Bradstreet's Poems

1. "To My Dear and Loving Husband" by Anne Bradstreet
http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/Bradstreet/bradhyp.htm

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 persevere
That when we live no more, we may live ever.


Reaction:
It is rare that people truly mean what the say in their vows or marriage commitments. I liked this poem because I thought it showed who loved her husband regardless of the temptations that the world may offer. Often when a partner is a relationship has the oppurtunity they will abandon the other if something greater arrives. However the speaker proclaims in this poem that nothing, including treasure, could change her desire for the man she married. The speaker is sincerely grateful for her blessing from God, her husband. She begins her poem by bragging that she is far more happier than any women but then catches her humanly attitude by praising heaven for her husband. She ends her poem with reference that when they die they shall forever remain which I feel evokes a sense of serenity because it implies that their love will not only flourish on earth but in heaven as well.


Diary:

18 September

My husband has been gone now for two months on business. It kills my heart that I am not able to spend my days with him. I pray each night that he shall return safely and quickly to my arms. Friends stop buy to keep me company but they are nothing compared to my dearest. I wonder if he thinks about me as much as I think about him. I cannot wait til he returns and I am able to feel his hands in mine. He makes me happier than anyone I have ever encountered with his friendly smile and his incredible ability to make me laugh. I would give up all the treasures in the world if it meant he would never have to leave my side. I cannot wait til again I am able to feel his presence in this lonely house in which I sit. However I know that I must not sulk as I would like to because God has chosen to make me feel this way so that I will be even more grateful for his blessings.

Poetry Chart:
http://svaladepoetrycharts.blogspot.com/2008/03/anne-bradstreet_27.html



2. "The Vanity of All Wordly Things" by Anne Bradstreet
18 March, 2008. http://www.annebradstreet.com/the_vanity_of_all_worldly_things.htm

[Excerpt]:
"As he said vanity, so vain say I,
Oh! Vanity, O vain all under sky;
Where is the man can say, "Lo, I have found
On brittle earth a consolation sound"?
What isn't in honor to be set on high?
No, they like beasts and sons of men shall die,
And whilst they live, how oft doth turn their fate;
He's now a captive that was king of late.
What isn't in wealth great treasures to obtain?
No, that's but labor, anxious care, and pain.
He heaps up riches, and he heaps up sorrow,
It's his today, but who's his heir tomorrow?
What then? Content in pleasures canst thou find?
More vain than all, that's but to grasp the wind.
The sensual senses for a time they pleasure,
Meanwhile the conscience rage, who shall appease?
What isn't in beauty? No that's but a snare,
They're foul enough today, that once were fair.
What is't in flow'ring youth, or manly age?
The first is prone to vice, the last to rage.
Where is it then, in wisdom, learning, arts?
Sure if on earth, it must be in those parts;
Yet these the wisest man of men did find
But vanity, vexation of the mind"


Reaction:
Due to society's high regard for beauty and wealth, it is often forgotten that material things do not provide satiable happiness. I thought this poem did an exceptional job at conveying the vanity in which we suffer. The point of this poem is that beauty and wealth and material things consume our lives rather than virtues such as family and faith. Even today we see advertisments on television, billboards, and magazine about the latest trends but it is rare to find stories that are not centered on diet fads or get rich quick schemes. My favorite part of the poem is the line which states "But vanity, vexation of the mind". I thought this line profoundly summarized everything about vanity, that it clouds your vision to see the important things in life. Keeping in regard to the Puritan way of life, it was a sin to think of materials as wealth greater than a relationship with God. Anne Bradstreet writes this poem with a full understanding that material treasures diminish in time but God is an everlasting luxury.

Diary:

14 August

Today my sister walked with me into town. She shared with me her joyful news of her recent engagement. However as she chatters about the decorations and guests I scold her for not being appreciative of her greatest gift, her husband. As we walk past the many shops I am angered by her gawking at the dresses hanging in the windows. She should be grateful of God's blessing not anxious about how her ceremony will look. I myself own many nice things but I do not flaunt them as she does. I am content with knowing I have them to wear when I like but my poor sister insists on wearing her nicest garments all of the time. Her future husband is from a wealthy family and it makes me wonder if my sister is in love with him or his extravagances. I would miserable living with someone who I don't love but only enjoy. But I know that God must have a reason for being so naive and in time he will show her what true wealth is.

Poetry Chart:
http://svaladepoetrycharts.blogspot.com/2008/03/vanity-of-all-worldly-things.html



3. "From Contemplations" By Anne Bradstreet
http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/bradstr1.html

WHEN I behold the heavens as in their prime,
And then the earth, though old, still clad in green,
The stones and trees insensible of time,
Nor age nor wrinkle on their front are seen;
If winter come, and greenness then doth fade,
A spring returns, and they're more youthful made.
But man grows old, lies down, remains where once he's laid.
By birth more noble than those creatures all,
Yet seems by nature and by custom cursed--
No sooner born but grief and care make fall
That state obliterate he had at first;
Nor youth, nor strength, nor wisdom spring again,
Nor habitations long their names retain,
But in oblivion to the final day remain.
Shall I then praise the heavens, the trees, the earth,
Because their beauty and their strength last longer?
Shall I wish there or never to had birth,
Because they're bigger and their bodies stronger?
Nay, they shall darken, perish, fade, and die,
And when unmade so ever shall they lie;
But man was made for endless immortality."


Reaction:
In this poem Bradstreet compares the death of nature, which continuously restores itself in the spring, to the death of man, who remains dead. The relationship between man and nature is shown in this poem as the author compares and contrasts their abilities to be reborn. She states that nature does not pocess features in which to tell age in contrast to man who develops wrinkles and withering bodies. A sense of jealously is developed nature because it is blessed with an everlasting life on earth but then regains contentment by reassuring herself that she is blessed with an everlasting life with God. Overall I feel there is a sense of serenity in this poem because it does not view death harshly but rather in an enlightened state of rebirth.

Diary:

6 June

This morning I walked in the garden while the dew was still fresh. As I sat to say morning prayers I begin to ponder about the flowers. Each winter they die but in the spring they are miraculously reborn. How great it would be if men could also rebirth themselves. Once a human dies he is laid into the earth and there he shall forever lay. However flowers shrivel and dissappear into the earth but once the sun rises and the days are longer the flowers once again appear more vibrant the ever. Not only do the flowers have the ability to return to life, a gift greater than any person could imagine, but also to remain forever youthful and beautiful. In time our bodies begin to wither and we become fragile with sickness and old age. This is not the case for nature, for it retains all of its strength. I daydream about returning to earth renewed each year but I know that life would have no meaning if I was not capable of living with God when it ended. Nature is blessed but not as blessed as I for God has the ability to renew my soul in eternal life.

Poetry Charts:
http://svaladepoetrycharts.blogspot.com/2008/03/contemplations.html