The Power of Love as Described in Anne Bradstreet's' Poem

What is poetry? Poetry is an artistic writing that attempts to focus a reader’s imagination and emotions. A poet who is a person creates poetry by expressing ideas in a literal sense to an audience. Anne Bradstreet was born in 1612 in Northampton shire, England and her death on 16 September 1672. Bradstreet was the first women who accomplished the New World Poet. Bradstreet did not attend to school in her life, but she received an excellent education from her father, Thomas Dudley who was a steward of Earl of Lincoln. In about 1628, Anne Bradstreet married to her husband, Simon Bradstreet, who was assistant for her father with the management of the Earl’s estate in Sempringham. Later, Bradstreet immigrated with her husband and parents in 1630 to the United States of America; in 1633, the first of her children, Samuel, was born, and her seven other children were born between 1635 and 1652. Since Bradstreet had eight children between these years, which meant that her responsibilities were extremely demanding of taking care of her children. In 1650, she began writing the poetry and she became one of the first poets to write English verse in American colonies. The poem “To My Dear and Loving Husband” is one of her famous art. The poem begins by describing the relationship between the speaker and her husband. After that, she describes how much she values her husband's love, and his love for her. Their relationship between each other are very strong even she has no idea of how she will be able to repay her husband for his love. She lived in a life that she was unable to spoke and concerns about her Puritan religious belief. Bradstreet help to change the status of women and the feminist criticism in the society of the 17th century.

“To My Dear and Loving Husband” begins by describing the speaker and her husband as one being. She describing her love to her husband is valuable, powerful, and never able to repay her husband’s love for her. She states that there are no other women who is happy as she is with her husband in the world. She is making a comparison to the other women in the world. In the poem, she said, “If ever wife was happy in a man, Compare with me ye women if you can” (3-4). She shows how strong and powerful her love with her husband to the other women in the world. She is telling the other women to be happy with their husband as she is with her husband. The speaker continues to tell about her for her husband and make a comparison to prove her love. She states, “I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold Or all the riches that the East doth hold” (5-6). She was comparing the love of her husband gave her is more important than the gold and the riches of the East. Back in the old day, when the rest of the world was being explored by the Europeans, the East was a place of wealth. She was sure of the love they had are very powerful as all the riches of the East hold that no treasures of the world can be compared to the happiness of love as she had. After comparing her love with wealth, she turns from wealth to nature and describing her love in details. She describes, “My love is such that rivers cannot quench, Nor ought but love from thee give recompense” (7-8). Her love for her husband as the rivers cannot quench it, it is not a river if there is no water. At the same time, she means that she cannot live without her husband and nothing can give her recompense instead of the love from her husband. The speaker now switches to talk about her husband’s love for her.