rior to “The Author to Her Book”, Anne Bradstreet exploits the fact that she is determined that her work needs polishing as she receives tremendous of atrocious comments from her family and other close friends. The purpose of the poem was to show the author’s bitter emotions during that time. By using similes to portray the comparison between a child and her poems, Bradstreet successfully reveals that she dislikes her work because of all the hate she gets. Throughout the poem, Bradstreet used simile by comparing her writing to a child because it is amature. She identified her work as an “ill-formed offspring” because it involves an abundance of flaws (Bradstreet 1). She makes that reference because when she publishes her work, she feels as
Her use of imagery paints a picture for the readers which ultimately helps to make learning the writing process easier. For example, when she says “the critics would be sitting on my shoulders, commenting like cartoon characters”, this creates a humorous and memorable image of shoulder sized critics (Lamott 469). This step in the process is unusual from what other authors say, yet it’s interesting which engages the reader. Lamott also uses similes and metaphors throughout the essay to explain what it is like for most struggling writers. She states “we all often feel like we are pulling teeth” when it comes to constructing and composing a piece of work (Lamott 468).
The tone in Bradstreet’s poem is another important literary device. The tone changes multiple times from, shocked to whiney, and finally to accepting. Bradstreet’s personality grows throughout this poem, as she comes to realize that God doesn’t give you anything you can’t handle. The first three stanzas show that Bradstreet is shocked to wake up and see that her house is burning down, she is also in awe and called to God saying, “I starting up, the light did spy,/ And to my God my heart did cry” (7-8).
By using easily understood English and short sentences, Tan is humbling herself before her audience and makes the text immediately intimate. It is a text that her mother could comprehend and read with ease. To allow the readers to connect to her story even further, Tan quotes her mother in her broken English. This shows the reader how difficult it can be to understand Tan's mother's English and how different it is from the English Tan has learned through formal
Anne Bradstreet, a particularly skilled writer in a time where woman writers were practically unheard of, stands out for both maintaining her livelihood whilst writing poems injected with deceptive irony, and having the woman in her poems act educated instead of not. She wrote in ways which acknowledged the power men had, but also wrote of how woman can do their own will as well. The Prologue can be seen as this, beginning with Bradstreet saying her words do not harm those before her, going on to point out ways in which men have the advantage over woman, but ending it skillfully, basically pointing out how woman, while dull, still make men seem brighter in comparison. This may seem like a praise for men alone, but by pointing out the worth
The vivid imagery contrasts considerably with the speaker’s identity, highlighting the discrepancy between her imagined and true personas. The speaker undergoes a symbolic transformation into a boy, but in order to do so, she must cast away her defining features as a woman. One way she does this is by repositioning
Anne is very conscious of her word choice and uses words and sentences with very strong connotations
The poem Dusting by Julia Alverez relays several ideas to the reader. It begins by describing a young child going about a house and writing their name on the furniture. The child 's mother follows behind her and, in the process of dusting, incidentally erases the writing. While this poem may seem superficial from a quick reading, it not only reflects some aspects of Alverez’s childhood, but it also reveals some thought provoking questions. In Dusting, through making an analogy to a relationship between a mother and her child, Julia Alvarez demonstrates her desire to break away from traditional or cultural expectations, express her individuality, be well-known, and, ultimately, she makes an important point about life.
Some poems are lengthy, and some poems can be very short, however when analyzed, they all express a deeper message. For example, when examining the poem, "The Changeling," by Judith Ortiz Cofer, the reader can easily spot the important message which the author is trying to reveal to the reader through the use of poetic devices. When closely reading this poem, the language and the terminology applied by Cofer enhances the readers ability to make connections between the theme of this poem and how it can be applied to real world scenarios. The poetic devices incorporated into the poem, "The Changeling," reflect on how young children interpret gender roles in their own way.
Throughout the poem, the speaker’s mother seems to be upset. The poems tone shifts when the speaker begins to talk about themselves. The speaker talks down on herself. The speakers states, “I will turn out bad”(31). From this, viewers can assume that the poems tone is unsatisfied.
As well as comparing the child to nature on how trees over time will rot, and that her absence is like a vacant spot were a flower should be. In the second poem, Bradstreet writes as if she is more shaken and broken. She uses symbols of things that are easily broken. Much like glass and bubbles in her writing.
Bradstreet in this poem solely blames herself for the failure of her offspring, even claiming it has no father to take away any criticism of her husband: “If for thy father asked, say thou hadst none” (l. 23). One could argue Bradstreet pre-empts critics by already stating all the flaws in the poetry and her desperate attempt to correct those flaws. Although she may gain
Literary Assignment 1 to 4 Name of Course Moderator Name of Organization Answers to Tasks 1 to 4 Name of Student Date of Submission Word Count: 1300 Task 1 In the poem ‘Memory of My Grandchild’ Anne Bradstreet in the line ‘farewell dear babe, my heart’s too much content…; is a line in the poem which is perhaps the most difficult to interpret as human emotions especially the love and the possessiveness of a grandmother for her grandchild can only be fully understood by someone who is a grand -parent. This line is the explosion of a pent up feeling of hopelessness as she was her grandchild though illness and wondered why God did not take her and take her grandchild in front of her eye. She had unshakeable faith in God which
This piece is a very bold and Anne compared this piece to Guillaume DuBartas whose work was very popular for the Puritans for the wide spread of Christian History. Bradstreet had 8 children and many of her poems were written to her children. Bradstreet also wrote poems about her children. To My Dear Children “This book by any yet unread, I leave for you when I am dead, that being gone, here you may find what was your living mother’s mind. Make sure of what I leave in love, and God shall bless you from above” (Baym, 2013, Pg. 123).
The narrator describes the conflict she has with her parents, how her life has never been easy and how her parent criticize every decision she makes. She is not a confident person, because she almost never takes decision for herself. She is always following her parents wishes without expressing what she really wants. The narrator points out how sometimes her parents feel disappoint of her for leaving school and not going to law school as they want. She also mentions how difficult is for her to deal with the fact that “We are the first generation and
When looking at The Author to Her Book we can appreciate Anne Bradstreet on a personal level. This understanding happens by the way she views her own work, which was presumably published without her consent. Bradstreet refers to the book as her “child” that was snatched. Therefore, was not fully grown when it was sent off into the world, and even calls it “ill-form’d” and “irksome” to her sight. Yet, Bradstreet is truly attached to her work since she wants to fix its flaws, and seriously wishes she could.