Preview

Anne Bradstreet: Full Essay

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1775 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Anne Bradstreet: Full Essay
To My Dear and Loving Husband
Anne Bradstreet

Anne Bradstreet was the first poet and the first female writer in the British North American colonies to be published. Her first volume of poetry was The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America, published in 1650. She was born March 20, 1612 in Northampton, Massachusetts and died September 16, 1672 in Andover. She was married to Simon Bradstreet. When they married, she was 16 and he was 25. Mrs. Bradstreet’s works are also considered to represent the struggles of a puritan wife against the hardships of New England colonial life. (www.anne bradstreet.com)
Anne Bradstreet and her parents emigrated to America in 1630 on a ship called the Arabella, one of the first ships to transport Puritans to New England. Many were unable to withstand the harsh climate and poor living conditions of the trip and died before they reached their destination. While on the ship, Anne Bradtsreet, who tutored in literature, several languages, and in history, was not prepared for the hectic journey and found the journey very vigorous. Many of those who had survived the trip, either died shortly after or returned to England because they believed they have been through enough despair.
Life was very difficult, trying to create a new colony, survive on a harsh climate, and with very little provisions. Mrs. Bradstreet did not let this bother her, she had let her imagination and her faith push her through her difficult moments. When she was younger, Bradstreet had fallen ill to smallpox, and now in her refurbished life she had come to be sick again and had let paralysis flow through her joints. She did not let this ruin her family life. She had fought through her illness and had built a new life for her, her husband, and her eight children.
She loved her family and her faith very much. Her poetry was mostly written while her husband was away on errands. She also spent a huge portion of her time teaching and reading to her children just as her

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Anne Hutchinson: Puritan Prophet by Timothy Hall, tells a story of a bold, independent, self confident, and assertive young women during the time of 1636 to 1638. Hall arranged his novel by organizing the chapters in her life story around statements made at her trial. The study of Hutchinson’s life gives us the opportunity to enter into a different world of New England’s founding generation.…

    • 260 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Anne Bradstreet and Phillis Wheatley were both poets in America. Anne Bradstreet was a teen bride from England that came to America in 1630. She was born into a puritan family and accepted the faith. At sixteen she married Simon Bradstreet. They moved to America and her husband was the governor of Massachusetts. She had eight kids and lived as a housewife. She died in 1672. Phillis Wheatley was a slave from Africa and was kidnapped and sold as a slave. She was sold to the Wheatley family and learned english in 16 months. She went to school and got an education that any white person would have got. She was eventually freed but still work for the Wheatleys. She married…

    • 339 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Poetry and Ann Bradstreet

    • 930 Words
    • 3 Pages

    4) Although she was deeply religious, what else did Ann Bradstreet show appreciation for in her poetry? How might this have been a struggle for her living as a Puritan? She demonstrated appreciation for the material and natural world. Because they thought personal emotions was dangerous.…

    • 930 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Anne Bradstreet and Phillis Wheatley were two major women poets who wrote about the obstacles they had to overcome in their lives. Some obstacles these women had to overcome were being able to produce and publish acceptable work as well as gender and racial difficulties. Anne Bradstreet was the first published poet in the New World and Phillis Wheatley was an African slave. Both of these women wrote brilliant poetry that is still read today.…

    • 611 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I believe that Anne Bradstreet (1612 – 1672), made major contributions to early American Literature through her poetry. Her poems stressed the daily struggles and stress of Puritan life. Bradstreet had struggled with the validity of the Scriptures, but through her life experiences she developed a strong belief in God. Bradstreet paved the way for future female writers. She used her poetry and writing skills to break through the stereotypes and the strict moral code that was placed on women in her time. Bradstreet, with the help of her brother-n-law, had her manuscript of poetry printed in London in 1650. “The Tenth Muse” was the first collection of poems written by an American resident. Bradstreet was better known for her writings that detailed her daily life and her relationship with her family. She describes in great detail the relationships she had with her father, husband, children and even her grandchildren.…

    • 905 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Anne Bradstreet's use of allusion throughout the passage conveys Puritan ideals in "mighty architect" excerpt. The author states," a house on high erect framed...furnished," and "paid for too" (Bradstreet 43-45, 51). Examples such as," house on high erect," "paid for" expands upon Puritan beliefs of "heaven." Society has to work their way up, follow morals "pay a price" for a greater spiritual life. Therefore, Bradstreet is portraying Puritan beliefs as positive guide lines(Bradstreet 43,47). Throughout the passage, the use of allusion portrays believe of God. Simultaneously, justifies authors calmness towards the situation. Bradstreet focused on spirituality than reality. The allusion convey tranquility and instilled principles.…

    • 105 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Kopacz, Paula, “To Finish What’s Begun’: Anne Bradstreet’s Last Words.” Early American Literature 23.2 (1988): 175-187.…

    • 519 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Puritanism brought forth an entire era of American literature. Their ideas of plainness and equality transcended directly into Romanticism. Similarly, their moral character shaped America into what it is today. In her poem, Anne Bradstreet discusses how gravely ill she feels and how ready she is for death. To put into context, she specifies how she feels as if her life is over, and at only age 20. In her poem, “Upon a Fit of Sickness”, Anne Bradstreet writes: “All men must die, & so must I: this cannot be revoked”, which directly states that every man in this…

    • 456 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Anne Bradstreet & Jonathan Edwards may believe in the same Puritan views, nevertheless there comes a time where they differ in what they believe, such as their religious beliefs. Though both Puritans, religious beliefs separate Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards due to the fact that Bradstreet believes that God is morally right while Edwards considers God as supreme and greater than all others. Anne Bradstreet’s writing shows that she believes in a God that is fair and loving that does things with positive intentions. In “Upon the Burning of Our House,” Bradstreet expresses that she believes it was fair for God to take her home away from her due to the fact that she believes that God has a much grander home awaiting her in Heaven. Bradstreet…

    • 448 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When Alice was two years old she came down with “spotted fever” which was a type of meningitis. She was no longer able to hear and later she was no longer able to speak as well. Her brothers and sister would not try to talk or play with her anymore because they did not think that she was able to do so. When she was 9 years old Alice had a new next door neighbor move in. Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet was his name, he would change Alice’s life forever.…

    • 715 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Anne Marbury Hutchinson was a Puritan woman who believed she knew the New England ministers were not teaching the truth to their Puritan followers and that she knew the real word of God. She quickly grew a following of both women and men. This sparked major controversy in the new colony because she was the first woman to speak her mind in a society where women were not allowed to do so. People started to get fed up with her antics so she was put on trial and later sentenced to banishment of the colony of Boston. In March 1638 Anne, her husband, and her children moved to Rhode Island, then a year later Anne’s husband died so she moved to New York where she was killed by Indians. The authors of this article, Willard Sterne Randall and Nancy Nahra, wrote this because they wanted people to learn about the life of Anne Marbury Hutchinson and how ahead of her time she really was.…

    • 371 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Anne Bradstreet Themes

    • 2036 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Anne Bradstreet, one of the world’s most well known female Puritan writers, is known for her poems that are rich in detail and imagery, reflecting her passions and her faith. One of the most powerful and thought-provoking themes that she uses throughout her works is the comparison between life on earth and the afterlife, expressed by her thoughts and feelings that she so delicately laces in between the two ideas, tying the comparisons together.…

    • 2036 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of the most important early American writers of the colonial era was Anne Bradstreet (1612–1672). Although some women “turned to fiction writing as a way of voicing and advancing themselves through the mediation of the book” (622), many were reluctant or incapable to do so. After the Revolution the situation of women writers changed; “the transitional period between 1780 and 1830, a time during which women shifted from writing primarily for private audiences to writing for a broader public” (Zagarri 19). After the revolution the number of books, newspapers, and magazines increased. That led to the emergence of new audiences, including women. The first magazine to put “lady” in the title was The Gentleman and Lady’s Town and Country Magazine, published in 1784 (25). New publications needed more materials. That led to the entrance of new writers, especially women. “Women’s perceptions of themselves changed, too: rather than consumers of literature, they began to conceive of themselves as producers, as active agents who had something important to say to a public audience” (19). The Revolution increased the public presence and political role of…

    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Similar to that of Rowlandson, Bradstreet sought comfort through her Puritan belief. Bradstreet moved to a new colony with her husband. However, this move was not without hardships. When Bradstreet and her family made the big move to America in 1630, many fellow travelers died, and Bradstreet herself developed small pox as paralysis took over her joints. But with “…the belief that God had not abandoned [her] helped her survive the hardships of the colony.”(annebradstreet.com)…

    • 1010 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Anne Marbury Hutchinson was a puritan who came to an American colony following the puritan leader John Cotton. She was home-schooled and self taught herself. Her spouse was William Hutchinson, a chief magistrate of the colony of Portsmouth on the island of Aquidneck. She lived from 1591-1643 in a Massachusetts colony for a while until she was brought to court for being charged with sedition and contempt of the Government and was kicked out. Hutchinson challenged the authority of the Priests at the church and said that they were not able leaders of the New Testament. She was a brave strong leader who didn’t give up and fought as hard as she did. When women heard about this story they tried to be strong and determined just like Hutchinson. Also…

    • 1109 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays