Ben Jonson and Anne Bradstreet

A detailed Summary of Ben Jonson and Anne Bradstreet

The Male Voice Vs. the Female Voice as Illustrated by Ben Jonson and Anne Bradstreet

Although many writers choose the concept of love to be the subject of their poetry, they do not all approach it in the same way. Some may use a pessimistic or cynical tone while others may view love with "rosy glasses." Ben Jonson and Anne Bradstreet are two such poets who chose love as one of their many topics. Though they both write about love and to a person who at least the speaker appears to love, they do so in a decidedly different fashion. In this essay we will look at Jonson's "Song To Celia" and Bradstreet's "To My Dear and Loving Husband" and compare them on the bases of tone, sexual reference, and attitude.

Jonson's "Song To Celia" is written with a very pleading tone to it. The speaker's main purpose is not to declare his love for Celia, but rather to use his love as manipulative device. He asks her several questions in the poem that plead for answer. "Why should we defer our joys?" he asks Celia. Jonson's speaker wants something from Celia and, throughout the poem, endeavors to get his wish. Though his love for Celia is inferred, it is never blatantly stated. It is easy to read this poem in two ways: the

speaker truly loves Celia and is pleading for her to grant his request, or the speaker is simply using Celia's inferred love for him to gain acquiescence from Celia. Either way, the tone of the poem reads pleadingly and shows how desperate the speaker is.

Unlike "Song To Celia," Bradstreet's "To My Dear and Loving Husband" has no sexual innuendo. She mentions no sexuality whatsoever, making it simply a love poem. Bradstreet makes it obvious that the poem is written for someone who is dearly loved. Jonson's speaker leaves his reader unclear about whether there is true love present or not. Bradstreet makes this very clear, "My love is such that rivers cannot quench." Lines such as these make it apparent that the speaker is not working to gain anything for himself as in Jonson's poem. Bradstreet and Jonson differ dramatically in this position.

Because Jonson's poem has such a pleading tone, one must ask, "what is the speaker pleading for?" In the case of "Song To Celia" the speaker is clearly requesting one thing-sex. Though there are several points in the poem where this desire is stated, the most unmistakable are the two questions that the speaker pose to Celia: "Why should we defer our joys?" and "Cannot we delude the eyes/ Of a few household spies?" Given that Jonson's tone is so pleading, it makes one wonder whether his love for Celia is true, or if he only cares about himse

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Approximate Word count = 945
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English