Tone In Anne Bradstreet's Poetry

In today’s society and even in the earlier times it can be tough juggling the home life. Being a full time devoted wife and mother can be one of the toughest jobs to have. Although it has its rigorous duties being a wife and a mother can also be rewarding as well. Anne Bradstreet is a poet that used her life experiences and formed them into beautiful poetry. Anne Bradstreet poems have a simplistic and clear tone that helps exhibits her strong Puritan views.
Because Anne Bradstreet’s poems have that simplistic and clear tone I found them easiest to read and understand. Anne Bradstreet poetry would be classified as Lyric poetry because in each of her poetry she focuses on a single emotion. Furthermore, the tone of her poems always seems to have

an optimistic and encouraging tone. Anne Bradstreet also takes advantage of the use of metaphors throughout her poems. These metaphors help Bradstreet to get her ideas across to her readers and it gives life to non-living things such as love. Bradstreet explores many real life experiences in the themes of her poems. These themes include the exploration of nature, Puritanism, sickness and death, motherhood, love, faith, humility and so many more. I believe that anyone who reads her poems can relate to at least one of the above themes. The themes that I most closely relate to are Humility, Love, Motherhood, and Faith. In my essay will discuss and describe my life experiences, how they relate to themes throughout some of Anne Bradstreet’s poetry, and finally I will discuss what I have learned from reading each of her poems.
In life most children aim to make their parents proud and are grateful for everything that their parents have done for them. In To Her Father with Some Verses Anne Bradstreet expresses humility towards her father which is a key Puritan characteristic. She begins the poem with language that explains that her father was an honorable man “Most truly honored”. (Vol A page 215) The tone up this poem is presented in a praising matter, while she discredits her own abilities, most notably in the following quote “My stock’s so small I know not how to pay, My bond remains in force unto this day.’’ (Vol A page 1867) Bradstreet speaks about being in debt with her father and that it will take all of her life to repay him. Bradstreet uses debt as an extended metaphor and speaks of how she cannot repay her father for the things that he has done for her. Is Bradstreet necessarily speaking of monetary lending? I don’t believe she is; I believe that the “debt” that she owes to her father is a combination of things; love, sacrifices, time, and life. What I learned from the poem To Her Father with Some Verses is that you should always have respect and be thankful for your parents because you never know the sacrifices they may have took to raise you.
I personally can relate to Anne Bradstreet’s poem Here Follows Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, because I also went through a house fire and until you have personally gone through it you don’t know that exact feeling.

The poem begins with a normal night for Bradstreet; she goes to bed not expecting anything to happen. Surprisingly she is mistaken when she wakes up to her house in flames. I experienced this as well only I was coming home from school to find our home on fire. Although her home was up in flames, rather to mourn over her lost possessions she gives thanks to God and believes that she will receive them all back in heaven. The following quote exemplifies Anne Bradstreet strength in faith; “And when I could no longer look, I blest His name that gave and took.” (Vol A page 232) Throughout this poem Anne expresses her trust in God and she also expresses her humbleness and humility, she dedicates her trust to God and realizes that at any time material things can be taken away. Here Follows Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House did not necessarily teach me anything, but it did reiterate to me what my mother taught me when I was younger; that is to be thankful for whatever you have and never take things for granted because it can be gone in a blink of an eye. Also, this poem reiterated that no matter what you may go through in life if you have Faith in God you will always get through those tough

times.
In connection with her strong faith and dedication to God, she shows just as much love and compassion towards her husband in her poem title To My Dear and Loving Husband. Bradstreet’s again displays her Puritan views in this poem, because marriage was a central relationship in the Puritan society. Puritan women were devoted wives and mothers. To My Dear and Loving Husband focuses Anne’s devotion towards the love she has for her husband and only that, most notably in the following quote “Thy love is such I can no way repay, The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.” (Vol A page 226) Bradstreet expresses in the above quote that her husband has loved her so much that there is no way for her to repay him, but believes that their love is so resilient that it will reunify them once they are in Heaven. This poem has taught me that although today’s society has somehow tarnished the vision of marriage, the love for your soulmate can create an unbreakable heaven like bond.
Anne Bradstreet continues express her love for her husband in the following poem, but this time in a more gloomy tone. During Bradstreet’s time of living the death rate for women was extremely high due to many women dying while giving birth to their child(s). I know from personal experience that when a woman becomes pregnant it is life changing, you are excited, scared, and anxious all in one emotion. Many thoughts may race through your mind, but in contrast with women of the past, women today don’t have a high chance of dying during childbirth. In her poem Before the Birth of One of Her Children Bradstreet talks about her chances of dying due to giving childbirth. The poem has a gloomy, depressed tone because of the possibility of her dying during childbirth. Before the Birth of One of Her Children poem is connected with a common Bradstreet’s theme, love, yet she pairs love with the “parting blow”, death. This exquisitely, yet simply written poem conveys a bigger message than leaving her love behind for her husband, “And when thy loss shall be repaid with gains, Look to my little babes/And if thou love thyself, or loved’st me.” (Vol A page 226) Anne is revealing to the readers and to her husband (if he ever reads the poem) that she positions the welfare of her children over her own life as any mother would. What I learned from Before the Birth of One of Her Children is that a mother’s love is like no other love; I also learned that all things in the world must come to a close and joyfulness is often complemented by sorrow.
In conclusion Anne Bradstreet is a famous poet that took her life experiences of being a devoted wife, mother and a child of God and converted them into phenomenal poetry. She explored many themes in her poetry that includes Faith, Love, Motherhood and many other themes. Bradstreet poems have a simplistic and clear tone that helps most readers understand her poetry and even relate with their own real experiences. Anne Bradstreet’s poems are classified as Lyric poetry that focuses on one emotion throughout the poem. I enjoyed reading each of Anne Bradstreet’s poems and from reading each of her poems I was reminded of some very valuable life lessons.