Anne Bradstreet

The history of America is recorded in numerous artifacts of culture. One can make judgments about the past from visiting a museum, reading a history textbook or a piece of historical fiction, watching a film, or listening to a teacher. These are all valid resources for learning about history, but one of the most interesting ways is to critically read a piece of literature from a period in order to learn about the people of that time’s culture and values. It allows every reader to actively participate as a historian when they evaluate a text. Two of Anne Bradstreet’s poems serve as perfect examples of this type of reading for history. The poems “In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Elizabeth Bradstreet, Who Deceased August, 1665, Being a Year and a Half Old” and “Here Follows Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House July 10th, 1666 Copied Out of a Loose Paper” can both be used to investigate a variety of issues about life in the 1600’s. The poems can be used to reveal a vast quantity of information from a wide variety of topics. Closely reading Bradstreet’s poetry reveals a wealth of information.

Reading “In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Elizabeth Bradstreet, Who Deceased August, 1665, Being a Year and a Half Old” unveils a large amount of information. The title of the poem displays that poetry was considered a serious art form due to the fact that the poem is about a very serious matter and not merely trifles. The title also reveals to the reader an exact year in order to pinpoint the time being studied. The title shows that people of the time had relatively close families because the poem is about a person mourning over a young grandchild. The actual poem shows that the people of the time equate the cycles present in nature to the cycle of human life. This is evidenced in the second stanza, which discusses the rotting of trees at old age, and the death of young buds. This stanza is meant to be an extended metaphor comparing human existence to the life of plants. The use of such a metaphor in the poem displays that poets in the 1600’s were sophisticated in their use of language. The poem illustrates the people of Anne Bradstreet’s religious community’s view of the role of God in their lives. The line “Is by His hand alone that guides nature and fate.” shows that their view of God was one who directly intervenes in human life and guides not only every occurrence in nature, but all happenings in the life of humans.

Not only can the examination of the content of the poem be used as a resource, but a study in the form and structure of the poem can be used as well. The poem “In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Elizabeth Bradstreet, Who Deceased August, 1665, Being a Year and a Half Old” has a very interesting structure. It is a sonnet, and is written in iambic pentameter. It has a solid rhyme scheme of A-B-A-B-C-C-C. The high structure of the poem reveals that poetry in the 1600’s was a serious and widely read art form. Such a highly structuralized poem can only come from a poet’s numerous readings of other works. Since the writer of this poem was a woman, this structure also reveals that at least some women were extremely educated. Artistic devices were used in works of this time, as well. This is evidenced by the previously mentioned extended metaphor, alliteration in line 5 and repetition of the word farewell in lines 1-3 and the word babe in lines 1 and 2. All of these elements paint a picture of highly stylized writing of poetry in the 1600’s, which reveal its function as a very serious art form.

“Here Follows Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House July 10th, 1666 Copied Out of a Loose Paper” is another great resource for learning about the culture of the 1600’s. Once again, the title immediately reveals the year the work is focusing on. It is similarly a reflection on a personal experience and is very literal and serious in nature. This poem gives strong images of the dominant religious views of the time. The narrator’s first reaction to the fire in line 8 is “And to my God my heart did cry/To strengthen me in my distress.” This line shows the narrator’s viewpoint that God is always present and active in a human’s life. Lines 14 and 17 illustrate the Christian belief towards ownership of material possessions. The narrator speaks of how God is the one who “gave and took” in 14 and how her possessions were God’s and not hers in line 17.

The lines from line 36 to the end of the poem reveal the most about the narrator’s faith. The lines are a complete change in tone in the poem, and show how the narrator feels guilty about placing such a high value on her material possessions when her true wealth is in Heaven. This reveals that the dominant religious belief was that life was to be lived in order to gain admittance to Heaven. It shows that happiness on Earth is not as important as happiness in the next life.