Anne Bradstreet - 2
Anne Bradstreet was the only real American poet of her time, and a talented writer. As such, her works are historically significant. She was born in England, but traveled at the age of 16 to the Puritan settlements in the Massachusetts Bay colonies, in
British America (Hart 94). This is where she developed her unique writing talent; she was isolated from England, where traditional forms of poetry were flourishing (Magill 393).
Her family, religion, and several other poets contributed significantly to the content and skill of her poetry. Bradstreet’s poems are a direct expression of the events and circumstances of her life, and are influenced substantially by her familial, religious, and moral beliefs and experiences; these things, and also several English poets she read, shaped her poems.
Anne Bradstreet’s family was mentioned several times in her poems. In fact, most of her poems are about her family. Several of these poems are epitaphs, such as this one written for her mother, “A worthy matron of unspotted life,/ A loving mother and obedient wife,/ A friendly neighbor, pitiful to poor,/ Whom oft she fed, and clothed with her store;” (Woodlief) The following is taken from Bradstreet’s epitaph of her father,
Thomas Dudley:
Within this tomb a patriot lies/ That was both pious, just and wise,/ To truth a shield, to right a wall,/ To sectaries a whip and maul,/ A magazine of history,/ A prizer of good company/ In manners pleasant and severe/ The good him loved, the bad did fear,/ And when his time with years was spent/ In some rejoiced, more did lament./ 1653, age 77. (Woodlief)
Such poetic tributes prove that Bradstreet admired and appreciated her parents. Bradstreet also wrote poetic epitaphs for two of her grandchildren, Elizabeth and Simon Bradstreet, who died at an early age. Not all of her family-oriented poems were epitaphs, however.
Bradstreet also wrote several letters in the form of poems – to her father, her husband
(Simon
British America (Hart 94). This is where she developed her unique writing talent; she was isolated from England, where traditional forms of poetry were flourishing (Magill 393).
Her family, religion, and several other poets contributed significantly to the content and skill of her poetry. Bradstreet’s poems are a direct expression of the events and circumstances of her life, and are influenced substantially by her familial, religious, and moral beliefs and experiences; these things, and also several English poets she read, shaped her poems.
Anne Bradstreet’s family was mentioned several times in her poems. In fact, most of her poems are about her family. Several of these poems are epitaphs, such as this one written for her mother, “A worthy matron of unspotted life,/ A loving mother and obedient wife,/ A friendly neighbor, pitiful to poor,/ Whom oft she fed, and clothed with her store;” (Woodlief) The following is taken from Bradstreet’s epitaph of her father,
Thomas Dudley:
Within this tomb a patriot lies/ That was both pious, just and wise,/ To truth a shield, to right a wall,/ To sectaries a whip and maul,/ A magazine of history,/ A prizer of good company/ In manners pleasant and severe/ The good him loved, the bad did fear,/ And when his time with years was spent/ In some rejoiced, more did lament./ 1653, age 77. (Woodlief)
Such poetic tributes prove that Bradstreet admired and appreciated her parents. Bradstreet also wrote poetic epitaphs for two of her grandchildren, Elizabeth and Simon Bradstreet, who died at an early age. Not all of her family-oriented poems were epitaphs, however.
Bradstreet also wrote several letters in the form of poems – to her father, her husband
(Simon
Cited: “Anne Bradstreet.” Poetry Archives @ eMule.com. n.d. 18 Oct. 2006 . Magill, Frank N., ed. Masterpieces of American Literataure. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 1993. Libraries. 27 Oct. 2006 .