Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672)

The Author to her Book

1 Thou ill-form'd offspring of my feeble brain,
2 Who after birth did'st by my side remain,
3 Till snatcht from thence by friends, less wise than true,
4 Who thee abroad expos'd to public view,
5 Made thee in rags, halting to th' press to trudge,
6 Where errors were not lessened (all may judge).
7 At thy return my blushing was not small,
8 My rambling brat (in print) should mother call.
9 I cast thee by as one unfit for light,
10 Thy Visage was so irksome in my sight,
11 Yet being mine own, at length affection would
12 Thy blemishes amend, if so I could.
13 I wash'd thy face, but more defects I saw,
14 And rubbing off a spot, still made a flaw.
15 I stretcht thy joints to make thee even feet,
16 Yet still thou run'st more hobbling than is meet.
17 In better dress to trim thee was my mind,
18 But nought save home-spun Cloth, i' th' house I find.
19 In this array, 'mongst Vulgars mayst thou roam.
20 In Critics' hands, beware thou dost not come,
21 And take thy way where yet thou art not known.
22 If for thy Father askt, say, thou hadst none;
23 And for thy Mother, she alas is poor,
24 Which caus'd her thus to send thee out of door.


Reflection:

Anne Bradstreet was a small girl with a brother her took away her writings and showed them to others to embarrass her as she blushed. She tried to stop by getting to him before he told others of what he’d done to her. She thought badly about her brother for trying to embarrass her like that, but unfortunately it turned a rye for him. When she wanted others to know of her writing she needed money, but her family was not well off to be giving away the money for her to write. So for final thanks it was her brother by showing of her writing encouraged her to write more and more as to whom she thanks for bringing out the writer in her.


Dear Diary:

I am writing in secret now since one boy’s journal was found and read to the other kids on the ship and he was made fun of for like three days. The ship is much to crowded heading over seas to a new world and for my writings to be discovered. I would love to come to this new land and have all the great freedoms as the grown-ups described. Maybe the writings I have of our travel might not be so bad if others knew what really happened during the trip as we seek our American Dream.