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LITR 4231 Early American
Literature Sample Research Posts 2014 (research post assignment) Research Post 1 |
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Tiffany Robinson
The Accidental Poet
Throughout the
course I became interested and fascinated by the heroism and intelligence of the
women from the 1600-1800s. I became
intrigued with Anne Bradstreet after reading her poem;
In Reference to her Children, which is
filled with metaphors and clever plays on words.
Anne Bradstreet became one of the first poets to write English verse in the
American Colonies, all unbeknownst to her. In 1650, her brother published her
poems without her knowledge; hence the title the accidental poet.
Educated women were not celebrated in the 1600s, yet Anne Bradstreet
became an exception to the rule, partly due to her family publishing her first
work under a male name in order to protect her from persecution.
Writing poetry was considered a major offense during this time because it
was considered a creative work, and the Puritans believed that only God was
capable of creation (J. Kranzberg).
What was it about
Anne Bradstreet’s poems, which created such a debate between both feminist and
anti-feminist? Being that her first
collection of work was published without her knowledge, Bradstreet had no intent
of having the public read and scrutinizes her thoughts, yet they read as though
that is the purpose. If Bradstreet’s poems
were not meant for the public, what motivated her to write?
In my quest for knowledge, I began researching articles that analyzed
Bradstreet’s literary works and provided insight as to their true meanings.
The article: Anne Bradstreet’s Feminist Functionalism in the Tenth Muse; by
Tamara Harvey, explored Bradstreet’s first poem in the book entitled;
The Prologue. This poem generated a
lot of controversy and ignited literary debates.
The article applauds Bradstreet for her clever way of "masquerading" her
focus while remaining true to her beliefs. Despite the ironic tone and female
empowerment throughout the poem, Bradstreet is careful to not step on any toes.
The Prologue is a written declaration
of Bradstreet’s take on the war between feminist and anti-feminist.
She speaks up for womankind, while apologizing for it at the same time.
The article comments on how Bradstreet plays both sides of the argument and
“invites both male and female champions,” this style of writing kept Bradstreet
under the radar, whereas other female writers of this time were not as
fortunate.
Bradstreet was a
very religious woman and throughout her poems she refers to and speaks to God.
I came across an article by Julie Kranzberg, which writes about
Bradstreet being a “Godly Feminist” and using her work as a way to attest to
God. Kranzberg wrote how “Bradstreet took
her faith to a very extreme level, which challenges the notion of Bradstreet
being a feminist.” Bradstreet believed that everything that happened in life was
God’s will. Even when her house was burned to the ground, Bradstreet used her
poetry to thank God for seeing her through.
In the poem; The Burning of our House, Bradstreet writes: “And to my God my heart
did cry/ To strengthen me in my distress/…Yea, so it was, and so ‘twas just./ It
was His own, it was not mine” Kranzberg
believes that in spite of her opinions about feminism and women’s rights,
“Bradstreet adopted the strict teachings of religion from the Puritans who ruled
her everyday life.” According to the
article; Bradstreet faithfully followed a very male-dominant religion
and “living in a harsh Puritan society most likely intimidated Bradstreet,"
which caused her to “carefully weave her feministic thoughts into her poems and
stories so that they weren’t too apparent.”
In my research I
found an article in Harvard Magazine that claims Anne Bradstreet, may have had
an inkling that her brother in-law intended on publishing her work and it was
all set up that way. Bradstreet
wrote about what she knew; her family, God, and women’s rights, these were the
things that motivated her writing and have kept readers debating the meaning of
her poems.
Works Cited
Harvey, T. (2000). Anne Bradstreet's feminist functionalism in the tenth muse.
Early American Literature, 35,
http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/texts/AmClassics/puritans/Bradstreet/bradsndx.htm
http://ayjw.org/articles.php?id=570193
http://harvardmagazine.com/2005/05/anne-bradstreet.html
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