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Early american literature's portrayal of women
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Early american literature's portrayal of women
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Anne Bradstreet who was a Puritan was not supposed to be writing poems but engaging in housework. Phillis Wheatley on the other hand did not only write but was also an African slave. Both Bradstreet and Wheatley were able to overcome all the difficulties they went through and were still able to write great poems that ended up being published. Bradstreet wrote about her love for her husband and how much she cherished him;” I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold or all the riches that the East doth hold.” This suggests her love is unexplainable and cannot be compared to anything in the world. Wheatley on the other hand writes more about God and her respect for certain people such as Washington and Whitefield. Her poem was quite confusing …show more content…
because she started by showing her gratitude for being a Christian and taken away from where she was; “pagan land” but at the end she gives an idea of how unhappy she is with the race of America; “their colour is a diabolic dye”. However, in the end she sates that no matter her race, her religion will always save her from all situations. I think that after what Bradstreet and Wheatley had gone through they were still able to write greatly which explains or shows that they were really determined to do what they wanted to do. Anne Bradstreet’s poem “To my Dear and Loving Husband” begins with her describing herself and her husband as one. She explains that there is no woman as happy as she is or there is no woman that can be as happy as she is with her husband. She goes further to say that her husband’s love is more than gold and all the riches of the East. This suggests that nothing can buy her love for her husband not even the things women loves which is of course gold and money. She does not care about all of that but only cares about the love for her husband. She explains further that her love is thirst and that rivers cannot quench her yearning. I think Bradstreet was so in love with her husband that she didn’t care about anything or anybody and she believed that nothing could separate them from each other except death. She was more than in love with her husband! The image she uses here is very sensual. Still on her poem, she diverts into the spiritual perspective saying that she cannot repay her husband; “Thy love is such I can no way repay, the heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.” From this statement, I think that her husband also loved her as much as she did for her to say that she cannot repay the love and then goes further to say that she hopes that heaven reward him bountifully. Their love was solid and pure to the extent that as they both love each other on earth so shall they love each other and live forever. This suggests that she never wanted to see her husband go or she never wanted him out of her sight and she always wanted them to be together. . Motherhood became a dominant part of her life.
In “The Author to her Book,” the book was about an unpleasing child whom she had worked so hard to improve. She tells her child not to fall into the wrong hands but to explain that her mother has had to turn her out of poverty; “rambling brat.” This metaphor is used in explaining the mockery tone that she uses when referring to her work. She reminds her fellow readers that only few women or parents would care to be held responsible for their offspring. Her children are mostly her true subjects in all of her writings. Her family poems avoid sentiments though but she loves her husband and children more than any other thing in the world. She addresses death in “Before the Birth of One of her Children” which was directed to her husband and shows the fear of being a housewife where every pregnancy was like a preamble to death. Her other poems are in memory of her grandchildren who died while they were still very young. Her feelings in these poems is repressed and her attitude is like surrendering to God’s will but she was always pained at every death situation which is not surprising as she has to mourn her lost loved ones. She designated two poems to her husband when he was away for business. She argues that her love is above a female deer whose mate is absent. In the first letter to her husband, she uses the sun to express her true feelings for him; “I wish my sun may never set, but burn.” Bradstreet was a woman of talent who learned to write her own poems through studying other poet’s writings. She also fulfilled the challenging role of being a colonial housewife with a very large
family. Phillis Wheatley on the other hand begins her poem, “On being brought from Africa to America,” by crediting her slavery as positive because she is brought into Christianity. Her Christian faith was genuine and it was also safe an enslaved poet. I find it very shocking to show gratitude for being enslaved. She distances her readers from those who “who view our sable race with scornful eye.” She uses sable here to describe her colour which amuses me that she uses that word which then contrasts with “a diabolic dye” in the next line. I think this has to do with slaves as well especially with the fact that the lines follow each other. Phillis touched on many themes in her poems such as morality, death, etc. in most of her poems. She does not really talk about her being enslaved and also being black. She mostly talks about white people’s attitudes and values. She was taken away from her people at a very young people and now her poems cannot be said to be a black person’s thoughts but probably a white person’s thoughts. Julian D Mason Jr. (ed), The Poems of Phillis Wheatley (Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 1966), p XXII Phillis Wheatley was a poet of the latter half of the 18th century who happened to be black. Despite her position as a slave and despite the growing interest in the slave issue in Boston, she did not address herself in any degree to the plights of the people. She wrote to Whites and the Euro-American people at that time. Julian D Mason Jr. (ed), The Poems of Phillis Wheatley (Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 1966), p XXII. Wheatley always received favourable comments from while she was alive but there was one person who criticised her harshly which was definitely based on a racial basis. Thomas Jefferson in his notes on the state of Virginia, “misery is often the parent of the most affecting touches in poetry. Among the blacks is misery enough, God knows, but no poetry……… Religion indeed has produced a Phyllis Whately, but it could not produce a poet.” (Page 671). He even spelt her name incorrectly and I am quite sure he knew that was the wrong spelling. Out of all the people who criticised Wheatley’s writings, most of them were white and was mainly based on a racial basis who refused to recognize her writings mostly because shew as black. In conclusion, I think both Bradstreet and Wheatley are really great and determined people because both of them have different backgrounds, Bradstreet a Puritan and a mother of 8, and Wheatley, an American slave. But even after everything, they still had the time to write beautifully.
Wheatley was born in West Africa around 1750, and was captured when she was 7. John Wheatley purchased Phillis for his wife, Susanna; together they taught Phillis how to read and write, and as early as 12, Phillis was writing poetry and her first poem had been published. Wheatley’s poems implicitly advocated for racial equality, while condemning slavery. Her work received some negative feedback from political figureheads, such as Thomas Jefferson. White America classified a human as having the ability to read, write, and reason; therefore, leaving no room for the uneducated Africans, seeing Africans as nonhuman. Jefferson claimed Wheatley’s work was not literature because the moment he admitted Wheatley’s work was indeed literature, he would have had to admit she was a human being. The way Phillis Wheatley handled the adversity she faced is admirable. Wheatley definitely impacted American history, and “owes her place in history to advocates of inequality” (Young 1999
Phillis Wheatley, who is now known as one of America’s most scholarly writers, has made a major impact on American Literature today. Her role in Literature had influenced many African Americans during this time period because it was very uncommon for them to become educated. Her poems made some people realize that they shouldn’t have slaves. Many people say that Phillis Wheately should go down in history as a hero while others say that she should not. Phillis is a historical hero because of the extraordinary courage that she showed by writing her poems while facing the adversities that she encountered.
In the article, The World of Phillis Wheatley, James Rawley’s main thesis is to show that Phillis Wheatley's work was mainly influenced by the religion. Rawley shows evidence for this claim by bringing up the person Wheatley held the tightest bond with was Suzanne Whitley, with Rawley describing her as "This remarkable woman was active in religious, humanitarian enterprises, and conducted a wide correspondence with philanthropic persons in England” (668). The relationship between the two women provided the main reason why Wheatley’s work became known to the public. “It was Susanna who planned for the publication of the Poems, and in England enabled the poet to meet distinguished personages, and ultimately secured the slave's freedom.”
Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor are two of the most recognizable poets from early American History; they were also both American Puritans, who changed the world with their poetry. We can see many similarities in their poetry when it comes to the importance of religion and also on having children and losing children. There are however differences in the audience of their poetry and their personal views on marriage. Bradstreet and Taylor both came over to America in the 17th century and settled in New England. Though Taylor came years later we can see the similarities through their poetry.
Anne Bradstreet lived in a time when devotion in a wife to her husband was a social law. This poem, “To My Dear and Loving Husband,” is a loving tribute from Bradstreet to her husband. Certainly, in the early American, Puritan colonies, this work would have been seen as a wife’s duty as well as a lovely gesture. Today, however, it might well be seen as the babblings of a dependant wife. This was my reaction to the poem when I first read it. The attitudes of our country have changed drastically since the mid-1600s and devotion of a wife to her husband is now often seen as a sign of weakness.
In “To S.M., a Young African Painter, on Seeing His Works,” she encourages equality and freedom through heavenly talent and art. In “On Being Brought from African to America,” she attempts to close the racial gap by putting their eyes on heaven. In “To His Excellency General Washington,” she uses foreshadowing of freedom and success in believing in what is right while using imagery of the Goddess of Freedom. Wheatley frequently references God and heaven in many of her poems. Although Phillis Wheatley was a slave, she did not have the plight of many other slaves since she was purchased to be a companion. This gave her the opportunity to not only read and write, but also learn about religion. It seems as if Wheatley used these things against the people who taught her about them. By referencing heaven and God, she so eloquently reminds us that we are all human no matter the lightness or darkness of our skin and all deserve the same
Docile, quiet, piety, reverent, and ultimately submissive were lists of the characteristics, if one wanted to be the perfect women in the mid-1600’s. Anne Bradstreet is a woman who breaks the mold, and writes defiantly at a time when women were barely allowed to speak, to vote, or even hold leadership positions, therefore finding voice and great audience means great merit. Phillis Wheatley, considered to be one of the great American poets, at the time of the revolution, is a slave who goes beyond slavery to find common ground with even the noblest of men and women. Both women, a 100 or so years apart, both seeking a type of equality and defying the paradigms of the time to become immortalized
American literature in the early days talks a lot about spiritual beliefs and different ways of writing. Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards are both Puritan authors from the 1700’s. Anne and Jonathan have different views on God and their ways of life from each other. Bradstreet, a housewife and author shows some of her ways in her writings To my Dear and Loving Husband, and Upon the Burning of Our House. Edwards, a preacher and author shows some of his ways in his writing Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. Both of their views on god and life completely vary. They provide interesting views on spiritual beliefs and different ways of writing.
Beginning with the first few lines, (1-10), Bradstreet sets up a constant couplet rhyme scheme, drawing emphasis to the final word of each line. The use of strong description captures the urgency of the moment, and she finishes this opening section with the very important lines: “And to my God my heart did cry; To straighten me in my Distress; And not to leave me succourless.”
Anne Bradstreet is well known for being the first colonial poet to be published. Many of her poems were titled after the things that were most important to her: most significantly her faith and her family, one poem for example, “To My Dear and Loving Husband”, was written between 1641 and 1643. “To My Dear and Loving Husband” is a beautiful poem expressing the love of one spouse to another and the poem offers readers understandings into Puritan attitudes toward love, marriage, and God. Bradstreet’s poem celebrates her relationship with her husband by describing, in detail, how connected the two of them are. The author uses figurative language to give you an idea about how much she cherishes
Traveling to the New World in 1630 at age eighteen, poet Anne Bradstreet lived an arduous and troublesome life in the infant American colonies. After writing for many years in America and having her poems secretly published by her brother-in-law in England, Anne Bradstreet became not only the first published female American poet, but the first published American poet ever. As a Puritan, Bradstreet projected her religion, as well as her worldly observations, onto her poetry. She also explored the emotional and societal aspects of her life, often writing about sin, redemption, frailty, death, and immortality- common themes of the American Colonial era. Bradstreet fought against gender conformity and sorrow in the Puritan society of the mid 1600s
It’s clear to see that she is happy with her marriage unlike her peers. Bradstreet surely doesn’t mean this in any demeaning or bragging way, she is just so infatuated with who is clearly her soul mate and the love of her life that she wrote and dedicate a poem to. She also states in the poem that, “My love is such that rivers cannot quench, / Nor ought but love from thee give -recompense” (7-8). These two lines are great worldly comparisons. She can’t get enough of her husband. Her husband brings her this happiness and form of bliss that she can’t find anywhere else. No supply of water can satisfy the thirst she has. It’s common to see a husband be loved by his wife, but it is shocking and quiet satisfying to see the amount of love Bradstreet has for her husband. Tying back to her background of being a Puritan, “the Puritans acknowledged the importance of love, as long as one did not lose sight of God, and they believed that wealth could be a sign of being among God’s chosen” (Gordon 2). Even though there is thoughts of Puritans being old-fashioned and aren’t allowed to be affectionate, Bradstreet breaks that
It really puts in perspective how many women feel today. So many intelligent women, in a way, have to prove themselves in ways that men will never experience. Women have come along way since the 1600s in regard to things such as voting, education, and job equality. However, women still have ways to go in terms of overall equality. Bradstreet’s writings are unique in a way that she talked about how men viewed her, but she also wrote about how it would not affect her choice to write. Their offenses meant nothing to her because she took pride in what she did, she did not need her work justified by men for her to believe in herself and her
Anne Bradstreet was America's first published poet, who lived in the 1600’s. She was a well-educated poet of her age and time, a loving wife, and caring mother. She used her poetry to show recognition of women's rights, the puritan lifestyle and beliefs, also to show her husband and eight children how much she loved them. Most of Anne Bradstreet’s poetry was based off true experiences in her life and what she believed in spiritually. In that day and time, she was heavily criticized for being a woman and writing. Bradstreet wrote a lot on puritanism, being a mother and wife, as well as the ways of life. Anne Bradstreet was and still is one of the most important American poets of all time. (poetryfoundation) f
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 ...