Anne Bradstreet, Puritan Poet

During America's colonial days, imaginative fiction was not popular. Sermons, histories, and diaries abounded, but the harsh conditions and the Puritan culture did not encourage poetry and fiction. Anne Bradstreet was the exception: she was the first significant American poet. She was born in England in 1612 but came to American in 1630. She and her husband Simon had eight children and were instrumental in founding Harvard College. Anne's poetry was highly regarded on both sides of the Atlantic. She wrote frequently about her Puritan faith, her children, events in her life, historical figures, and her love for her husband. 

Many famous Americans can trace their ancestry back to Anne Bradstreet, including Herbert Hoover, Oliver Wendell Holmes (Sr. and Jr.), David Souter, and John Kerry. 

The poem below is her most famous. 

To My Dear and Loving Husband by Anne Bradstreet

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

For your blog post, do any of the following: 

What literary techniques do you notice in this poem? Can you see any Puritan influences? What is the theme? 

Does this poem remind you of any other famous poems? Find one to compare. 

Google Anne Bradstreet to find other examples of her poetry. Paste a section in your post and comment on it. 

If you like, focus on the lack of imaginative literature in early America. This lack continued through the American 

Revolution.