anne bradstreet america’s first (woman) poet. anne bradstreet born anne dudley in 1612 father...
TRANSCRIPT
Anne BradstreetAmerica’s first (woman) poet
Anne Bradstreet
Born Anne Dudley in 1612
Father was a steward for the Earl of Lincoln, and a Puritan leader.
She did not attend school, but she did have private tutors and access to her father’s library.
For a woman in that time period, she was very well educated.
Anne Bradstreet
At 16, she married Simon Bradstreet.
1630, she sailed to America with her family as part of the “great migration” of Puritans.
Her father served as Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony off an on from 1634 to 1650.
Her husband also served as Governor from 1679-1686.
Anne Bradstreet
Her trip aboard the Arbella was a rough one, bad weather and disease caused a number of passengers to die.
She was unprepared for this kind of hardship and tragedy.
Living conditions in Massachusetts were equally harsh and challenging.
Anne Bradstreet
Her brother, Rev. John Woodbridge, carried a collection of some of her poems with him back to England without her knowledge – he had copied them when she wasn’t looking.
He published this collection in 1650 without her approval in an attempt to show that a Godly and educated woman could elevate the position held by a wife and mother, without necessarily placing her in competition with men.
She added poems, and edited a second edition, making her also one of the world’s first feminist authors.
Anne Bradstreet
She suffered a number of personal hardships and illnesses in her life:
Smallpox – twice.
Paralysis of the joints – arthritis?
Her sister was rejected by her husband and excommunicated from the church.
Her house burned down, costing her family all of its worldly possessions.
Dorothy, her daughter, died.
Tuberculosis – eventually killed her in 1672.
Anne Bradstreet
Although she survived many difficulties, they caused her to turn inward, and toward religion, to cope.
She wrote poetry mostly when her husband was absent on business.
She typically wrote using religious, historical, and domestic themes.
Her poems reflect a mixture of intellect, strength, and a woman comfortable with her lower position in Puritan society.
Some of her final poems expressed her belief in the worth and ability of women, a topic that was very controversial in her culture.
Anne Bradstreet
In 1678 her self-revised book Several Poems Compiled with Great Variety of Wit and Learning was posthumously published in America, including one of her most famous poems, "To My Dear and Loving Husband."
“Upon the Burning of Our House”
1. At first, how does the speaker feel about the loss of her house in the fire?
Helpless Distressed she cries out to
God for strength
2. What different emotions does the speaker express? Point out a specific line to support your answer.
Sadness Fear Surprise – “And to my God
my heart did cry.”
“Upon the Burning of Our House”
3. How did the speaker view her possessions before the fire?
They were important to her;
“her sorrowing eyes” look over the ashes and morn for all the “pleasant things”
4. How did the speaker later change her view of her possessions? Explain what she wanted to dispel.
She realizes that her possessions really belong to God.
She wants to dispel the idea that wealth “belongs” to anyone.
“Upon the Burning of Our House”
5. What does the speaker begin to feel after she reminds herself that all worldly things are temporary?
Hope
6. What does the last sentence in the poem mean?
Her real hope and treasure awaits her in heaven after she dies.
“Upon the Burning of Our House”
7. What long-term effect does the loss of the speaker’s house have on her?
The loss makes her even more spiritual
“Upon the Burning of Our House”
8. A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two things by saying that one thing is another. For example, in the sentence “the desert became a sweltering oven,” the desert is said to be an oven – a fitting comparison because they are both hot. Occasionally, a writer will use an extended metaphor, developing a metaphor beyond a single line. Bradstreet does this in lines 43-50. What is the speaker describing in this extended metaphor?
She is describing a heavenly home, built by God for her, purchased and paid for (alluding to Jesus’ death on the cross).
“To My Dear and Loving Husband”
9. What does the speaker prize “more that whole mines of gold”?
Her husband’s love
10. Why does she compare the way she feels to mines of gold?
To show the great value of this love.
“To My Dear and Loving Husband”
11. What does the speaker say her love for husband is equal to?
Her husband’s love for her
12. What does the speaker say would compensate her for loving her husband?
She doesn’t need compensation
his love for her is compensation.
“To My Dear and Loving Husband”
13. How does she hope he will be rewarded for his love?
Greatly in heaven
14. What is the paradox in the last line?
It sounds as if they will die, yet live forever.
“To My Dear and Loving Husband”
15. What does this paradox mean?
It refers to her belief that when she and her husband die, they will live together forever in heaven.
Overall
16. Which poem(s) attempts to justify the ways God to Humanity?
“Upon the Burning of Our House”
17. Which poem(s) expresses a belief in the rewards of an afterlife?
Both