In the past I have read Anne Bradstreet’s poem “The Author
to Her Book,” but I have analyzed the poem with the conception that Bradstreet
is writing about the publication of her poetry. Of course, I should know by now
that works by great writers such as Bradstreet should never be looked at with
a narrow view. Re-reading the poem for
what feels like the hundredth time in my college English career, but under a
new scope, one that looks at how gender and sexuality play a role, is different and needless to say a little eye opening. Looking at
the poem now I can see how it is heavily feminized. The author has a
relationship with her work as if she gave birth to and mothered it, a feeling
only a woman would know: “Who after birth didst by my side remain.” However, the
speaker is not completely naive and gentle concerning her “ill-formed offspring”
and acknowledges its faults and blemishes. Yet, even after these problems are revealed she
still is positioned as the one with the most affection towards it (the way a
woman stereotypically would be), “Thy blemishes amend, if so I could,” as
opposed to the masculine figures in the poem that seem to be the primary causes
for the “blemishes” coming to light. Overall, looking at the poem with a
different critical outlook, particularly one that looks at the work as highly feminized, leads me to wonder what else could be delved from the poem.
I also have read this poem a few times as well, but this is the first time I looked at it through a feminist/sexual lens. I have had Dr. Hanrahan before, so I knew the child/book analogy. This time I started looking into the details. I agree that this can be argued as a feminist text or against. As we discussed in class, Bradstreet is illustrating that she is the mother to her book, which was the one thing women were supposed to do during this time period. Bradstreet does not like her child, but she takes care of it (domestic). She accepts that it is her creation.
ReplyDeleteChloe and Kristen make some good points. I think the new insights that come from reading a poem from different perspectives in which something previously not seen is teased out is a characteristic of great literature. There is always more than meets the eye at first glance. The deeper we look the more there is to discover.
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