Love in Anne Bradstreet's "To my Dear and Loving Husband"

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“LOVE”, a simple word with four letters, sounds very simple but has a vast and deep meaning. From the very ancient time till today there have always been a topic called “Love” in every work of literature. Even in the ancient Biblical times, we see “Love” carried a deeper meaning. Several chapters and verses from the Holy Book are the evidence that “Love” existed during that period too, be it God’s love to all His people, or a man’s love to his wife, or vice-versa. The book of Genesis not only talks about the history and origin of the world, but also talks about several things on “Love”. In 1 Corinthians 13, we read, “Love” is patient and kind, which is not boastful and has no arrogance at all. It is not rude and self-seeking. This extract from the Bible is really meaningful and powerful in the sense that how well it describes the feeling of deep affection; also, it mentions “Love is greatest”. The purpose of my essay is to analyze Anne Bradstreet as a loving, caring and Godly wife using the theme of the verse "If ever two were one, then surely we…." from her poem "To My Dear and Loving Husband".

One of Anne Bradstreet’s great works involves the poem "To my Dear and Loving Husband”. From this poem, we know that she is very much in love with her husband and children. Anne Bradstreet, America's first published poet was born in Northampton, England in 1612. She was the daughter of Thomas Dudley, a steward of the Earl of Lincoln. Her family was in a better position than most of the puritans of those times. Because of this, she grew up in cultured circumstances. She was very well-educated in comparison to other women of her times. She was being tutored in history, literature and several other languages. She also had access to various ...

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Works Cited
Requa, Kenneth A. “ANNE BRADSTREET'S POETIC VOICES”. Early American Literature Vol. 9, No. 2 (1999), pp. 2-6. University Of North Carolina Press.

Poetry Foundation. Queens College.

(24 September, 2009) http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=765#further

Wilson, Douglas. Beyond Stateliest Marble: The Passionate Femininity of Anne Bradstreet (Leaders in Action Series) (May, 2001)

McMichael, George, et al. Anthology of American Literature. New Jersey, 2007.

New International Version, 1 Corinthians 13.

Hammond, Jeffrey A. "Make Use of What I Leave in Love": Anne Bradstreet's Didactic Self. Religion & Literature, Vol. 17, No. 3 (1985), pp. 11-26 The University of Notre Dame

Laughlin, Rosemary M. “Anne Bradstreet: Poet in Search of Form”. American Literature, Vol. 42, No. 1 (1970), pp. 1-17. Duke University Press

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