In the poem by Anne Bradstreet, “The Author to Her Book” she, Anne, comes off very worried and self-deprecating towards her book. She even goes as far to say that it is an “ill-form’d offspring” of her brain (Line 1). However, as the poem goes on it is obvious that Anne is just being motherly towards the book, as shown in her metaphors, imagery, and tone being used throughout the poem, about what people might say and or think of her once the book, her “baby”, is put out into the world.
Throughout this poem several metaphors are used; this allowed Anne to admire her work both critically and affectionately. For example, starting out Anne describes the book as an “ill-form’d offspring” (1). Obviously this is a metaphor used to make the book’s
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Therefore she does her best to metaphorically correct the imperfections, “Thy blemishes amend, if so I could:I wash’d thy face, but more defects I saw,” (12-14). Now, skipping down to line seventeen, Anne …show more content…
Anne Bradstreet uses a very complex web of parallels: Parent and author, child and book, creator to creation. Many can tell simply by reading the first couple of lines in the poem, the book is in its own ways an offspring of her brain, or as most people would think of it, a child being born. Unfortunately, Bradstreet sees blemishes and faults all throughout the book just as she sees in herself. Thus causing her to feel uneasy and embarrassed of the thought of being criticized by people after being “expos’d to publick view” (4). This also ties into the fact that when reading further down in the poem it is noted where she is not only struggling with self confidence about the book, she is also dealing with the fact that she is in fact poor and had no help in the making of the book, “If for thy father askt, say, thou hadst none: And for thy mother, she alas is poor”
Anne Lamott has an amazing ability to connect with the audience. With use of personal experience and scenarios to be able to connect with the reader using rhetorical techniques such as ethos and pathos. Although her use of vulgar terms may tend to turn off readers, giving her points less impact. Anna opens explaining how everyone has bad first drafts, even terrific writers. It is difficult to be able to sit down and create a perfect first draft.
Bradstreet was a Puritan and was therefore raised with a simplistic view of the world. This, combined with the fact that she was a woman, carried over into her way of writing. Her writing style was not eloquent but plain, humble, and pleasant to read. Her poems dealt with topics such as faith, family, and adversity and were easy to understand. Bradstreet had great faith which she gained through the experiences she encountered in life.
The story of Anne's childhood must be appreciated in order to understand where her drive, inspiration, and motivation were born. As Anne watches her parents go through the tough times in the South, Anne doesn't understand the reasons as to why their life must this way. In the 1940's, at the time of her youth, Mississippi built on the foundations of segregation. Her mother and father would work out in the fields leaving Anne and her siblings home to raise themselves. Their home consisted of one room and was in no comparison to their white neighbors, bosses. At a very young age Anne began to notice the differences in the ways that they were treated versus ...
She writes a letter to husband, almost instructing him on what to do after her death. Unlike other demure housewives of her time, she acknowledges the risk birthing her child brings by saying, “And when thy loss shall be repaid with gains / Look to my little babes, my dear remains” (107). Bradstreet also approaches a taboo subject by acknowledging that her husband might remarry. Bradstreet does not tread lightly on this subject either by writing, “And if thou love thyself, or loved’st me, / These o protect from step Dames injury” (107). In this poem, Bradstreet faces the possibility of not only the loss of her life but the loss of her husband’s love. Bradstreet challenges Puritan beliefs by showing that she will still be concerned with her earthly life after her
When the poem is read aloud, the explicit rhyme and rhythm of the lines becomes extremely obvious. In fact, the bouncy rhythm is so uplifting, it occasionally makes the audiences feel like it is too predictable and straight-forward. An example would be “bright with chrysolite”, the word “chrysolite” feels like it is forcefully implemented for the sake of the rhyme. This is somewhat similar to a children’s tale. Most children’s tale as we know it, conveys messages straightforwardly and are easily understood by children, it also has an amiable tone and a merry mood that engages the children 's attention. Similarly, the rhyme and rhythm of this poem is very obvious and explicit, creating a delightful, casual mood that appeals to a young audience. Even though the legend dealt with deep insights about parenting that are intricate and puzzling, the father delivered it in such a gratifying, simple manner that made even the most dark and dreadful matters: like the description of precarious beasts and vicious monsters to sound like a blissful adventure of friendly animals. The sole purpose of this contradiction between the tone and message is to make this seemingly strong and serious topic more tolerable and captivating to the son of the father. Unsensible, impulsive youth is very similar to restless children, a long insipid lecture about deep insights is very difficult for them to buy into. In the same time, a harsh, threatening warning will only make them obey unwillingly, and creating a doubtful relationship will make them uncomfortable to communicate or appeal to their parents. Clearly, the percipient father recognized the ineffectiveness of these unsuitable parenting methods. Instead, he conveyed the message in a uncomplicated, friendly way that made his son to accept his teachings more comfortably. A
I chose to start this paper by quoting an entire poem of Anne Sexton's. Why? Because no one told the story of Anne Sexton's life as often or as well as Anne Sexton herself. Over and over she wrote, recounted, and recast her struggles with madness, her love affairs, her joys and griefs in parenting, and her religious quests. For example, "Rowing" touches upon the need for Anne to tell stories about herself, her longing for connection with others, her mental problems, and her searching for God - one could not ask for a better introduction to the world of Anne Sexton.
I told you why Anne had felt this way during her ordeal, and what this reveals about her character and her views about life. Anne is a strong and heroic young girl who has a heart for others and she is very compassionate towards others. Which is a great quality to have in that time period she was going through? No one could have done it better than Anne. She helped people look at the good in the situations she was never the one mention the negative things. You think how you would react to this situation. Would you be buoyant? Or would you be colorless in this and always look at the crummy never say anything positive. All quotes can be found in the collections book pages
...e from her love to the world. Perhaps, she believed that in this love of her, she became God-like and God thus punishes her. Nevertheless, the presence of God in her poems is more than clear. Perhaps, it was due to religious beliefs that she though that it was wrong to feel too strong feelings to world and she considered herself to be a sinner who deserves punishment. Today, there are few followers of Bradstreet, but she, her ideas and her thoughts about sufferings still remain in modern books.
There are a couple of similes the author uses in the poem to stress the helplessness she felt in childhood. In the lines, “The tears/ running down like mud” (11,12), the reader may notice the words sliding down the page in lines 12-14 like mud and tears that flowed in childhood days. The speaker compares a...
When writing poetry, there are many descriptive methods an author may employ to communicate an idea or concept to their audience. One of the more effective methods that authors often use is linking devices, such as metaphors and similes. Throughout “The Elder Sister,” Olds uses linking devices effectively in many ways. An effective image Olds uses is that of “the pressure of Mother’s muscles on her brain,” (5) providing a link to the mother’s expectations for her children. She also uses images of water and fluidity to demonstrate the natural progression of a child into womanhood. Another image is that of the speaker’s elder sister as a metaphorical shield, the one who protected her from the mental strain inflicted by their mother.
In “The Farmer’s Children,” Elizabeth Bishop uses different literary techniques to portray her theme. “The Farmer’s Children” tells the story of two young brothers, Cato and Emerson, who have to sleep in the cold in their father’s barn in order to protect the tools inside. These brothers also have to endure parental neglect from their stepmother and father which causes them to freeze to death in the barn. One technique that is used by Bishop is the characterization of the parents. In addition, Bishop uses an allusion, which is a reference to a work of art in another work of art, and symbolism to further show how the characterization of the parents affected the two brothers. In “The Farmer’s Children,” Bishop uses the characterization of the parents of Cato and Emerson, the allusion to “Hansel and Grethel,” and the symbolism of the stepmother’s snowflake quilt to portray the theme of how parental neglect can lead to negative consequences.
In the second half of the poem, a new facet of the speaker's attitude is displayed. In line 17, she wants to improve the ugliness of her "child" by giving him new clothes; however, she is too poor to do so, having "nought save homespun cloth" with which to dress her child. In the final stanza, the speaker reveals poverty as her motive for allowing her book to be sent to a publisher (sending her "child" out into the world) in the first place. This makes her attitude seem to contradict her actions.
By reading Bradstreet’s work, a fair sense of what Mrs. Bradstreet was like can be grasped. She clearly stated her opinion of those who objected to her writing: “I am obnoxious to each carping tongue, / Who says my hand a needle better fits.” (Bradstreet,“ The Prologue”155). Bradstreet refused to give up her passion for writing even if it meant going against the opinions of anyone in her colony, including religious leaders. Although Bradstreet referred to herself as being obnoxious, her written works portray an entirely different Bradstreet. She seeks no reward or fame for her writing: “Give thyme or parsley wreath, I ask no bays” (155). Bradstreet seeks no reward for her writing because she doesn’t think her work is very good: “My foolish, broken, blemished Muse so sings” (154). She refers to her writing as her: “ill-formed offspring” (“The Author To Her Book”165). Even after her work is published she is ...
When Bradstreet’s next grandchild, Anne, passed away, she was unable to resist it. She lost her control and become disappointed. She wrote a poem under “In Memory of My dear Grandchild Anne Bradstreet, Who Deceased June 20, 1669.”5 The poem starts with the speaker
Bradstreet is a master of balance, harnessing her love for God, her family, and her intelligence without ruining her creativity. Most will read her poems as if they contained “feminist irony,” but few explore how likely it is for this irony to be willingly placed--she is witty, and not excessively humble to the point of degrading herself (). According to The Works of Anne Bradstreet by Johnston, “Most of what [people] know about Anne herself [are from] her own writings,” because the lack of personal accounts about her character, but still, many have gathered a general construct about her character that literary analysts do not often deter from (). Given the evidence that The Prologue is a satire instead of a declaration of her humility, one can assume that Bradstreet, as an individual, was much more headstrong than many assume by drawing conclusions from the first half of the prologue and disregarding that what one assumes to be ironies and ignorance are more of wit and cleverness. Bradstreet does not fear strict convention or judgement like many interpreters believe, even though she lives with people who by heavily discomforted by her