In "The Author to Her Book," the speaker personifies her book as her child in an apostrophe addressed to it, but finds herself ashamed of its flaws, though she still expresses a desire to care for it. She attempts to revise it, but continues to find problems, resulting in her conclusion that the book should not be read by critics. Bradstreet uses a controlling metaphor and diction depicting maturation, imperfections, and fixing to convey the speaker's conflicted feelings of pride and irritation toward her work, comparing her struggle to raising a child and criticizing her own ability to write. The poem immediately establishes a controlling metaphor comparing the book to a child, illustrating the speaker's inherent attachment to her work while also describing her irritation towards it. Establishing the metaphor by using terms such as "offspring" and "birth", the speaker shows that she is attached to her work, as a mother is to an infant child. (1-2) However, she simultaneously establishes that while the child is imperfect, so is she, calling her mind "feeble." (1) It is this duality of both the mother and the child having flaws that drives the speaker's sentiment of attachment to her work: as a depiction of her thoughts, it is a piece of her, and a flaw in it reflects a flaw in her. The change in the speaker's attitude toward her work is made …show more content…
The nature of a work being a reflection of its creator can apply to anything created by a person: as an author may critique herself for being unable to write, an artist could be unable to paint the images they see in their mind, or a engineer may build something which does not seem to function just right, leading a creator to wonder if the flaws in their work are only because of a flaw in
As the first poem in the book it sums up the primary focus of the works in its exploration of loss, grieving, and recovery. The questions posed about the nature of God become recurring themes in the following sections, especially One and Four. The symbolism includes the image of earthly possessions sprawled out like gangly dolls, a reference possibly meant to bring about a sense of nostalgia which this poem does quite well. The final lines cement the message that this is about loss and life, the idea that once something is lost, it can no longer belong to anyone anymore brings a sense...
This is displayed in lines one through five, as he expresses through imagery the bliss of a first chapter. Many examples of positive imagery is displayed when he says lines such as, “how even the banisters are polished for us, / that we feel free to walk out / with the lady of the house and smoke / a cigarette, down the grand alley of elms” (9-12). The fact that the poet enjoys the first chapter of a book helps develop a positive connotation towards the chapter, which helps contribute to the innocence of the first chapter. When readers relate this to their own life, they will think back at how joyous and buoyant their early life was. The first chapter and early childhood go hand-in-hand because they are both so simple. The first chapter is mostly the exposition, where you explain the time, place, and characters. Nothing that furthers the plot or suspense of the book is introduced in the first chapter. The poet institutes this simplicity by saying, “Nothing really happens now, / beyond the delivery of breakfast trays” (15-16). This can relate to one’s own childhood because no sense of responsibility is established. So, someone will be stuck being a kid with no worries of the outside world and no mature
Hence, the poem's tone contains elements of remorse as well as impassivity. The traveler's detached description of the mother, "...a doe, a recent killing; / she had stiffened already, almost cold" (6-7), and the wistful detail with which he depicts her unborn offspring, "...her fawn lay there waiting...
Stanza two shows us how the baby is well looked after, yet is lacking the affection that small children need. The child experiences a ‘vague passing spasm of loss.’ The mother blocks out her child’s cries. There is a lack of contact and warmth between the pair.
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.
The first effect of the birth imagery is to present the speaker's book as a reflection of what she sees in herself. Unfortunately, the "child" displays blemishes and crippling handicaps, which represent what the speaker sees as deep faults and imperfections in herself. She is not only embarrassed but ashamed of these flaws, even considering them "unfit for light". Although she is repulsed by its flaws, the speaker understands that her book is the offspring of her own "feeble brain", and the lamentable errors it displays are therefore her own.
While reading the poem the reader can imply that the father provides for his wife and son, but deals with the stress of having to work hard in a bad way. He may do what it takes to make sure his family is stable, but while doing so he is getting drunk and beating his son. For example, in lines 1 and 2, “The whisky on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy” symbolizes how much the father was drinking. He was drinking so much, the scent was too much to take. Lines 7 and 8, “My mother’s countenance, Could not unfrown itself.” This helps the reader understand the mother’s perspective on things. She is unhappy seeing what is going on which is why she is frowning. Although she never says anything it can be implied that because of the fact that the mother never speaks up just shows how scared she could be of her drunk husband. Lines 9 and 10, “The hand that held my wrist Was battered on one knuckle”, with this line the reader is able to see using imagery that the father is a hard worker because as said above his knuckle was battered. The reader can also take this in a different direction by saying that his hand was battered from beating his child as well. Lastly, lines 13 and 14, “You beat time on my head With a palm caked hard by dirt” As well as the quote above this quote shows that the father was beating his child with his dirty hand from all the work the father has
These final words sum up her feeling of helplessness and emptiness. Her identity is destroyed in a way due to having children. We assume change is always positive and for the greater good but Harwood’s poem challenges that embedding change is negative as the woman has gained something but lost so much in return.
Anne Bradstreet was the first American poetess of British origin. She was the first female writer whose poems were published in newly colonized America. Her father, Thomas Dudley, in England worked as steward of Earl of Lincoln. In 1628 Anne married Simon Bradstreet. In 1630 both families moved to America on the ship "Arabella". Voyage lasted for three months. In the New World, her father became governor of Massachusetts Colony, and was subsequently replaced by the husband of Anne.
In “The Author to Her Book,” Bradstreet is inundated in indecision and internal struggles over the virtues and shortfalls of her abilities and the book that she produced. As human beings we associate and sympathize with each other through similar experiences. It is difficult to sympathize with someone when you don’t know where they are coming from and don’t know what they are dealing with. Similar experiences and common bonds are what allow us to extend our sincere appreciation and understanding for another human being’s situation. In this poem an elaborate struggle between pride and shame manifests itself through an extended metaphor in which she equates her book to her own child.
As an author continues through the writing process, the writing will eventually be introduced to public opinion. Bradstreet writes in lines 4-11 how her writing originally received negative feedback when announced to the populace, and she connects the emotions she felt, with human imagery. For example, in line 5 she says she “made thee in rags, halting to th’ press to trudge”. This use of personification demonstrates how Bradstreet believes that her writing is covered in rags and not very presentable, when she gets feedback she responds in line 7-9 saying “my blushing was not small/ My rambling brat (in print) should mother call/I cast thee unfit for light”. She is feeling proud of her work, but regardless still thinks it needs to be edited. This can be compared to raising a child where parents feel both proud and disapproving of their child at the same time. In lines 10-13 Bradstreet says that “the visage was so irksome in my sight;/Yet being mine own, at length affection would/Thy blemishes amend, if so I could”. By saying this Bradstreet admits that her writing is unsatisfactory, but she will keep it and raise it because is her own progeny. By the end of the poem Bradstreet expresses that her work is ready for the real world. The
The choice of words of the author also contributes to the development of the theme. For example, the use of words like "drafty," "half-heartedly," and "half-imagined" give the reader the idea of how faintly the dilemma was perceived and understood by the children, thus adding to the idea that the children cannot understand the burden the speaker has upon herself. In addition, referring to a Rembrandt as just a "picture" and to the woman as "old age," we can see that these two symbols, which are very important to the speaker and to the poem, are considered trivial by the children, thus contributing to the concept that the children cannot feel what the speaker is feeling.
All these elements - the ambiguity of the words, the lies and truths of the speaker, the association between the child and the reader, the contrast between the world of faery and human - work together to influence the reader, to awaken an emotional reaction unique to each individual. Taken separately, these poetic techniques are interesting, perhaps, but when combined in an organic whole, they become greater then the sum of their parts. And it is this special organic whole that succeeds in creating the magic that lies within great poetry and prose, and it this special organic whole that the New Literary Critic seeks to understand.
Browning inflicts emotion in the poem by demonstrating the use of symbolism. Within the first stanza Browning gives the reader an exact detail of how severely the children suffer. The tool of symbolism provides the reader with a valid concept of the pain of the children. Browning symbolizes important of a mother’s comfort. For instance, Browning states in line 3-4:
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 ...