Anne+Bradstreet

Before the Birth of One of her Children

 * correlation:** Anne Bradstreet lived in the mid 1600s and had eight children, which wasn't completely abnormal in this time period. This poem was written to her husband as she was pregnant with her eighth child. Anne wasn't sure if she was going to survive after having her new baby so she wanted to let her husband know how she felt about him and what he should do after her death. The central theme is honor and grieving which she specifically states in the 26th and 19th lines of the poem.

She starts off the poem by letting him know that her world is dying and even though she is bringing a new baby into the world that it will be a sad occasion because she will die. She then says that she loves her friends and most of all her husband; and even though their ties are so strong there is nothing she can do to fight off death. Then she says that she will lose her lot, or destiny, and by her lot she means her husband. Neither her or her husband know what the real outcome will be but she still feels obligated to write this letter; and when she dies she will not be his any more but God's. She then goes on to say that if she dies that she has only lived part of her life and that she wants the years that she should have lived to be added on to her husbands lifetime. She wants her husband to forget about her faults and bury them with her in her grave. If she did any that made her worthy of remembering to have it live freshly in his memory. After she is dead and gone and he is finished grieving he should still remember her because she layed in his arms for many years. She then wants him to look at their children who are her dear remains and know that it is okay to love another woman as long as she protects their children. And if by chance he reads this letter to be sad and honor her for it will be the last object he will have to remember her by.

To Her Father with Some Verses

 * Correlation:** This poem is to Anne's father and the main idea is that she is trying to thank him for all that he has done for her. She explicitly states this in the poem when she says "Such is my debt I may not say forgive, But as i can, I'll pay it while I live". This is also clearly connected to the author as she has written the poem for her father. It does not state it in the poem but in her time fathers were greatly honored and respected. The piece does however, show that she honored her father in just the first line. " Most truly honoured, and as truly dear".

She starts off the poem by saying that she honors her father and that she has his good attributes and qualities. Now she starts to use financial terms to describe her fathers love. He has given her a lot of love which is the principal and a great sum, but if she handles it badly it amounts to nothing. She then says that her stock, or her attempts to give thanks, are so small that she doesn't know how to repay him. She is still in his debt to this day yet take this poem as partial payment. She is so far in debt that she cannot pay him back but she will try to do so as long as she lives. Nobody can help her or whipe away her payments but her, but she will not be done repaying til the days she dies.

Reflection:
I felt in both poems Anne Bradstreet used her deepest and most heartfelt emotions and put them onto paper. I can relate to the second poem because I am in debt to my mom like the author is in debt to her dad. My mom does everything for me and I will never be able to repay her. I liked how the author used money and financial terms as metaphors to describe her love and thankfulness towards her father; I thought it was unique but still expressed her emotions as greatly as she wanted. The first poem expressed her powerful love for her husband. She explained that if she would die giving birth to their eighth child that he should try and move on but always remeber her as the mother of their kids and his true love. The poem is hard to connect to because there aren't too many couples that have as many kids as Anne had and then be able to have such an eloquent way with words.