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Anne Bradstreet’s and Mary Rowlandson’s Poems

Pages: 1
Words: 339

Although Anne Bradstreet’s poems and Mary Rowlandson’s narrative are distinct literary works that follow different themes, they still bear certain similarities in their exploration of faith, personality growth through a tragic experience, and acceptance of the unfavorable consequences.

Rowlandson and Bradstreet both seem to perceive everything that happens to them as the part of God’s plan. For example, in “In Memory of My Dear Grandchild,” Bradstreet seems to accept the death of her grandchild because she ends up “with [her] Saviour art in endless bliss” (18). Bradstreet also asserts her love to her husband, praying that “The heavens reward [him] manifold” (“To My Dear and Loving Husband” 10). Rowlandson sees the struggles of her people as a punishment from God, believing that “God strengthened [the Indians] to be a scourge to His people.” Overall, faith and obeying God’s will are major themes in the works of both authors.

Personal growth is a prominent theme in both Bradstreet’s and Rowlandson’s respective works. For example, Rowlandson’s perception of the Indians changes after her captivity, making her challenge her Puritan stereotypes and rigid worldview. Rowlandson believes her experience made her more grounded, saying she would then “look beyond present and smaller troubles, and to be quieted under them” (151). However, the final impression on the works is different due to their genre: the flow of Rowlandson’s argument leaves the reader with the feeling of content, while Bradstreet’s conclusion might impose uncertainty.

Both authors seem to accept the inevitable of their respective situations. Rowlandson acknowledges the worldview-altering nature of her captivity by quoting David, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted” (151). Similarly, Bradstreet tries to amend the consequences of her work being stolen, saying “Yet being mine own, at length affection would // Thy blemishes amend, if so I could” (“The Author to Her Book” 11-12). In “Before the Birth of One of Her Children,” Bradstreet (5-6) is also prepared to accept death, describing it as “The sentence past is most irrevocable // A common thing, yet oh inevitable.”

Works Cited

Bradstreet, Anne. “The Author to Her Book.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature: Beginnings to 1820, Shorter 9th Edition, edited by Robert S. Levine, W.W. Norton & Company, 2017, pp. 122-123.

“Before the Birth of One of Her Children.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature: Beginnings to 1820, Shorter 9th Edition, edited by Robert S. Levine, W.W. Norton & Company, 2017, p. 124.

“To My Dear and Loving Husband.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature: Beginnings to 1820, Shorter 9th Edition, edited by Robert S. Levine, W.W. Norton & Company, 2017, pp. 123-124.

“A Letter to Her Husband, Absent upon Public Employment.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature: Beginnings to 1820, Shorter 9th Edition, edited by Robert S. Levine, W.W. Norton & Company, 2017, pp. 124-125.

“In Memory of My Dear Grandchild.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature: Beginnings to 1820, Shorter 9th Edition, edited by Robert S. Levine, W.W. Norton & Company, 2017, p. 125.

“Here Follows Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature: Beginnings to 1820, Shorter 9th Edition, edited by Robert S. Levine, W.W. Norton & Company, 2017, pp. 125-127.

Rowlandson, Mary. “A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature: Beginnings to 1820, Shorter 9th Edition, edited by Robert S. Levine, W.W. Norton & Company, 2017, pp. 132-151.