To my Dear and Loving Husband
Romantic language in literature has been used for ages to express authors' feelings for another human being. This language has been developed through out the years to create ways in which different types of romantic emotions can be expressed in writing. From the breath taking romantic novels of today all the way back to the first writers of the Bible and the romantic books of Song of Solomon and Psalms, romantic language has not only been used to express human emotions but also the role of these emotions in the culture of the times. There have been numerous authors who dared to go beyond what their society would have viewed as politically or morally correct. Anne Bradstreet is one of these authors;
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The title, To my Dear and Loving Husband, clearly signifies that this poem was intended for her husband alone. Bradstreet did not live in a time where woman authors would have been very highly respected for their work; this allowed her the opportunity to create very personal pieces because she believed that they would never be published. If Bradstreet had intended for her poetry to become available for the public she would have been forced to write much differently. Bradstreet understood the implications of writing her true emotions and never would have done so if she had not felt that they would have been kept safe from the scrutiny of her fellow puritans. The fear of being ridiculed, banished or killed would have stopped Bradstreet from ever composing poetry for the public as racy as the poems she created for her family especially her husband. Due to the fact that she believed no one would read this poem besides her husband she was able to write more closely to how she truly felt without fear or trepidation, this is apparent in the fact that this particular poem is much different from many of her other poems.
There are many aspects of the poem To my Dear and Loving Husband which set it apart from most of Bradstreet's other poetry. The poem begins with one solid, short and concise sentence, this is far different than most of her poems which begin with a vague idea or a much longer complex statement. This shows a change in writing
"The Author to Her Book" shows Bradstreet's feelings about the unauthorized printing of her work. She expresses her modesty about her ability to write by comparing her work to "homespun cloth" meaning that is was coarse and unrefined. Bradstreet also uses humor to express her feelings about the publication of her work without corrections, but there is still some genuine discomfort. "At thy return my blushing was not small" shows that she was a bit embarrassed about the world reading her rough drafts, but she amends her view towards the book as the poem continues. "Yet being mine own, at length affection would Thy blemishes amend…" illustrates that she truly loves her poetry, and after it is "cleaned" she takes pride in it. She show her delight in her work with the admonition "If for thy Father asked, say thou had'st none." Bradstreet wanted everyone to recognize her for the talented woman writer that she was, but requested this acknowledgment in a humble way.
The poem “To my Dear and Loving Husband” by Anne Bradstreet, is not just an exceedingly felt expression of a wife’s marital love and commitment to her husband, as it is about a puritan women who is supposed to be reserved but she makes it her obligation to enlighten her husband of her devotion. A thorough analysis of the poem’s paradox, hyperbole, imagery and repetition reveals how she conveys her message.
The history surrounding Anne’s poetry is of a time where Puritans ruled. When looking at her works with historicism, one can understand how she influenced history majorly. Anne’s writings did not reflect many Puritan ideals of that time in history. One of Anne’s famous poems To My Dear and Loving Husband directly defies Puritan views on marriage. Puritans believed that you should love your spouse a lot, but not more than God. They believed you should always love God the most and put him first. The way Anne writes about her husband in the poem she speaks of him as the thing she loves most. She just briefly mentions God, instead of focusing the majority of her poem on him. The love between a husband and wife was supposed to be something private according to the Puritans. With this poem, Anne was broadcasting her love for her
The author directs some of the phrases to women that are reading the poem. For example line 3-4 ” If ever wife was happy in a man, Compare with me, ye women, if you can(Anne Bradstreet).” Basically the author is saying that she thinks her man is the best and no other woman will find a guy as great as him. On the other hand, the letter is referring to one person, his wife. The letter just talks about how he wants his wife to learn how to live without him. The poem talks just about a husband, while the letter includes two kids and a
Anne Bradstreet's poem, To My Dear and Loving Husband, shows her profound love and undying affection for her husband. For a Puritan woman who is supposed to be reserved, Bradstreet makes it her obligation to enlighten her husband of her devotion. She conveys this message through her figurative language and declarative tone by using imagery, repetition, and paradoxes.
poem wherein she’s revealing her never-ending love, devotion, and appreciation for her spouse. The fact that she was born around the seventeenth century could mean it is puritan culture for women to remain reserved, regardless of how they may truly feel; however, she makes it her obligation to make her husband aware of feelings, whether positive or negative. She uses figurative language and declarative tone through imagery, repetition, and paradoxes to send her message. "To My Dear and Loving Husband" can be interpreted in many ways by many different people depending how it is initially read. This uncertainty allows the poem to be interpreted on a surface level and on a deeper level.
Facing death at any age is difficult, but for Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and John Sullivan, it came early, resulting in two essays retelling their experience. In their accounts of these situations, the author can see they both want to emphasise that death can come in very unexpected situations. To My One Love, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, begins on page 17 of 50 Essays by Samuel Cohen. In her essay, set in present day, she has flashbacks to her relationship with a boy “from the wrong side of town” named Nnamdi. They were in a loving relationship against their peers’ wishes. When it came time for them to separate due to education in separate locations, they had ended the relationship, but not before Nnamdi had promised that them
Another useful tool in analyzing a poem is to identify poetic devices, meter, and a rhyme scheme. Through her deft use of extended metaphor, Bradstreet weaves an intricate web of parallels between parent and author and between child and book--both relationships of creator to creation. This use of metaphor allows the reader to relate emotionally to Bradstreet’s situation. In line seven, we see the uses of litotes, “At thy return my blushing was not small,” to express the depth of her embarrassment. She also uses metonymy in line eight to express her pain more clearly, “My rambling brat (in print) should mother call.” The simile used in line nine stresses her objection to the published work, “I cast thee by as one unfit for light.” Then in line 19, the poetic device of consonance is used which provides emphasis on her warning, “In this array ‘mongst vulgars may’st thou roam.” In this poem, through the use of personification and apostrophe Bradstreet conveys her feelings and emotions. Anne Bradstreet ensures her poem’s success by linking the triumph and tragedy of authorship with the pain and pleasure of creating and nurturing human life. The meter used is
To My Dear and Loving Husband by Anne Bradstreet 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, Compare with me ye women if you can.
Even though, she will not be able to repay him with money as materialistic things are not of value, Bradstreet will write about him in her poetry, to show him her gratitude and express her love for him. I feel that Bradstreet wrote her poems about her father to impress him and make sure he knew that she was doing everything she could to repay him and show him her gratefulness for life. Bradstreet never discredits her father or places any blame on him for anything happening in her life, which was true of Puritan beliefs at that time.
Anne Bradstreet emphasizes romantic love and eternal love in her writing, which are not typical puritan beliefs. In her poem “To My Dear and Loving Husband”, she expresses her unconditional love towards her husband, which makes the readers assume that, for her, the most important person was her husband. Anne Bradstreet emphasizes romantic love in her writing, which is not a typical puritan belief. Free Reformed Churches of North America states that puritans “emphasized that married love should always be subordinate to the love of God” (Rev. C. Pronk) meaning that it was not appropriate for Anne Bradstreet to have these strong emotional feelings towards her husband because they were bigger than her feelings towards God. She uses different literary devices to manifest her love, like hyperboles and metaphors.
In Bradstreet’s poem “To My Dear and Loving Husband”, Bradstreet mentions the reciprocal love her and her husband share and how she prays that God will realize the strong bond the couple shares and that their love will be ever-lasting and will persevere even after death. Bradstreet stressed how important it was to her to be a good and humble Puritan wife and her poetry exuded the beliefs, values, and ideals of Puritan life.
“My Husband Discovers Poetry”, by Diane Lockward is a very interesting piece of poetry that I have thoroughly enjoyed delving into. The idea behind the poem is that the writer felt angry and discouraged because her husband would never read her work, so essentially to get back at him she wrote a poem about cheating on him. She hid it away in the hopes that he would one day find and read it. This poem is Lockward telling the story of writing her poem, and what happens when her husband finally discovers it. The meaning of the poem is that we must support our loved ones.
Bradstreet wanted her poetry to remain private. She accepted her poetry unconditionally, like a mother accepts her child, because if she tried to correct the poem's flaws more flaws appeared. A distinct expression of Bradstreet true love to her
Jane Austen impacted the world of literature in more ways than one. Museums located around the United Kingdom are dedicated to her works which many people still enjoy to this day. Audiences around the world continue to read the love stories she shared many years ago. She portrayed a sense of female strength and hefty feelings of true love in her writing. Austen’s wording and her particular writing style are recognizable among those who enjoy 18th century literature, her distinct approach to the realities of the time is one reason her fan base has grown over the years. Jane Austen pioneered romantic literature because she was among the first authors to write a happily ever after type story, and she used her work to portray this feeling