Eng 48A
11.24.09
Journal on Bradstreet
Anne Bradstreet
1612-1672
"If for thy father asked, say thou hadst none" (Norton Pg. 213)"In Bradstreet's Puritan culture, the love between husband and wife was supposed to be slightly repressed, so as not to distract one from devotion to God. Yet, some of Bradstreet's sonnets work against this idea." (www.uncp.edu)
In the first quote, Bradstreet ends her poem The Author to Her Book on a rebellious note by forcing the reader to accept the fact that the poem was written by a woman (herself). If you look deeper, her choice of words seem to be carefully chosen. She admits the feminine authorship of her poem, but she does so indirectly by calling her work fatherless, a bastard son that will be looked down upon, however unfairly. By doing so indirectly, she makes it easier for the reader to accept the fact that her poem is the work of a woman, but in the end, I find it to be a weak method of supporting feminist values. Its submissive undertones make it seem almost as if her declaration was simply a pen-blotch on the page, a fact that shouldn't be taken note of, or a mistake that wont be made again. Another conclusion that should be taken note of is that by calling her work fatherless, she seems to imply that it will never earn the respect that it deserves, being as a bastard son can never receive a father. By doing so, she admits that her work deserves to be accepted as equal, but she seems to accept the idea that it never will.
This being the case, when standing next to Wheatley, who was not only a woman, but black as well, she shrinks in comparison. As a Puritan woman in the 1600's however, this act is daring, but in the retrospect of the 21st century, she seems to be holding back.
The second quote taken from an online criticism of Bradstreet, brings up her counter-Puritan tendencies, by illustrating her difficulties with religion. As can be seen in her poem To My Dear and Loving Husband, Bradstreet most definitely does not repress the love she has for her husband: "I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold, or all the riches that the East doth hold. Nor ought but love from thee, give recompense. My love is such that rivers cannot quench." (Norton pg. 206) Looking back, there seems to be no reason why one should repress his or her love, but as pointed out, from a Puritans perspective it was distracting from God. Bradstreet seems comfortable in displaying the love she feels however. This was not the only qualm she had with Puritanism in the new world however. Predestination was yet another issue that she had difficulty accepting, as can be seen in her poem Here Follows Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House: "The world no longer let me love, My hope and treasure lies above." Although accepting the idea that her true hope, and treasure lies with God, she obviously has difficulty in accepting His 'decision' to let her house burn down. By saying that 'the world no longer let me love', for example, she uses the world as the culprit rather than God. Being as Puritans blamed just about everything, from incontinence to plague on God however, this sudden change of heart seems to say something. Once again however, she accepts what she cannot seem to change.
In the first quote, Bradstreet ends her poem The Author to Her Book on a rebellious note by forcing the reader to accept the fact that the poem was written by a woman (herself). If you look deeper, her choice of words seem to be carefully chosen. She admits the feminine authorship of her poem, but she does so indirectly by calling her work fatherless, a bastard son that will be looked down upon, however unfairly. By doing so indirectly, she makes it easier for the reader to accept the fact that her poem is the work of a woman, but in the end, I find it to be a weak method of supporting feminist values. Its submissive undertones make it seem almost as if her declaration was simply a pen-blotch on the page, a fact that shouldn't be taken note of, or a mistake that wont be made again. Another conclusion that should be taken note of is that by calling her work fatherless, she seems to imply that it will never earn the respect that it deserves, being as a bastard son can never receive a father. By doing so, she admits that her work deserves to be accepted as equal, but she seems to accept the idea that it never will.
This being the case, when standing next to Wheatley, who was not only a woman, but black as well, she shrinks in comparison. As a Puritan woman in the 1600's however, this act is daring, but in the retrospect of the 21st century, she seems to be holding back.
The second quote taken from an online criticism of Bradstreet, brings up her counter-Puritan tendencies, by illustrating her difficulties with religion. As can be seen in her poem To My Dear and Loving Husband, Bradstreet most definitely does not repress the love she has for her husband: "I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold, or all the riches that the East doth hold. Nor ought but love from thee, give recompense. My love is such that rivers cannot quench." (Norton pg. 206) Looking back, there seems to be no reason why one should repress his or her love, but as pointed out, from a Puritans perspective it was distracting from God. Bradstreet seems comfortable in displaying the love she feels however. This was not the only qualm she had with Puritanism in the new world however. Predestination was yet another issue that she had difficulty accepting, as can be seen in her poem Here Follows Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House: "The world no longer let me love, My hope and treasure lies above." Although accepting the idea that her true hope, and treasure lies with God, she obviously has difficulty in accepting His 'decision' to let her house burn down. By saying that 'the world no longer let me love', for example, she uses the world as the culprit rather than God. Being as Puritans blamed just about everything, from incontinence to plague on God however, this sudden change of heart seems to say something. Once again however, she accepts what she cannot seem to change.
20/20
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