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; however she intended some of her poetry to remain private. One example of such a poem is her poem entitled, To my Dear and Loving Husband. In this poem she not only portrays her emotional attachment to her husband but she also explores the cultural dilemmas of her time. She wrote this poem as a tribute to her husband and their love together with the intention of having him as the only reader.
Anne Bradstreet was born in 1612 and spent most of her life living in the shadows of her prominent father and husband, both of whom were governors of Massachusetts. Bradstreet, although very intelligent and talented, spent most of her time in a domestic position where she was only allowed to derive her ideas of God from her husband's. She dared not question this role especially after one of her close friends Anne Hutchinson was banished from the colony for practicing controversial ideas. This event caused Bradstreet to keep most of her poetry private. Anne Bradstreet wrote her poetry very seriously a...
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...e to portray her feelings and dreams about the world in which she lived. Bradstreet lived in a very strict religious community which would not have accepted very many new or provocative ideas such as those of Anne Hutchinson and Anne Bradstreet. This caused Bradstreet to hide her ideas in the lines of poetry which she created for her family and friends. If she had intended her poetry to be used for the purpose of making money or expressing ideas she would have written them so that they would have been more widely accepted at the time in which she lived. It is apparent that Bradstreet never intended to publish her more personal poems such as, To My Dear and Loving Husband because of its provocative language and lack of religious ideas. Bradstreet was not trying to make any major changes in her society rather to simply express herself through poetic language.
Anne Hutchinson was a remarkable colonial woman who first came to Massachusetts in the fall of 1634. She is less remembered for her contributions in the new world as a wife, mother of fourteen, and midwife to many than for her eventual trial and banishment from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. I was interested in writing a paper on a colonial woman and chose Anne Hutchinson after a "Google" search turned up a very good review on a recent book about her life. I have been intrigued by the fact that the Puritans came to America to practice their religion freely, yet allowed no freedom to question their doctrine. The book, American Jezebel: The Uncommon Life of Anne Hutchinson, the Woman Who Defied the Puritans, is an excellent examination of this lack of religious freedom and the life of a woman that intersects it.
During the 1600s, the poetry published was by men. Anne Bradstreet was a Puritan woman who was the
“Among all my experiences of God’s gracious dealings with me I have constantly observed this, that He hath never suffered me long to sit loose from him...” (Bradstreet 68). Anne Bradstreet is showing her devotion to God and is focusing on his love and mercy. Bradstreet found inspiration in William Shakespeare but more importantly what drove her poetry was religious beliefs. Being born into a Puritan family, Bradstreet became accustomed to Puritan behavior and had a strong belief in God. Jonathan Edwards, another strong believer in God, had the same Puritan beliefs but thought if a person shall sin they would be destined to end up in hell. Edwards is an extreme pastor and this is shown in the sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” The two being the ideal Puritan religion have strong opinions on viewing God
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.
Anne Bradstreet?s poem, ?To my Dear and Loving Husband? presents a beautiful love theme. "Of ever two were one, then surely we" (1). This quotation is important because Bradstreet is pointing out that she does not feel as though she is one individual person. And one of the first questions that come to my mind is if Bradstreet was trying to make a point for all wives to be that way or she felt insecure about her own self. The poem itself portrays a loving wife, but the fact is she sounds like she is afraid to be alone, that her husband is the one who makes her complete, in another words, it makes her be a full person.
Although Anne Bradstreet appeared to be the ideal Puritanical housewife, she faced many hardships throughout her lifetime. She faced death often, either due to disease or childbirth. These hardships led Bradstreet
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.
...e from her love to the world. Perhaps, she believed that in this love of her, she became God-like and God thus punishes her. Nevertheless, the presence of God in her poems is more than clear. Perhaps, it was due to religious beliefs that she though that it was wrong to feel too strong feelings to world and she considered herself to be a sinner who deserves punishment. Today, there are few followers of Bradstreet, but she, her ideas and her thoughts about sufferings still remain in modern books.
Anne Bradstreet is often praised as being one of the first feminist voices in colonial America which, perhaps, is misleading. Her poetry adhered to the standard themes and styles of her male contemporaries, glorifying male-dominated society and never questioning the authority of the men that controlled her life both personally and spiritually. She was content to be the property of her father, husband, and Puritan society as a whole. However, because she worked within the confines of the Puritan era's gender roles and literary techniques, Anne Bradstreet was able to shed light on the oft overlooked existence of women within the society.
Unlike Jonathan Edwards, Anne Bradstreet did not write to preach or teach. She wrote on a personal level about such things as the birth and the death of both her own children and her grad children. She also wrote about her own illnesses and misfortunes. Bradstreet and Edwards both wrote mainly about God, but Edwards wrote about God 's power and strength while Bradstreet focused on God 's mercy and everlasting grace. Bradstreet writings are based primarily on her religion her children, and her husband. When Bradstreet wrote about her husband and how much they are in love she was not only saying how much
God; whereas Taylor wrote solely on his love for God. Bradstreet was a pioneer in the idea of writing about loving your husband and self. This was one of her greatest achievements and also greatest gifts to the world, even though it was not appropriate to write about such subjects she did anyway. The combination of Bradstreet and Taylors poetry about love prove to the world that love can exist in any part of life and should be appreciated and
By reading Bradstreet’s work, a fair sense of what Mrs. Bradstreet was like can be grasped. She clearly stated her opinion of those who objected to her writing: “I am obnoxious to each carping tongue, / Who says my hand a needle better fits.” (Bradstreet,“ The Prologue”155). Bradstreet refused to give up her passion for writing even if it meant going against the opinions of anyone in her colony, including religious leaders. Although Bradstreet referred to herself as being obnoxious, her written works portray an entirely different Bradstreet. She seeks no reward or fame for her writing: “Give thyme or parsley wreath, I ask no bays” (155). Bradstreet seeks no reward for her writing because she doesn’t think her work is very good: “My foolish, broken, blemished Muse so sings” (154). She refers to her writing as her: “ill-formed offspring” (“The Author To Her Book”165). Even after her work is published she is ...
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
According to BellaOnline, Bradstreet was, “married to the governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony and had eight children.” Even though her marriage might have become filled with routines and lost a little passion, the poet never lost the love for her husband. She states that the power of her “.love is such that rivers cannot quench”(Bradstreet, 7). Bradstreet expresses her emotions to be so strong that not even a roaring river can possibly satisfy them. She prizes her husband’s “.love more than whole mines of gold/ Or all the riches that the East doth hold,” (Bradstreet, 5-6) meaning she values his affection more than any amount of money she could obtain.