I am writing this about Anne Bradstreet. She is one of the most important figures in the history of American Literature. She was born in Northampton, England and the daughter of Thomas Dudley and Dorothy Yorke. She married Simon Bradstreet in Two years later emigrated with her family to New England.
She wrote many different poems about many different things. The Bradstreet's, who had eight children, first lived in Boston. Then in 1634 moved to Ipswich and in 1644 to North Andover. Where Anne Bradstreet died on Sept. 16, She was only 44 years old.
Her poetry was first published in 1650 in London. In Several Poems Compiled with Great Variety of Wit and Learning, published in Boston in 1678, she improved the poems in the earlier volume and added new ones. A few of her poems are Prologue, The Author To Her Book, and To My Dear and Loving Husband.
Bradstreet's education gave her advantages to write with authority about politics, history, medicine, and theology. Her personal library of books was said to have numbered over 800, before many were destroyed when her home burned down. They were mostly about her husband, kids, and friends
On July 10, 1666, the Bradstreet home burned down in a fire that left the family homeless and without personal belongings for a time. Her inspirations were her husband, children, and her self. Her poems were about family and what was happening in her life at that time.
But Anne had been well tutored in literature and history in Greek, Latin, French, Hebrew, as well as English that helped her in her poems She was frequently ill which keep her going to make as many poems as she could She had seemed to only write them for her self but also her family who loved them
She had poor health She had eight children and achieved a comfortable social standing. Having been afflicted with smallpox Anne would once again fall prey to illness as paralysis took over her joints.
After the fire her health was slowly failing. She suffered from tuberculosis. Had to deal with the loss of her daughter Dorothy to illness as well Losing her son shortly afterwards.
“Youth is the time of getting, middle age of improving, and old age of spending.” It means that you have to live your life to the fullest and get the most that you can out of it “If what I do prove well, it won't advance. They'll say it's stolen, or else it was by chance.” It means that you should take a chance at every thing.
“Iron till it be thoroughly heated is incapable to be wrought; so God sees good to cast some men into the furnace of affliction, and then beats them on his anvil into what frame he pleases.” It means that you can do right and wrong thing but god will see through it “If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome” It means that it will be hard but we will be able to make it through it
Book-Spaulding, Kenneth A. "Bradstreet, Anne Dudley (c. 1612– 1672)." Encyclopedia Americana. Grolier Online, Web. 20 Dec Internet- Internet- Internet- Internet-