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Anne Bradstreet

Anne Bradstreet. America’s first (woman) poet. Anne Bradstreet. Born Anne Dudley in 1612 Father was a steward for the Earl of Lincoln, and a Puritan leader. She did not attend school, but she did have private tutors and access to her father’s library.

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Anne Bradstreet

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  1. Anne Bradstreet America’s first (woman) poet

  2. Anne Bradstreet • Born Anne Dudley in 1612 • Father was a steward for the Earl of Lincoln, and a Puritan leader. • She did not attend school, but she did have private tutors and access to her father’s library. • Her father also played an active role in teaching her, helping her pursue things about which she was curious. • For a woman in that time period, she was very well educated.

  3. Anne Bradstreet • At 16, she married Simon Bradstreet. • 1630, she sailed to America with her family as part of the “great migration” of Puritans. • Her father served as Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony off an on from 1634 to 1650. • Her husband also was governor from 1679-1686.

  4. Anne Bradstreet • Her trip aboard the Arbella was a rough one, bad weather and disease caused a number of passengers to die. • She was unprepared for this kind of hardship and tragedy. • Living conditions in Massachusetts were equally harsh and challenging.

  5. Anne Bradstreet • Her brother, Rev. John Woodbridge, carried a collection of some of her poems with him back to England without her knowledge – he had copied them when she wasn’t looking. • He published this collection in 1650 without her approval in an attempt to show that a godly and educated woman could elevate the position held by a wife and mother, without necessarily placing her in competition with men. • She added poems, and edited a second edition, making her also one of the world’s first feminist authors.

  6. Anne Bradstreet • She suffered a number of personal hardships and illnesses in her life: • Smallpox – twice. • Paralysis of the joints – arthritis? • Her sister was rejected by her husband and excommunicated from the church. • Her house burned down, costing her family all of its worldly possessions. • Dorothy, her daughter, died. • Tuberculosis – eventually killed her in 1672.

  7. Anne Bradstreet • Although she survived many difficulties, they caused her to turn inward, and toward religion, to cope. • She wrote poetry mostly when her husband was absent on business. • She typically wrote using religious, historical, and domestic themes. • Her poems reflect a mixture of intellect, strength, and a woman comfortable with her lower position in Puritan society. • Some of her final poems expressed her belief in the worth and ability of women, a topic that was very controversial in her culture.

  8. Anne Bradstreet • In 1678 her self-revised book Several Poems Compiled with Great Variety of Wit and Learning was posthumously published in America, including one of her most famous poems, "To My Dear and Loving Husband."

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