1. Identify and explain an emotion that Bradstreet expresses in her poem that any mother might have.…
1) Based on what we know about the Puritans and how they viewed worldly objects and creative expression, why would it seem ironic that there are several among them who remain influential poets today? It would seem ironic because they had left few personal belongings behind them, but puritans confined within their culture so they can have a personal attachment.…
Bradstreet’s poem was soft and personal. It would seem that she was contemplating the likelihood of her dying while giving birth. The poem was addressed to her husband, which makes since as if she were to die, she would want him to know her final words and not to mention he would be raising the child alone. Being that Bradstreet gave birth to eight children, it is very likely that she feared her own death during each and every one of her deliveries.…
Bradstreet talks about topics such as her relationship with her husband and children and her struggles with religion. In her poem “A Letter to Her Husband, Absent upon Public Employment,” her husband was gone and coming back soon, but whenever she looked at her children, she was reminded of him. She wished he was there with her because he is like the sun, full of warmth and kindness, and her life revolved around him; without him she would be nothing. In her poem “Before the Birth of One of Her Children,” she believed that she was going to die during childbirth, but she wasn’t the only one, because many women back then had the same fear. Also, if she passed away, she was worried that her children were going to end up with a horrible stepmother, so she frequently asked God to protect her and her children. Although Bradstreet was a woman who expressed great amounts of faith, she was often left struggling when her feelings turned to resentment, confusion, and betrayal towards everyone around her. Often things went badly for her, and she doubted God because she thought he was punishing her for the wrong things she had done. Since she doubted God, she would pray and realize that everything happens for a reason. She wasn’t being punished; there was a lesson that needed to be learned, and when she struggled, she wouldn’t dwell on her sinfulness, she continued with living her life.…
Through her words she allowed you to feel her joy, sorrow and everyday struggles. In “To the Memory of My Dear and Ever Honored Father Thomas Dudley Esq. Who Deceased, July 31, 1653, and of His Age 77” Bradstreet writes about the loss of her father, and her strong belief in an afterlife and seeing her father again, “Where we with joy each other’s face shall see, And parted more by death shall never be” (214). She expresses her deep love for her husband in “To My Dear and Loving Husband” when she writes, “If ever two were one, then surely we” (226). “In Reference To Her Children, 23 June 1659” Bradstreet writes about her eight children, “I had eight birds hatched in one nest, Four cocks there were, and hens the rest” (228). This poem describes her hopes, dreams, and fears for her children, “If birds could weep, then would my tears. Let others know what are my fears” (229). ). In her poem “As Weary Pilgrim” Bradstreet describes a Pilgrims end to suffering and struggling and their deliverance…
Bradstreet uses motherly language and words with a protective connotation in describing her “child” in order to reveal the speaker’s admiration and hopes for him or her. Though the speaker describes her child in the poem as “ill-formed,” suggesting that the child is defective, she comments that the child “did’st by my side remain,” indicating that she appreciates the child and does not disown it, regardless of its flaws. When describing the revealing of the child to the world, Bradstreet uses the word “snatched,” suggesting that the child was “exposed to public view” without the speaker’s wanting this. In describing how the mother holds her child by her side and suggesting that she resents its being “exposed,” Bradstreet depicts the love with which a writer holds his or…
Ann Bradstreet’s conception of a loving and giving God is not consistent with Jonathan Eduwards’, who views Him as evil and punishing. Even in the worst situation, such as the burning of her house and all of her possessions, she praises the Lord, and has enough faith to “bless His grace that gave and took” (Bradstreet 14). Bradstreet’s use of euphonious diction with soft s, c, v, and g sounds in phrases such as “bless His grace” give a tender, graceful mood to the poem. Also, her word choice has a positive connotation and suggests unconditional praise. She says that the world holds no promises for her, because her “hope and treasure lies above” (54). The irony in this line is relevant because Bradstreet has just lost everything she has ever had, but she realizes that her real treasure is found not in the material world, but in eternal salvation with God. Therefore, she views God as loving and giving due to the promises He has for her in heaven. Jonathan Edwards, however, does not view God in this way. He thinks that God, “the God that holds [him] over the pits of hell, much as one holds a spider or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors [him]” (154). Fearful and tormented, Edwards thinks that God promises nothing but eternal damnation, which contrasts greatly with Bradstreet’s conception of a loving God. By comparing a sinner to a spider, Edwards is insinuating that they are a worthless annoyance to Him. Sinners are helpless in the hands of an angry God, the way spiders are helpless in the hands of an angry person. For these reasons, Ann Bradstreet’s conception of a kind and faithful Lord is different than Jonathan Edwards’ belief in an angry, punishing…
In order to introduce the controlling metaphor of The Author to Her Book, Bradstreet begins by using words that allude to the idea of birth. Within line one, Bradstreet uses the phrase "offspring of my feeble brain" to show the closeness that she ties between the work of an author and the authors themselves. Since the word offspring conveys a powerful meaning - a strong bond between two, a parent and a child, it shows that Bradstreet's attitude towards her works is one where she perceives that same bond. The second line of the poem consists of the phrase "who after birth did'st by my side remain," showing another connection to the controlling metaphor of the poem - birth and yet again shows the close connection between an author and their work.…
We come here today to honor the life of Laura Elizabeth Clements. Born into a new era on April 12, 2000, Laura accomplished many great things. Laura was the second child of Adam and Amy Clements, the first daughter of Adam and Amy, and the fourth child of Adam. As a child, she was a tomboy. She loved being outdoors and doing things like camping, swimming, and canoeing. She was an outgoing child. She loved hanging around other people, and she loved playing with her four siblings. Starting school at age five, Laura became a bookworm. She loved reading and writing, something that stayed with her until her death. Another thing that appeared during elementary school and stayed until her death was helping others. As a child Laura loved helping out…
The poem “Father and Child” by Gwen Harwood shows Harwood’s father teaching her the concepts of life and death, from when she is a young child in “Barn Owl” up to when she is around forty at the time of his death in “Nightfall”, coming to accept the idea that life is not never-ending. In part one called “Barn Owl”; she has learnt to accept death as a component of life. The persona of the poem experiences a loss of innocence with the discovery of the tragedy of death. Before shooting the owl, the child believes they are the “master of life and death,” with the noun, “master,” reflecting the power that the child feels and the ignorance that the child has about the nature of death. This description of the child is later contrasted in the fourth stanza, “I watched, afraid by the fallen gun, a lonely child who believed death clean and final, not this obscene bundle of stuff.” The emotive term, “afraid,” represents the change in the persona’s attitude after being exposed to the harsh reality that is mortality. However, the rhyme and last line “what sorrows in the end, no words, no tears can mend” releases an element of inexpressible sadness that she has towards the death of her father showing that although she accepts death, it still upsets her as it did in “Barn Owl”. Father and Child” Nightfall” is more metaphorical and symbolic suggesting a more mature persona like an adult. The poem represents a human’s journey over time of learning to mature and accept death.…
In the poem “A Letter to Her Husband, Absent Upon Public Employment,” Anne Bradstreet addresses the importance of her husband’s presence in her life and the emotions she experiences when he is gone at work. Clearly demonstrating education unfamiliar to women in the 1600’s as well as passion not commonly found in her time’s literary works, Bradstreet successfully portrays the connection she feels between her and her husband and the consequences of such a connection. Using earthly, physical and scientific comparisons, Bradstreet shows that her husband is the center of her world, but also attends to the fact that it does not mean he has officially replaced…
As a young girl, Lucinda Matlock, would go to the town dances. She would dance with various types of boys during the dance, at one of these dances she meet Davis, who she connected with spontaneously and to whom she got married. They lived together for seventy years, had twelve kids, and lost eight of them. Most people would agree that losing a child is tough and that losing eight would be devastating. This woman lost eight kids and she never once complained or became discouraged. She continued her life. Happy to take care of those she had left. She could be caught “, singing to the green hills,” which shows just how content she was. She also tells of how she would hear about the sorrows of others, but all she says is “it takes life to love life.” This shows that even though she had a few unfortunate events in her life she was still happy with the life that was given to her. She dies pleased and with no regrets.…
Harwood’s elegy Mother Who Gave Me Life nostalgically explores the confronting concepts of the unavoidability of death and past bleak memories. Harwood explains explores the fragility e nature of life through the fabric motif symbolism; “fine threadbare linen” depicting symbolising the frailty image of her mother and the inevitability of her demise. Similarly, the reminiscent cosmic and iconic imagery depicts the futile effort to extend life “I prayed you would see live to see Halley’s Comet a second time.” Furthermore, the reference to Halley’s Comet informs the audience of the persona’s short-lived hope for human immortality, on to be brought back to the reality of death. In addition, the author speaks ofoutlines a cycle of death and the continuity of life, shown through repetition that is as perpetuated through motherhood shown through repetition; “I think of women bearing women” which utilises gender specific diction to highlight the significance of women as a . Thus, the cycle of women bearing women is shown as a symbol of life and continuity. Likewise, through cumulative listing, Harwood provides an insight into the human history of motherhood, noting that that it transcends all temporal restraints indicated through cumulative listing “your mother, and hers and beyond”, and its ability to never cease. Though Harwood constantly implies of her desire to be able to extend life she acknowledges that in reality death is inevitable through the use of elegiac language; “you left the world so”. Finally through elemental references and natural imagery, Motherhood is portrayed to be infinite and as the link between…
Symbolism of that guilt can be found throughout the poem. ‘My dim dears at the breasts they could never suck’. (Line 13) Breasts are often times considered the life source for babies since they feed and nurture a child. During nursing, a mother and child create a strong bond. Including this symbol into the poem, show the reader what kind of bond this mother is missing from her child. The mother is clearly thinking of what her child could have been doing, had she not aborted it. Abortions are supposed to terminate a pregnancy thus removing this child from your life forever. ‘Abortions will not let you forget’.(Line 1) This can be considered situational irony because terminating the pregnancy does not help you forget. Even though the child is not physically there, a child was still created and was growing. That memory can never be erased.…
The Bridge, written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow sometime after the death of his wife during miscarriage in the year 1835, reflects on the heart-rending feeling of loss. The poem was written by Longfellow as not only a reflection of the tragic loss of his wife, but also as a reflection of the conflicting emotions felt by him pertaining to the loss. In his poem, Longfellow describes two of the foremost conflicting emotions as depression and acceptance. These emotions are the same emotions later described by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her 1969 book On Death and Dying as the last two stages of the grieving process. Hence the purpose of Longfellow’s poem The Bridge is to express personal grief and reflect on the conflicting emotions one feels during many of the losses presented during life.…