Anne Bradstreet

A detailed Summary of Anne Bradstreet


The Struggles and Fears of a Puritan Mother

Being a Puritan woman, Anne Bradstreet had trouble writing poetry in a patriarchal, unimaginative world. Although Bradstreet grew up in affluence with the luxury of an excellent education, she was expected to behave as a normal Puritan woman. She was the wife and child of colonial governor, but her status could not save her from the maltreatment and contempt of a women stepping over the line. The Puritan belief that a women's place is in the home, perturbed Bradstreet. She did not agree with the cultural bias toward women in her time. Bradstreet was criticized harshly for her role as a female writer; nonetheless, she wrote more and more about being a woman. Bradstreet used her feminine side in her poetry to fight her inner struggles. She showed the world that being a woman was to her advantage in the realm of her poetry. Bradstreet uses a variety of metaphors throughout her poetry, but the metaphor that shows her struggles with being a woman is her metaphor of a mother to a child. This metaphor is seen in two of her poems, "The Author to Her Book," and, "In Reference to Her Children, 23 June 1659." In these two poems, Bradstreet uses the metaphor of a mother to her child t


In this passage, she uses the word mother. Along with the words offspring and birth, she builds up her metaphor of her poetry as a child. As would a mother birth a child into the world, Bradstreet has birthed her poetry.

Although the mother bird wants to keep watch over her chicks, she realizes that they must leave the nest.

Bradstreet tries very hard to make her child perfect. While a parent is always striving for perfection in their child, likewise, Bradstreet is searching for the same perfection in her writing. Even though she cannot reach this unattainable perfection, she still feels pride and "affection". Bradstreet knows that even though the child has faults and is not perfect, that she must let go. "In this array, 'mongst vulgars may'st roam (l.19)." The child is on his or her own now and left to the prey of the critics.

And rubbing off a spot, still made a flaw.

No seasons cold, nor storms they see,



Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1502
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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