Compare And Contrast To My Dear And Loving Husband
Classmates,
My assigned poem for this weeks discussion was "To My Dear and Loving Husband" by Anne Bradstreet. The poem is of closed form comprised of both rhythm and rhyme, and gives a vivid image of a woman's bountiful and enduring love for her husband. Given the time period during which Bradstreet lived, and the imaginable struggles her and her family must have gone through, a significant other such as this would have been a Godsend. I couldn't imagine having to go through the struggles that many initial Americans had to endure when we first colonized this country. In the first line, Bradstreet opens with "If ever two were one, then surely we" (Muller and Williams 225), showing the complete unity between her and her husband. In the
second line she emphasizes her devoted love to him by saying "If ever man were loved by wife, then thee" (Muller and Williams 225). These two opening lines give the reader a sense of the magnitude of the emotion felt by the author to the subject. She goes on to imply not only that his returned love is prized above all else, but that nothing could quench the love they have for each other. The poem ends with Bradstreet saying "Then while we live, in love let's so persevere" and "That when we live no more we may live ever" (Muller and Williams 225). I think these last two lines bring home the significance of the poem in the sense that the author wants their love to endure and that if they continue to nourish their love throughout life amongst all hardship and peril, then that love might endure forever.
The overall meaning I took from the poem would have to be that when in love, love with all your heart and with every bone of your body. Put it on a pedestal in a such a way that everyone envies you for what you have, and to let it consume you so that it may endure. I quite enjoyed the poem, and thought it was well written, though like most poetry, I had to read it multiple times, especially the last line. Along with the author's background the poem helped me to visualize not only their undying love for one another, but also the possible hardships they may have went through during the time period.
CJ
My assigned poem for this weeks discussion was "To My Dear and Loving Husband" by Anne Bradstreet. The poem is of closed form comprised of both rhythm and rhyme, and gives a vivid image of a woman's bountiful and enduring love for her husband. Given the time period during which Bradstreet lived, and the imaginable struggles her and her family must have gone through, a significant other such as this would have been a Godsend. I couldn't imagine having to go through the struggles that many initial Americans had to endure when we first colonized this country. In the first line, Bradstreet opens with "If ever two were one, then surely we" (Muller and Williams 225), showing the complete unity between her and her husband. In the
second line she emphasizes her devoted love to him by saying "If ever man were loved by wife, then thee" (Muller and Williams 225). These two opening lines give the reader a sense of the magnitude of the emotion felt by the author to the subject. She goes on to imply not only that his returned love is prized above all else, but that nothing could quench the love they have for each other. The poem ends with Bradstreet saying "Then while we live, in love let's so persevere" and "That when we live no more we may live ever" (Muller and Williams 225). I think these last two lines bring home the significance of the poem in the sense that the author wants their love to endure and that if they continue to nourish their love throughout life amongst all hardship and peril, then that love might endure forever.
The overall meaning I took from the poem would have to be that when in love, love with all your heart and with every bone of your body. Put it on a pedestal in a such a way that everyone envies you for what you have, and to let it consume you so that it may endure. I quite enjoyed the poem, and thought it was well written, though like most poetry, I had to read it multiple times, especially the last line. Along with the author's background the poem helped me to visualize not only their undying love for one another, but also the possible hardships they may have went through during the time period.
CJ