A Review of Ann Bradstreet's Poems

As a feminist, I'm aware that plenty of this frame of mind esteem Bradstreet as their fellow, and through this poem I am glimpsing as to why. Though she starts off very humbly admitting, "for my mean pen are too superior things" and "But simple I according to my will", it is apparent that Bradstreet believes herself to be a pretty well versed writer. She is aware of her obscurity, yet still content enough to manifest her thoughts through verse. She knows her role as a woman in the society that she lives is very limiting, and acknowledges this fact with distaste as she writes, "I am obnoxious to each carping tongue Who says my hand a needle better fits". Yet she still writes, even though it could be seen as nontraditional, and is proud of her ability to use her mind in such ways. The poem, if anything, makes the social confines of puritan women obvious, but more so it shows how supportive families and close friends can be for the individual even though the society to which they belong can seem stifling with its social pressures to conform.

Bradstreet composes verse after verse praising through mourning her beloved father. Its obvious through the tone of the poem, and the phrases she uses to describe him that she respects him greatly. She writes that she knows him best, better than all these mourners proclaiming his virtues, and that she is indebted to him for her life. She feels blessed to have had his influence as a father, and rejoices in how pious a man he was. To illustrate her father's character she uses phrases like, "well known and loved, where e'er he lived by most" and "thy love to true religion e'er shall shine;" as well as "his bumble mind so loved humility"

He seems to be a very pious and godly man that was well respected in the community judging by the amount of mourners. Anne feels that she must declare she knows him best so there must have been quite the crowd. Bradstreet is in awe of the beauty of nature, and she sees god in the perfection of the tiniest part of nature. She is in awe of the detail and perfection present in the forest and landscape around her, and wonders how it all came to be. She's in deep contemplation about the origin of nature, and her surroundings. She attributes this wonder to a reflection of the mighty hand of her creator. Her religious views accentuate her reverence for nature as she ponders, "and is thy splendid throne erect so high, as to approach it, can no earthly mold? How full of glory then must thy Creator be, Who gave this bright light luster unto thee?". She attributes some parts of nature as being eternal like the omnipotence of her God as she says, "When I behold the heaves as in their prime, and then the earth (though old) still clad in green, the stones and trees, insensible of time, nor age nor wrinkle on their front are seen". Nature can be harsh and cruel, but also timelessly forgiving much like the God in which Bradstreet instills her faith. Like nature, God is timeless as a stable guiding force in Bradstreet's life, and much like nature providing nourishment for her body: her god provides sustenance for her soul.

Ann Bradstreet, through her religious upbringing and social pressures, was always taught to be humble and seek no validation for herself. Through her religious beliefs she was constantly instructed in daily life to glorify God and exemplify his virtues. It was only normal for a woman of her standing to feel that "my blushing was not small", and downplay the beautiful verse of her work as, "unfit for light". She almost borders self loathing with the amount of modesty she displays in her review of her work. Though she is slightly proud of her accomplishment enough to show friends, she feels entirely self conscious when the world at large begins to read her works. However, the few ending lines of the poem give the reader the impression that, although humble and pious, Bradstreet does enjoy the fact that she produced something worth reading and enjoys the fruits of her creation.

Ann Bradstreet's puritan religion tells her that she should want not of earthly possessions, but relish in piety and virtue while living a worldly life. She was taught not to place value in material things, but to see that, "I blest His name that gave and took, That laid my goods now in the dust. Yea, so it was, and so 'twas just. It was His own, it was not mine, Far be it that I should repine;" and to realize that if she still had her loved ones, she could rebuild. She is also reminded that her ultimate fate lies not on earth, but in her heavenly home where, "Thou hast an house on high erect, Framed by that mighty Architect, With glory richly furnished, Stands permanent though this be fled." Bradstreet believes that her God has prepared a place for her in heaven, and that even though her earthly home was destroyed, she should look not to what is in this life, but what she can embrace in the afterlife. She casts aside the worries of the world and sorrow for the loss of her house in her closing remarks, ""The world no longer let me love, My hope and treasure lies above.". She is consoled by the belief that this earthly life is not the finale of her existence, but merely the precursor to a life filled with virtue and heavenly bliss.