, and intellectuals were held out of their reach for much of American history. The reason behind this was simple: they had not shown themselves capable to earn it. Women, it was argued, typically showed no signs of being rational thinkers, and therefore, were not even afforded the opportunity to prove themselves. In the late eighteenth century, Judith Sargent Murray argued that women had, in fact, proven themselves to perform creatively and intellectually with the opportunities that were given to them—opportunities that were often overlooked. Most notably, Murray argues that women partake in almost destructive social behavior as an outlet for creativity—an idea which is played on in the nineteenth century American novel The Linwoods through the importance of hierarchy to its female characters.

Women writers, this is to say, have been treated differently from men because they were women; and this has affected how they developed.

Anne Bradstreet is well-recognized because she was the first female American poet. The previous statement makes it seem as if her poems are only noteworthy due to her literary importance in history outweighing her poetic artistry. Luisa Hall in The Influence of Anne Bradstreet’s Innovative Errors explains that “the problem Bradstreet faces...is not the problem of being a woman or being the first American poet, but...fearing she has no right to speak, of fearing her voice cannot insert itself into English literary history” (23). Another writer that supports Hall’s claim is Catherine Sedgwick: “Sedgwick’s ability to champion an expansion of woman’s sphere beyond domestic settings was blunted by “deep inner restraints” that derived from her

Anna Bradstreet grows up in a healthy family. She was the daughter of Thomas Dudley who is the manager of the country estate of the Puritan Earl of Lincoln. Anna Bradstreet got married at the age of 16 to the young Simon Bradstreet who was working with Anna father. Anna Bradstreet never went to school but her father always taught her and gave her an education. It that time many women didn’t have an education. Anna considers one of the best and most important American poets. When Bradstreet was a little girl, she writes poems to honor and please her father. After she got married, she kept writing and it marriage didn’t stop her. Her brother in law, John Woodbridge, pastor of the Andover Church, brought with him to London a manuscripts collection of her poetry in 1650. It was her first book, The Tenth Muse was the first published volume of poems written by an American resident and it was widely read. Anne Bradstreet was a very religious and Godly woman. Anne Bradstreet always tried to live life in a perfect way. Anne Bradstreet was a woman of God and she always wrote about her faith in her poetry. She always talked about the Puritan and their believes and views on salvation and reclamation in her poetry. Anna seems to believe that God has punished her through her sicknesses. The Puritans believed suffering was God’s plan of preparing the soul and heart for accepting his mercy

Anne Bradstreet is among the most famous historical American female poets. Her seventeenth century works of writing came at a time when the society was male dominated and the role of women in the society was much more demeaned. Bradstreet is considered a feminist who advanced her feministic ideas through her writings.

Anne Bradstreet’s poem, “The Prologue”, is about the struggle of women in a Puritan Society. In the Puritan Society, women are held to a certain standard. Women were not able to speak their mind, openly show they were educated, or express themselves freely, because it was looked down on. “The Prologue”, is titled to mark the beginning of her work. In this poem, Bradstreet acknowledges her role as a woman in a Puritan society, but also makes a brave attempt to achieve freedom from the Puritan Society. Bradstreet is on a mission to prove to the Puritan society that women are worthy enough to do what men do. Bradstreet fights for feminism.