Anne Bradstreet and Her Poetry - Book Report/Review Example

Topic: Literature I. Anne Bradstreet and Her Poetry Anne Bradstreet was a young Englishwoman emerged as the New World's first female poet when she and her family immigrated to Massachusetts in the late part of 1620. There, she built and raised a family inspite of hardships and struggle. As member of the Puritans, her father and husband joined a group of men to protect the Puritan values and establish their own society in a new land. To run away from church persecution, they came to America (Gonzales, 2000). In her poetry, you can see the emotions in her lines towards her writing that wer criticized that she stole ideas from men. It was upheld then that women held the lesser position in a society, thereby, losing the right to assert their intelligence and strength of pen. She was bothered by cultural bias that was common during her time. Her role as a female writer was underrated. The publication of "The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America" was release with an assurance that Bradstreet did not neglect her duties as a Puritan and she had to give essential time for sleep and relaxation to fulfill her poetry. In her work, The Prologue, Bradstreet's feelings towards criticism was expressed, such as: I am obnoxious to each carping tongue' Who says my hand a needle better fits;' A poet's pen all scorn I should thus wrong, For such despite they cast on female wits. If what I do prove well, it won't advance; They'll say it's stol'n, or else it was by chance. The Prologue portrays the struggles of being a woman in a Puritan society. Bradstreet acknowledged her position in the society even if she was opposed to it. With the line "Men can do best, and women know it well," Anne was trying to stress the superiority of men in that time. But it seemed evident that she was just being honest and true to her feelings. Anne Bradstreet has written varied and extensive topics such as themes like nature, religion, culture, family, death and history. Most of the poems of Bradstreet's were quite conventional in style and form, and dealt with history and politics. Bradstreet wrote of the 1642 uprising of Puritans led by Cromwell in one poem and then she praised accomplishment of Queen Elizabeth in another. Anne Bradstreet's insight and wisdom has influenced the literary community not only in her time but also the present. Her statement, "authority without wisdom is like a heavy axe without an edge, fitter to bruise than polish," is not only applied in England and America in her time but continues to inspire to stir cultural and political views around the world. Puritans are known for having strong faith and upholding their principles and belief as they should be. This strength held over by their laws and customs. They believe that God was at the forefront of their minds, and was to motivate their actions. As in the case of Bradstreet who was in most ways very Puritan. Her poems reflect her submission to the Church, dealing fairly with material loss against the eternal rewards of God. This is shown in one of her poems stating the actual event that happened in her family. She also wrote about her possible death and the birth of one of her children. And she believed that these life experiences are a lesson to learn from God. Having a cultural bias toward women, the Puritan doctrine repressed the role of women in society. It had an imbalanced view of women whose rightful place was at home mending clothes and taking care of children. At that time, women were looked down as inferior race, having less incapable to think like men and to write like intellectual men do. And this was true even outside the Puritan religion. The Puritan law also limits the expression of love between husband and wife so as not to distract from their devotion to God. Hereby, Bradstreet subtly referred to the role of women in her many poems in defense to the capabilities of women in society. She accepted, however, the Puritan definition of proper roles of men and women, though asking for more acceptances of women's accomplishments. Hereby it says: "Let Greeks be Greeks, and Women what they are Men have presidency and still excel; It is but vain unjustly to wage war. Men can do best, and women know it well, Preeminence in all and each is yours; Yet grant some small acknowledgment of ours." II. The Odyssey In Greek Mythology, the Cyclopes were one-eyed Titans who forged thunderbolts for Zeus. Odysseus and part of his crew were trapped by the Cyclops Polyphemus, who ate some of his comrades, and promised Odysseus to eat him last as a reward for the wine he had received from him. The cave's entrance had a boulder that only the Cyclops could lift. With much cleverness in his mind, he couldn't kill the Cyclops while he slept. Instead Odysseus and his men sharpened a pole and used it to strike his eye. Then they escaped. Odysseus was considered the cleverest hero. He often found solutions for important problems. He had mentioned to Polyphemus that his name was "Nobody." When he and his men stroke Polyphemus' eye by the weapon, the giant burst into cry that woke the other Cyclops up and learned that "Nobody" had blinded him. The Cyclops went back to sleep thinking that Polyphemus had finally gone crazy. Such a clever move always made ways for Odysseus (Mythology Book Notes Summary, Part 4). The Laestrygonians The Laestrygonians were a race of giant cannibals that live in the city of Telepylus on an island that appears to be roughly shaped like a horseshoe. All the other ships with Odysseus sail into the harbor where the water is calmer except for Odysseus. Upon the invitation of a woman, Odysseus men went out to check the island and came upon to see the woman's mother who shouted for king Antiphates. The king appeared and grabbed one of the crew and devoured him. The other men tried to escape but Antiphates called up to his fellow cannibals and started throwing rocks down at the ships and ambushed the men with spears. Only Odysseus, who has kept his ship out of the harbor, managed to survive with his crew. Journey to the Underworld When it was time for Odysseus to leave, Circe told him to find the shadow of the dead seer Tiresias down in Hades. Circe had held Odysseus and his crew captive on the isle. She advised him to sail to Hades and there sacrifice a black ram and drained the blood into the earth. This summoned the dead spirits who wanted to drink the blood. Odysseus kept them back with his sword, and only let Tiresias drink then advised him how to get home. When he would reach the island of Thrinacea, Odysseus must not touch the herds of Helios as warned by Tiresias. If he did, he would find misery at home where suitors flocked his palace. Then he would kill them, take an oar on his shoulder and make a sacrifice to the god of sea. Only then he could reach peace and happiness in his old age and meet dead at peace (Greek Mythology Link, 1997). Odysseus met his mother, Agamemnon, Achilles, Aias plus other heroes and famous women. Indeed, many shades grasp at him probably in a desperate attempt to express their anguish and reach out to life. Odysseus comes to terms with the reality of death realizing how immortality is lived in Hades or in the underworld. Thereby, he is no longer attracted to the offer of Calypso on immortality.' ' ' . Sources: 1. Gonzales, Ramon. "Anne Bradstreet, 1612-1672." Student University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Updated May 11, 2000. 2. An Analysis of Anne Bradstreet's "The Prologue". OPPAPERS.COM 3. Lewis, Jone Johnson. "Anne Bradstreet, Women's History." 4. Mythology Book Notes Summary, Part 4, Chapter 3: "The Adventures of Odysseus Mythology from BookRags Book Notes." '2000-2009 by BookRags, Inc. 5. Parada, Carlos. "Greek Mythology Link." Genealogical Guide to Greek Mythology Copyright ' 1997. 6. Butler, Samuel. "The Odyssey by Homer." Greek Mythology.Com. Read More