Anne Bradstreet and Phillis Wheatley were both women from a time when women weren’t allowed or wanted to have a voice in society. But despite the challenges that they faced their works of poetry continue to be recognized even today. Both Anne and Phillis wanted to defy the odds and write about religion and death, as well as different themes such as struggles with religion, race, nature, and love. They wanted to write about things that weren’t spoken about in society, or do things that weren’t normal for women to do. They spoke and wrote on the topics that were important and needed to be written about. They said what everyone else was thinking or wondering about. They were brave enough to have a voice for all. Anne Bradstreet was from a wealthy Puritan family with strict Puritan principles. …show more content…
Anne didn’t have an education, but she became the first poet to write in English verse and the first woman to be recognized as an accomplished poet. In the article Restriction, Resistance, and Humility by Rowshan Chowdhury, it states, “In spite of Puritan restrictions set on women’s creative experiments such as writing poems or fiction or creating artwork, Bradstreet remained concerned with the issues of sin and redemption, physical and emotional frailty, death and immortality, and struggles to resolve the conflict she had been experiencing between the pleasures of sensory and familial experience, and the promises of heaven.” (Chowdhury, paragraph 3). Anne Bradstreet became an important voice for the Puritan way. Phillis Wheatley was one of the first black and enslaved women to publish a book of poems. She was born in Africa in 1753 and, at a young age, was captured and sold into slavery. The Wheatly family bought Phillis, and she got an
Over the centuries, writing has changed, and it is still changing today. There are also many different types of writing that are taught and studied. Three major types are considered the classics. Those three categories are poetry, drama, and prose. Throughout history, writers have stood out from other in their time. The three that will be the focus of the analyzation and comparison are Anne Bradstreet, Thomas Paine, and Phillis Wheatley. All of them have different backgrounds, different styles but have one thing in common. They are all are writers who are considers major contributors to the classics.
Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor wrote elaborate poems influenced by their faith and life experiences. Coming from devout Puritans living in newly settled land, both of their writings have similar elements. One shared theme gives insight to the harshness of colonial life. They both used poetry to express their sadness at the death of their children, yet both with a tone of acceptance and hope, trusting that God knows best. Taylor grieved the loss of two infant daughters. He describes them as flowers writing:
The authors’ literary works had a way of communicating and expressing their way of life by their own writing styles. The authors I will discuss shared their experience adapting into American culture. The authors I chosen to discuss is Anne Bradstreet, Phillis Wheatley, and Thomas Paine who are distinctly different people who share a common background, but overcome different obstacles living in America. The criteria I have to share about their life experiences is their own writings and documented information from credible resources. The analyses and interpretations in the authors writings gives us idea about who they are because of their hardships in America, a new government, and their new culture.
In Anne Bradstreet and Mary Rowlandson's generation, women were limited in what they could/could not do. In the 1600s, women were taught to be good wives and mothers along with performing duties in the house. During this time period, most women did not work instead that was the man's duty. They also were raised to portray Puritan values. Bradstreet and Rowlandson both stood out as Puritan women because their works became published in a time in which women were not supposed to write. Both Anne Bradstreet and Mary Rowlandson's status as women played a part in their writing because they both struggled with Puritan/human dichotomy in their works.
Phillis Wheatley overcame extreme obstacles, such as racism and sexism, to become one of the most acclaimed poets in the 18th Century. Her works are characterized by religious and moral backgrounds, which are due to the extensive education of religion she received. In this sense, her poems also fit into American Poetry. However, she differs in the way that she is a black woman whose writings tackle greater subjects while incorporating her moral standpoint. By developing her writing, she began speaking out against injustices that she faced and, consequently, gave way to authors such as Gwendolyn Brooks and Countee Cullen.
Women have faced oppression in the literary community throughout history. Whether they are seen as hysterical or unreliable, women writers seem to be faulted no matter the topics of their literature. However, Anne Bradstreet and Margaret Fuller faced their critics head-on. Whether it was Bradstreet questioning her religion or Fuller discussing gender fluidity, these two women did not water down their opinions to please others. Through their writings, Bradstreet and Fuller made great strides for not just women writers, but all women.
The components of marriage, family and loss has played a big role in Anne Bradstreet’s writing of “Before the birth of One of Her Children”, “In Memory of Dear Grandchild Elizabeth Bradstreet”, and Edward Taylor’s “Upon Wedlock and the Death of Children.” In, these writings both authors Puritan culture and their faith plays a big role. In these poems one author starts questioning their God and the other to take honor in their God throughout their grieving process, while both showing different aspects of their everlasting union with their spouse, and the love for their children.
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. People disagree with this statement because they say that she did not make a difference in history.
Phillis Wheatley was an African-born slave in the last quarter of the eighteenth-century in New England. She was born in West Africa and brought to America on the slave ship Phillis. She was, however, much more than chattel-she was a poet. Phillis was the first African American to have a book published. In a time when women were not expected to be able to read or write, and when teaching an African American to be literate was frowned upon, Phillis Wheatley became educated in Latin and English literature. The education of Phillis Wheatley was, for the most part, for the intent of training "a servant and would-be companion for domestic utility," in which they undoubtedly succeeded. However, they "got an intellectual adornment" who, with her knowledge of the poems of Alexander Pope, the "Puritanical whiteness of her thoughts," and ability to write poems, soon became a celebrity among Boston?s social elite (Richmond 18,19).
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.
All three of these women authors have, by their literary works, voiced their strong unfavorable feelings about the patriarchal society in which they lived. These women authors have served as an eye-opener for the readers, both men and women alike, in the past, and hopefully still in the present. There are still cultures in the world today, where women are treated as unfairly as women were treated in the prior centuries. These women authors have impacted a male dominated society by reflecting on the unfairness imposed upon women. Through their writings, each of these women authors who existed during that masochistic Victorian era, risked criticism and retribution.
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.
Feminism today remains prominent because even while women’s rights are very strong, women are still fighting for equality every day. In the time of Anne Bradstreet, women had few rights and they were seen as inferior to men. Anne lived among the puritans whom ruled her everyday life. Although it was against the puritan code for women to receive an education, Bradstreet’s father, Thomas Dudley, loved his daughter dearly and made sure that she was well educated which shows in her works. Anne Bradstreet’s literature became well known only because her family published her works under a male name. This was done because writing poetry was a serious offense to the puritans since poetry was considered creative and the only creating that was done was by God. In the works of Anne Bradstreet, she conveys a feminist attitude, and could very well be one of the first American Feminists.
Throughout literature’s history, female authors have been hardly recognized for their groundbreaking and eye-opening accounts of what it means to be a woman of society. In most cases of early literature, women are portrayed as weak and unintelligent characters who rely solely on their male counterparts. Also during this time period, it would be shocking to have women character in some stories, especially since their purpose is only secondary to that of the male protagonist. But, in the late 17th to early 18th century, a crop of courageous women began publishing their works, beginning the literary feminist movement. Together, Aphra Behn, Charlotte Smith, Fanny Burney, and Mary Wollstonecraft challenge the status quo of what it means to be a