Anne Bradstreet: The Wife, the Woman And the Legendary Poet

Anne Bradstreet is considered by many experts to be the first English-speaking/writing American poet. Although arguments can be made that Phyllis Wheatley is indebted that title, the complexity, breadth, depth and ingenuity found in Bradstreet’s poetry is of such magnitude that she ranks among the top five poets, male or female, in American history. However, as with most issues, there is contention on both sides. “The question of Anne Bradstreet’s value as a poet has often receded behind the more certain fact of her value as a pioneer. This means that, while generations of students have read Anne Bradstreet’s work on the basis that she was the first American poet, and a woman at that, many have emerged from the experience unconvinced of her poetry’s intrinsic worth” (Hall 1).

Anne Bradstreet was born in Northampton, England, in 1612, to Thomas and Dorothy Dudley. Thomas Dudley was an Elizabethan loyalist who later became one of the first members of the English Reformation and Elizabethan Settlement in America. Anne’s mother was well-educated and from a wealthy family. Anne’s parents saw to it that she was well-educated as well in the subjects of history, literature, and numerous foreign languages. She was a well-read student of many popular writers of her time, including “Plutarch, Francis Quarles, Edmund Spenser, Guillaume de Salluste du Bartas, Sir Phillip Sidney” and William Shakespeare to name a few (csustan.edu). During her childhood, Anne fell ill with small pox, leaving her body severely scarred and deformed. However, this did not stop her from falling in love and marrying Simon Bradstreet at the age of 16 years old. Bradstreet, who was 25 at the time, was the son of a Puritan preacher and had been in the Dudley’s care si...

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...Elieen. “Anne Bradstreet's Public Poetry and the Tradition of Humility.” Early American Literature, Vol. 17, No. 2 (Fall, 1982), North Carolina Press: pp. 152-160 (Print)

Spencer, Luke. “Mistress Bradstreet and Mr. Berryman: The Ultimate Seduction.” American Literature, Vol. 66, No. 2 (Jun., 1994), Duke University Press: pp. 353-366 (Print)

Stanford, Ann. “Anne Bradstreet: Dogmatist and Rebel.” The New England Quarterly, Vol. 39, No. 3 (Sep., 1966), pp. 373-389 (Print)

Svendsen, J. Kester. “Anne Bradstreet in England: A Bibliographical Note.” American Literature, Vol. 13, No. 1 (Mar., 1941). Duke University Press: pp. 63-65 (Print) http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap1/bradstreet.html#bio (biographical data) http://www.annebradstreet.com/anne_bradstreet_bio_001.htm (biographical data) http://www.poemhunter.com/anne-bradstreet/biography/ (biographical data)