Response to Anne Bradstreet

Anne Bradstreet has a many writings for which she is famous for and many of her inspirations came from her things she lived with or went through in her life. She was inspired by religious experiences, lack of women rights, living conditions, and even her husband. He, her husband, was always away from home on long trips because he was the assistant to her father who was a steward of Earl of Lincoln. In the poem, “To My Dear and Loving Husband”, she expresses her endless love for him (her husband) through her word choice and style of writing. This allows her to show her husband how she feels from a creative style of writing.

The first thing you notice about her style of writing is that it is of the old English and written in a way of Shakespeare. This style gives a certain effect on the love poem making it filled with more passion than a poem written regularly or in terms used in standard English( of that time). It might make the poem less colorful and fuller in meaning and expressing one’s self in a martial relationship. To represent the longing and waiting for her husband to come home from the long travels, she uses old words the same she uses the writing style, as a ways of communicating more effectively and as for her husband more romantically.

The word choice that she used showed more of a reflection of her even though she wrote this on the thought her dear beloved husband.She uses words like “thee” and “ye” when she is talking about or comparing the love she has for her husband. It also reminds you have someone of great status or is greatly respect by someone. It is also, as if someone has earned a special title or of importance. It probably symbolized the importance of the relationship more than anything else between them. For example, she says, “I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold or all the riches that the East doth hold”. She uses these old terms to make a comparison of her love for her husband, somewhat like a metaphor. She seems as if she would give a lot to be with the love of her life and willing to sacrifice anything that she probably doesn’t have already or never have( like wealth). It is amazing to see a woman of her time write something so meaningful to her husband.

The poem seems like it will always be the classic love poem, always full of meaning and profound love.