How Did Anne Bradstreet's View Of Women

Anne Bradstreet, a particularly skilled writer in a time where women writers were practically unheard of, stands out for both maintaining her livelihood whilst writing poems injected with deceptive irony, and having the women in her poems act educated instead of not. She wrote in ways which both acknowledge men and their views, but also tore them apart with ironic writing and prose. This can be seen in The Prologue, beginning with Bradstreet comparing herself with many differing historical figures, but also using them to self-depreciate herself in an overly masculine view of herself. By doing so, she insulted the views and opinions rather than her own works, stabbing male prejudice with sharp irony. Anne Bradstreet wrote in an enjoyable

Her references to ancient myths and historical figures serve as examples of other writers and philosophers who did great work, but also did feats which Bradstreet repeatedly states she cannot replicate. However, throughout the poem she repeatedly makes pointed statements against women in a seemingly manly perspective, using irony to point out her own annoyances with the world. She writes, “A weak or wounded brain admits no cure” (Bradstreet 208). This is aimed towards herself as a woman, but more importantly the assumption and opinion that woman were weak in the eyes of men. Her words in the final stanza also become scathing, referencing how men think themselves far better than woman, writing, “And oh ye high flown quills that soar the sky…this mean and unrefined ore of mine will make your glist’ring gold but more shine” (Bradstreet 209). The term unrefined ore is also one to focus upon, as Bradstreet was a skilled writer in her own right. The term serves to highlight the male perspective once again, one final jab at the prejudice of her society. Her poem comes across as polite, yet it is full if various subtle critiques of the male view of the world, more specifically how men see woman and themselves in relation to