1. 1612-1672 Elements of Literature 5th Course
Anne Bradstreet
Elements of Literature 5th Course

2. Anne Bradstreet was a teenage bride who would be one of the first American poets. Heavily influenced by Shakespeare, (who was alive when she was born) Anne used him as well as other notable poets to help mold her own style of writing.

3. Born into a family of Puritans, Anne was married at the age of sixteen
to a young Puritan man named Simon Bradstreet. Simon and Anne had four sons and four daughters.

4. Anne was a busy mother who found time to write for her own personal enjoyment. Anne’s brother-in-law, John Woodbridge, went to England in 1648 and published Anne’s work without her knowledge. Woodbridge published her work under the title The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America.

5. Anne was mortified at the publicity, but the work fared well among the critics. Even the strict Puritan minister, Cotton Mather, praised her work. Encouraged, Anne wrote for the rest of her life.
Today, Anne is remembered for her personal lyrics that deal with the birth of children, the death of grandchildren, and her love for her husband.

6. To My Dear and Loving Husband
If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were loved 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 recompense.
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 persever,
That when we live no more, we may live ever.