Norms and Criticism in Anne Bradstreet's Poetry

Though she was a woman, Anne Bradstreet was the first person from the British colonies to publish when her book of poetry, The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America, was published in London in 1650. While groundbreaking in that respect, her writing still follows the conventions expected of a Puritan woman in the seventeenth century. At the same time, however, her poetry also challenges assumptions placed on her as a woman in a strict religious society. Bradstreet's writing depicts and respects Puritan standards and expectations, but it also includes discussions of ideas contrary to these standards. She does this subtly in

To Her Father With Some Verses through clever wording and double meaning. She also does this overtly by facing contradictions in her own feelings. These contradictions appear side-by-side in poems such as her Prologue, and Upon the Burning of Our House, July 10th, 1666.

Puritans were separatists from the Church of England who followed the teachings of John Calvin. They believed that people were chosen by God for salvation and grace, becoming the special children of God who were protected and guided by His will, as opposed to the rest of humanity, which is totally depraved and without hope of redemption. Thus, Puritans should have an attitude of humility before God and acceptance of whatever events He chose to place in their lives. In a world dominated by men, and in a society that valued deference and knowing one's place, women, then, were even more so expected to be modest and accepting of their place. And their place was in the home, raising children, which Bradstreet did.

Bradstreet's Prologue begins in just such a meek manner. Right away in the first stanza, she reassures the reader that she will not attempt to write of epic notions such as wars or kings, "For my mean pen are too superior things: / . . . My obscure lines shall not so dim their worth" (3, 6). She goes to calls herself simple, and compares herself to a broken instrument. In the seventh stanza, she says, "Men have precendency and still excel, / It is but vain unjustly to wage war; / Men can do best, and women know it well" (38-40). Men are superior, as she knows, and she is not trying to fight this. Bradstreet closes by saying that her unrefined verse, compared to that of better poets, "Will make your glist'ring gold but more to shine" (48). She asks not for the traditional laurel, should she garner praise, but instead for thyme or parsley, in reference to the fact that she spends most of her time in the kitchen.

The Prologue introduces the rest of the poetry, and Bradstreet certainly does not set herself up to appear like much of a poet. She maintains an attitude of humility as if she is grateful just for the chance to express herself, though she knows her efforts are not worth much. Though humility is traditional of poets introducing their work, Bradstreet also includes the requisite acknowledgment of her womanhood and makes it clear that she understands that men will always be better, affirming that she is not trying to usurp anyone or ascend to a position she is unfit for. She manages to introduce her work while at the same time reassuring readers that she will maintain her place as a woman and not think of herself more highly than she ought.

To Her Father continues this awareness and acknowledgment of her place in society. The poem praises and thanks her father for shaping her, and through the imagery of money and debt, she conveys the idea that she can never repay her father for all he has done for her. Bradstreet tells him, "My stock's so small, I know not how to pay" (7). This suggests that she is quite insignificant compared to all he has given her. The notion here is that she has nothing of worth, while he is esteemed and generous and good. The man is powerful and takes care of the woman, while the woman is weak, helpless, and has nothing of value to compare with what the man has done for her.

In Bradstreet's Upon the Burning, one sees the same deference, this time before God. The poem begins with the speaker waking up to a fire and watching "The flame consume my dwelling place" (12). While witnessing this tragedy, the speaker says, "I blest His name that gave and took, / That laid my goods now in the dust. / Yea, so it was, and so 'twas just" (15-17). The speaker acknowledges that God has done this to her, has taken her house and belongings, because He is sovereign and therefore whatever happens is according to His sovereign will. Then the speaker goes further in saying that because God did it, it is just, because God is just. As the poem continues, the speaker wavers in this conviction when she remembers that "My pleasant things in ashes lie, / And them behold no more shall I" (27-28). But then the speaker quickly regroups from this "vanity," and fixes her eyes once more of heaven, where "Thou hast a house on high erect, / Framed by that mighty Architect" (43-44). As a Puritan, she is God's chosen child and He has prepared a place for her in heaven. Earthly struggles are fleeting compared to the glory that awaits. The poem ends with the speaker praising God and knowing that she does not need wealth on earth anyway, because "My hope and treasure lies above" (54).

Bradstreet illustrates Puritan attitudes clearly in this poem. She has been set apart by God and she will be in heaven one day because she has been redeemed. God was in control when her house burned down, so she praises Him and chides herself for that fleeting moment of remorse and self pity. She appropriately expresses the Puritan attitude about where she stands before God.

Though she was a woman in a religious society, Bradstreet came from a wealthy family and was well educated while growing up. She knew of the classics and referenced Greek mythology in her writing. This education allowed her a larger worldview than that of others around her who lived a more sheltered life inside the church community. Perhaps this greater perspective is the reason her work does not simply praise Puritan life, but instead also questions it. She realizes that other people and cultures think different things, such as the Greek attitude toward women.

Bradstreet's poetry expresses the attitude expected of her as a woman and as a Puritan, but it also contains a layer of meaning critical of these expectations. The Prologue is a good example of this. She spends more than half the poem disparaging herself and downplaying her skills and position, but for a couple of stanzas she breaks this pattern. Without even a transition, stanza five begins, "I am obnoxious to each carping tongue / Who says my hand a needle better fits" (25-26). Then she rues the fact that, because she is a woman, if she writes good poetry, people will think that she stole it, or that she was lucky, and no one will give credit to her skill. Bradstreet references the Greeks in the next stanza, whose goddesses of arts and sciences, the Muses, were female. The Greeks, she said, held the arts in high esteem. So why did they leave the inspiration for such a craft in the hands of females? "But sure the antique Greeks were far more mild, / Else of our sex" (31-32), she answers. Here Bradstreet questions exactly why women are assumed to lack the skills of men, since not every society believes such to the extent that her contemporary one does.

Also, not once in the entire poem does she call upon God for inspiration or mention her religion. Instead she repeatedly references the ancients, who were distinctly non-Christian in their religion. In a society that revolves around religion, this omission would be blatant, perhaps suggesting that she has other sources of thought and inspiration for her expression than just her religion.

Bradstreet layers the imagery of debt and bondage so that it contains another meaning besides gratitude in To Her Father. Though she never says anything outright, the idea that "Such is my bond, none can discharge it but I, / yet paying is not paid until I die" (13-14) also brings to mind slavery. She owes a debt to her father and she will never be free of it until death frees her. She herself, because her "stock's so small" (7), does not have the resources to even begin to pay off this debt. She vows to begin to pay it while she lives, though she admits that this is a fruitless gesture because of the enormity of the amount and her own pitiful worth. Beyond simply describing a woman's place in society, the tone seems wary of this position that the woman is forced into. Bradstreet dutifully expresses the fact that women owe men for protecting them and taking care of them. Instead of being cheered by this, however, she paints it as a confining, stifling arrangement that robs women of freedom and autonomy, and instead shoulders them with enormous burdens that leave them tied to men for life.

Bradstreet uses the same organizational pattern in Upon the Burning as she does in her Prologue. She begins by expressing the appropriate sentiments, that God is sovereign in giving and taking, and she should not complain. Then she allows a short period to digress and express the contrary sentiments before regrouping to end the poem by reaffirming what society believes and what she has been taught. In this poem, she allows herself a moment to mourn the tragedy realistically and openly. She recalls that, because she has lost her home, "Under thy roof no guest shall sit, / Nor at they table eat a bit" (29-30). She remembers the treasured things she will see no more, and the things that will now never take place in the house, such as weddings. She knows what she believes as a Puritan, but she cannot help but take a few lines to acknowledge her sadness and wonder why God would do something like this to his beloved children, though this goes against the beliefs she should cling to in a time of tragedy.

None of Bradstreet's work exclusively questions or criticizes anything. Instead, she deftly combines praise with criticism. In her Prologue, she includes a brief, two-stanza interruption to discuss the lack of credulity given to female poets before resuming her deferential mode to conclude the poem. She manages to include a complaint about the unfair assumptions made about her and questions why her society does this before quickly returning to the expected tone. The poem begins and ends appropriately with only a brief digression, which is enough to make a point but also brief and polite, and with apologies.

Upon the Burning also proceeds this way. She starts out expressing the appropriate sentimentalities, but for a short period questions God. This does not last long, and when she is through, she admits it is a sin to think like that, refocuses, and concludes in a fashion that would make any Puritan proud. She is able to include these digressions that mark a distinct turn from Puritan theology and deference because, though they are obvious in meaning and not to be missed, she also keeps these sections short and does not let them take over the poems. The inclusion of these thoughts is enough to get the reader thinking and offer a distinct contrast, but she does not linger. Also, she returns with such conviction to the original meaning that the reader would have a hard time chastising her.

To Her Father is a shorter poem, and throughout she uses imagery and words that have more than one layer of meaning. The surface meaning contrasts to the more subtle meaning that takes a reader with perhaps more cynicism or scrutiny to pick up on. Thus she is able to incorporate this into the poetry, but not in a manner that is overtly outside the mainstream. These ideas are so interwoven that they cannot be untangled, perhaps suggesting that perhaps neither perspective exists cleanly without the other. This also adds enough ambiguity to the meaning that not one interpretation dominates.

Bradstreet's poetry expresses the general assumptions about women and religion that are to be expected from a woman living in a strictly religious, Puritan society. As a well-educated woman with a larger worldview than that of someone living that sheltered, religious life, though, she was aware that these assumptions had limits. Her poetry questions these assumptions and suggests these limits. Bradstreet does this in her poems at the same time that she respects the traditional viewpoints. The appropriate, deferential themes dominate, but she does distinctly express the contrasting point of view. In her Prologue and Upon the Burning, she does this by briefly digressing and questioning, then quickly resuming and restating the appropriate norms. In To Her Father, she uses imagery that suggests being indebted to someone because of gratitude, but also suggests bondage or slavery.