Anne Bradstreet’s poem “To My Dear and Loving Husband,” the magnificent writer strongly uses vocabulary, tone, figurative language and imagery to show that the only way true love can be repaid is by that in heaven. In order to better understand the reasoning behind such writing, it would benefit to know delicate information on the writer. “Anne Bradstreet was born Anne Dudley in 1612 in Northampton shire, England to a nonconformist former soldier of Queen Elizabeth, Thomas Dudley, who managed the affairs of the Earl of Lincoln. Anne had been well tutored in literature and history in Greek, Latin, French, Hebrew, as well as English. She married Simon Bradstreet, a graduate of Cambridge University, at the age of 16. Two years later, Bradstreet, along with her husband and parents, immigrated to America with the John Winthrop Puritan group, and the family settled in Ipswich, Massachusetts. There Bradstreet and her husband raised eight children, and she became one of the first poets to write English verse in the American colonies. It was during this time that Bradstreet penned many of the poems that would be taken to England by her brother-in-law.” (Stanford 397) “The mother of 8 children and a dynamic speaker, Hutchinson held prayer meetings where women debated religious and ethical ideas. Her belief that the Holy Spirit dwells within a justified person and so is not based on the good works necessary for admission to the church was considered heretical. Bradstreet was concerned with the issues of sin and redemption, physical and emotional frailty, death and immortality.” (Svendsen 64) Much of her work indicates that she had a difficult time resolving the conflict she experienced between the pleasures of sensory and familial experience and the promises of heaven. “As a Puritan, she struggled to subdue her attachment to the world, but as a woman she sometimes felt more strongly connected to her husband, children, and community than to God.” (Reid 544) “Simon Bradstreet's (Anne’s husband) responsibilities as a magistrate of the colony frequently took him away from home, and he was very much missed by his wife. Bradstreet's love poems make it clear that she was deeply attached to her husband. Marriage was important
Throughout women in colonial America, Anne Bradstreet was one of the strongest and influential figures of the time. Mrs. Bradstreet lived from the years 1612 through 1672 not knowing she would inspire later generations with her works and actions. Ever since a little girl, Anne’s father, Thomas Dudley, would make Anne write poetry so they could read together. Anne later married Simon Bradstreet, a future governor, at the age of sixteen years old and boarded on the ship Arbella headed to Plymouth, Massachusetts, with the famous sermoner John Winthrop??? In the famous writings of the poet, we learn Anne has a personal and formal writing voice. Anne writes in Iambic Pentameter, Couplets, and Paradox. Anne became a well-known colonial writer not
Anne Bradstreet was a woman in conflict. She was a Puritan wife and a poet. There is a conflict between Puritan theology and her own personal feelings on life. Many of her poems reveal her eternal conflict regarding her emotions and the beliefs of her religion. The two often stood in direct opposition to each other. Her Puritan faith demanded that she seek salvation and the promises of Heaven. However, Bradstreet felt more strongly about her life on Earth. She was very. She was very attached to her family and community. Bradstreet loved her life and the Earth.
Because her father was a studious man, Bradstreet was able to receive a good education and was well read. She enjoyed serious and religious writings and admired many of the great poets of the time, among these Sir Philip Sidney, Edmund Spenser and John Donne. In fact she admired them so much
Travelling across the ocean to New England, Anne Bradstreet looked to America as a safe place to practice her puritan religion (Eberwein 4). She wrote many poems about her family and experiences, incorporating her faith and personal struggles into her works. A hundred years later, Phillis Wheatley was kidnapped from her homeland in Africa and brought to America, where she became a devout Christian and a renowned poet (James). Both women received an education above other women of their time leading to their literary accomplishments. The purpose of this paper is to determine the similarities and differences between Anne Bradstreet’s and Phillis Wheatley’s poems’ content, in terms of their themes and language by answering the following questions.
Anne Bradstreet was born in 1612 as a Puritan. In Puritan culture education was essential in order for one to be able to read and understand the Bible. This allowed Bradstreet to be well educated in literature and history, particularly in Greek, Latin, French, Hebrew, as well as English (Woodleif). Woodleif goes into detail discussing Bradstreet’s education, explaining, “She read widely in history, science, and literature, especially the works of Guillame du Bartas, studying her craft and gradually developing a confident poetic voice.” Her intellectual education resulted in a huge impact on her life.
I would like to end my analysis of this poem by stating a paradox that can be found at the end of the poem in lines 11-12. Her love for her husband is on such a level that she wants to preserve it while they live and even after they die. It's amazing to me how much love one can have for a person. The poem's main idea is not just centralized on how much Bradstreet loves her husband, but also on a Puritan woman who takes the initiative to show her love to her husband which was very uncommon back
Anne’s Bradstreet’s greatest influence on her writings was religion. As a child she was brought up as puritan therefore she has puritan beliefs that was showed in her poems. However, In some of her writings it seems she was struggled with her belief in God. Just like Phillis Wheatley, Anne Bradstreet used a literal device called inversions and also used many religious references. In Anne’s Bradstreet’s poem “Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of out House, July 10TH, 1666” Anne Says “It was His Own, it was not mine, Far be it that I should Repine.” (122). Here she was making references to her God and realizes that her stuff that was lost in the fire was not
Puritan literature captures not only their beliefs as a religion, but their beliefs as individuals. All Puritan literature is utilitarian, meaning it is useful, purposeful, and reflecting a non-ornate style of writing. One of the most prominent of early English poets was Anne Bradstreet. Her poems reflect the utilitarian style, but do so in a way that is entirely unique to herself and her emotions. Anne Bradstreet opens the bridge between her faith and her personal experiences in her poetry. In her poems “Upon the Burning of Our House” and “In Reference to Her Children” she reflects utilitarianism by recounting the conflicts between her love of her worldly things and her devotion to God’s eternity.
“To know that nothing hurts the godly, is a matter of comfort; but to be assured that all things which fall out shall cooperate for their good, that their crosses shall be turned into blessings, that showers of affliction water the withering root of their grace and make it flourish more; this may fill their hearts with joy till they run over.” In this quote, Thomas Watson explains to the people that everything happens for a reason and that a person should be satisfied with that reason. “Upon the Burning of Our House” by Anne Bradstreet, expresses a woman’s emotional state of mind during the burning of her house and the fate she has in God. The story “Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving, is about an unhappy married man that makes a pact with the devil that he eventually regrets. In Ben Franklin’s autobiography, it states Franklin’s list of the thirteen virtues and his weekly plan he had to accomplish them.
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.
Nor ought but love from thee recompense Thy love is such I can no way repay, The heavens reward thee manifold I pray. Then while we live, in love let's so persevere, That when we live no more, we may live ever. Anne Bradstreet's poem "
In the 1600’s, Puritans living in both England and New England held their views on God rather tightly and lived their lives as good Christians. Puritans were selfless individuals who had escaped and came to America in search of religious freedom and peace. In literature during that time period, it is made very clear that everything the Puritans had accomplished or acquired was a result of God, and that they were forever in his debt. One of the great poets from this time era was Anne Bradstreet who wrote about her children, husband, and parents. Anne Bradstreet blended her domestic life with theological imagery in every poem she did, explaining that her grandchildren were merely lent to her but
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.
The main theme of the short poem of Bradstreet, To My Loving and Dear Husband, is about the love that Bradstreet had for her husband. When I finished reading this lovely poem, I thought, “wow, she really loved him!” This piece of work reminds me of Shakespeare's works, because of some words and phrases like; “if ever, thee, thy, and ye.” I believe that what makes this poem so romantic and cheesy is when Bradstreet uses imagery. In the middle of her poem she says that the love she has for him is greater than any sort of money, but she phrases, “mines of gold” and “riches that the East Doth hold.”