LITR 5535 American Romanticism UHCL 2006 student poetry presentation

Anne Bradstreet was born in Northampton, England, in 1612. At the age of 16, Anne married Simon Bradstreet. Anne and her family then immigrated to America in 1630. The ship, the Arabella, was one of the first ships to bring Puritans to New England in hopes of setting up plantation colonies. Anne Bradstreet began to write poetry once in America, but her works were kept private because during this time, it was frowned upon for women to pursue intellectual enlightenment. She wrote for herself, her family, and close circle of educated friends, and did not intend on publication. Anne Bradstreet's poetry was mostly based on her life experience, and her love for her husband and family. Anne Bradstreet passed away on September 16, 1672, in Andover, Massachusetts, at the age 60 from severe tuberculosis.

If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were lov'd by wife, then thee.
If ever wife was happy in a man,
Compare with me, ye women, if you can.
I prize thy love more than whole Mines of gold
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that Rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee give recompetence.
Thy love is such I can no way repay.
The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.
Then while we live, in love let's so persevere
That when we live no more, we may live ever.

Obj. 1a: The Romantic Spirit “…the quest or journey of the romantic narrative involves crossing physical borders or transgressing social or psychological boundaries in order to attain or regain some transcendent goal or dream.”

Besides the idea of overcoming obstacles and trepidations to gain access to heaven, what are aspects of the poem hint at romantic ideas?

Obj. 1b: The Romantic Period “To observe predictive elements in “pre-Romantic” writings from earlier periods such as “The Seventeenth Century” and the "Age of Reason."

Anne Bradstreet lived during a period where the Puritan way of life was the ideal. In what ways does she remain with Puritan ideal about women and their way of life? In what way does she rebel the Puritan way of Life and begin attempts at the Romantic ideal?

Obj. 2: American Romanticism exposes competing or complementary dimensions of the American identity: is America a culture of sensory and material gratification or moral, spiritual, idealistic mission?

Bradstreet compares her love for her husband as being more than “Mines of gold” and “all the riches that the East doth hold.” Bradstreet is using the imagery of physical wealth and ownership to represent her and her husband’s emotional love? How does this conflict with the religious ideals of the Puritans? How does this fit in with Romantic ideals?