After reading "The Author to her Book," it helps to know about the author's background. Anne Bradstreet wrote this poem after she had received her recently published book. The problem was that she did not want her book published. In her eyes, it was unfinished and full of mistakes. In the poem, she treats the book as a child and uses a satirical tone. Her choice of words and tone are very important to the theme of the poem. Some readers, mainly logical, would think that the author is simply talking about a child. The truth is that she is talking about her recently finished book. Bradstreet shows a mixture of emotions toward what just happened. The poem starts by speaking of a child. An "ill-formed" (1) child is mentioned. This indicates that her book was not fully developed. It was full of mistakes. It was a child "of my feeble brain," (1) meaning she obviously wrote the book herself and she believes her brain was weak. Next, Bradstreet states, "Who after birth did'st by my side remain," (2) meaning that she kept the book after it was finished. Her word choice here shows that she was not very happy with the way her book turned out. She wanted to keep it from the publishers so she could fix it over time. "Till snatched from thence by friends." (3) This statement shows a bit of anger in the tone. Bradstreet uses the word "snatched" (3) to show her slight anger. She knew that her friends had taken her book, but she knew that it was not a good idea. They wanted to do something nice for her, but she was not ready for this step of the book. She expresses this by saying they were "less wise than true." (3) "Exposed to public view" (4) indicates that they had the book published for her. "Where errors were not lessened, all may judge." ... ... middle of paper ... ...how Bradstreet pictured her book. She saw it as "unfit for light." (9) She did not want it published at this time. The poem, finally, shows Bradstreet's need for perfection. The fact that the publishing of her book bothered her so much proves this. By researching some facts about her, you come to learn that she was indeed a perfectionist. That is why she wrote this poem. Another reason could be to bring leniency on the judging of her book. If those who noticed all of the mistakes, like critics, knew that the book was published against her will, they would be more lenient towards their reviews. Works Cited Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia, eds. An Introduction to Poetry. 13th ed. New York: Longman, 2010. 21. Print. Bradstreet, Anne. "The Author to her Book." An Introduction to Poetry. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 13th ed. New York: Longman, 2010. 21. Print.
Bradstreet was a Puritan and was therefore raised with a simplistic view of the world. This, combined with the fact that she was a woman, carried over into her way of writing. Her writing style was not eloquent but plain, humble, and pleasant to read. Her poems dealt with topics such as faith, family, and adversity and were easy to understand. Bradstreet had great faith which she gained through the experiences she encountered in life.
The first part in this poem, "If ever two were one" (1) sets us with expectations to continue with the reading. These words show that Bradstreet and her husband were really in love, that this love could unite two persons and make them one. Bradstreet and her husband think, act, and feel much like they are part of each other. The tone of this poem tells us that she is a very religious, because she speaks of praying and the heavens. We get the impression that she is a very dedicated person, to her family and to God. She...
Anne Bradstreet’s poetry resembles a quiet pond. Her quiet puritan thinking acts as the calm surface that bears a resemblance to her natural values and religious beliefs. Underneath the pond there is an abundance of activity comparable to her becoming the first notable poet in American Literature. Anne Bradstreet did not obtain the first notable poet’s title very easily; she endured sickness, lack of food, and primitive living conditions during her time in the New World. Despite these misfortunes she used her emotions and strong educational background to write extraordinarily well for a woman in that time.
Anne Bradstreet, whom most critics consider America’s first “authentic poet”, was born and raised as a Puritan. Bradstreet married her husband Simon at the tender age of eighteen. She wrote her poems while rearing eight children and performing other domestic duties. In her poem “Upon The Burning Of Our House, July 10th, 1666”, Bradstreet tells of three valuable lessons she learned from the fire that destroyed her home.
Anne Bradstreet can be considered as a strong-willed but sensitive Puritan woman. Her poetry includes a combination of sarcasm and dispute against certain issues involving the unequal rights between men and women, and sentimental writings about her own emotions. She mostly writes about her feelings towards events going on in her personal life and not so much about politics or social phenomena. She did not write so as to put on a show or to be socially correct, but about her genuine feelings. She writes about being a woman and all the things that come with it, family, love, sorrow and seeking equality. She also incorporates her religious beliefs strongly in her poem as a driving force to reconciliation between herself and God. Anne Bradstreet was an eloquent poet who was able to convey her innermost feelings to the reader through various techniques and diction.
In the poems “The Author to Her Book” by Bradstreet and “The Road Not Taken” by Frost, the themes share a similarity of their speakers’ lives. While Bradstreet focused on the speaker’s writing, Frost based his poem on the speaker’s choices in life. The main focus of “The Author to Her Book” is the writing referred to as her “Book” in the title and the speaker as the “Author”. The narrator’s work of literature are compared to a child through several metaphors. Bradstreet began with “Thou ill-formed offspring of my feeble brain, Who after birth didst by my side remain”(Bradstreet) to show how the speaker compared the literature as her “offspring” that she gave “birth” or actually wrote and like a helpless child, stayed with her to be cared for. Therefore the speaker would continually review her writings flaws or “ill-formed” behavior. Anne Bradstreet focused her poem on writing literature through the speaker’s perspective of the countless imperfections. Robert Frost’s theme of “The Road Not Taken” is vaguely similar with the speaker’s life as the main focus. The speaker goes on with his life till h...
Moore, Marianne. “Poetry” 1921. Approaching Literature: Reading + Thinking + Writing. Ed. Peter Schakel and Jack Ridl. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2013. 843-844. Print.
In Anne Bradstreet's poem "The Author to Her Book," the controlling metaphor is the image of a baby being born and cared for. This birth imagery expresses the complex attitude of the speaker by demonstrating that the speaker's low regard for her own work and her actions are contradictory.
Mays, Kelly. "Poems for Further Study." Norton Introduction to Literature. Eleventh Edition. New York: W.W. Norton and Company Inc., 2013. 771-772. Print.
It is not uncommon in the writing world to use poetic form to reflect inner meaning. Bradstreet did an exemplary job at showing the reader poetic content that was doubtful and a form that solidified her faith. During the time this poem was written, having doubts in one’s faith was considered taboo to talk about. Bradstreet showed her courageous and brave attitude when she decided to write about questioning her own beliefs. Even though she wrote this poem for herself, the courageous act of acknowledging her own doubts spoke for those Puritans who did not have the courage to. Since she had the strong poetic form reflecting her faith, this enabled her to write about her doubts in a better light. The poem shows that even in times of external peril, internal strength is what helps a person prevail.
Ramazani, Jahan. Richard Ellmann, Robert O’Clair, ed. The Norton Anthology Of Modern And Contemporary Poetry. Vol 1 Modern Poetry. Third Edition. Norton. 2003.
Some of her most popular works are, “The Prologue”, “To My Dear and Loving Husband,” “A Letter to Her Husband, Absent Upon Public Employment,” and “The Author to Her Book”. Anne Bradstreet’s “The Prologue” is basically Bradstreet’s apology for her book of poems She wants to apologize that her poems are not so great as the those of the other poets, men. She also includes that she does not want to be this famous poet, she just wants some acknowledgement of her work; with hopes her work will not be judged so harshly. Finally Bradstreet takes a turn and begins to defend her art. She grants the fact that men expect women to practice feminine arts such as needlework, and refuses to recognize any value in a woman’s poem. Bradstreet then concludes her poem by admitting to the superiority of male poets and she asks the men to give some recognition to women’s efforts. In the poem Bradstreet states, “Men have precedency and still excel; It is but vain unjustly to wage war Men can do best, and women know it well.” Bradstreet feels there is no need for the men to feel
Bradstreet, Anne. “The Prologue”, “The Author to Her Book”, “Before The Birth Of One Of
When Bradstreet’s next grandchild, Anne, passed away, she was unable to resist it. She lost her control and become disappointed. She wrote a poem under “In Memory of My dear Grandchild Anne Bradstreet, Who Deceased June 20, 1669.”5 The poem starts with the speaker
She says “writing can be an expression of one 's innermost feelings. It can allow the reader to tap into the deepest recesses of one 's heart and soul. It is indeed the gifted author that can cause the reader to cry at her words and feel hope within the same poem. Many authors as well, as ordinary people use writing as a way to release emotions.” She makes plenty points in her review that I completely agree with. After reading the poem I think that Elizabeth Barret Browning is not only the author of her famous poem, but also the speaker as well. She is a woman simply expressing her love for her husband in a passionate way through poetry. In the 1st Line it reads “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” A woman drunk in love she is, and next she begins to count the numerous ways she can love her significant