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Anne Bradstreet's Writing: Key Features and Influence

Anne Bradstreet's early writing showcases classical poetical devices, metaphysical conceits, and a sophisticated use of wit and irony. Her work challenges traditional views on women's roles in Puritan society and explores spiritual paradoxes. Influenced by her life experiences, Bradstreet delves into topics like love, motherhood, and spirituality, reflecting both crisis and reconciliation of faith. This article delves into Bradstreet's unique literary style and the societal influences that shaped her writing.

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Anne Bradstreet's Writing: Key Features and Influence

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  1. Anne Bradstreet 1612 - 1672 Some Key Features Of Her Writing

  2. Early Writing • Classical Poetical Devices and Form • Iambic pentameter • Quatrains • References and allusions to classical cultures • Intentional variation to signify rhetorical effect or emphasis • in rhythms • syntax, • End rhymes • Extended metaphor and metaphysical conceits • In the tradition of English Metaphysical Poets Andrew Marvell and John Donne • A sophisticated use of wit and irony to explore complex spiritual paradoxes

  3. Subtext • Use of traditional poetical devices belies a non-traditional view of the role of women in Puritan society • Alternatives to the Bible for sources of authority • Literature and mythology • Mythic and historic heroines • The maternal domestic role • The use of irony to allow her to say what she could not otherwise say openly • Self-effacing apologies • A subdued confidence in her own ability to instruct and to experience life

  4. Early Influences • Dangers of living in Puritan society • Anne Hutchinson, a contemporary • Other Puritan women who did not receive her level of education • Puritan male audiences who were reading the work of a Puritan woman • An educated and literary background • European audiences who were reading the experiences of a colonist • Self-consciousness about the creation of a divergent literary tradition in the Colonies

  5. Later Influence • Life Experience • Love and Sex • Motherhood and infant mortality • Loss and disaster • Political change • Spirituality • Crisis and reconciliation of faith • Puritan role of “mother” • The increasing importance of Puritan life over her “career” as a writer (from feminist to traditionalist)

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