Comparing Anne Bradstreet's Poem 'To My Dear And Loving'
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Detra Damskov
Instructor Kym Snelling
American Literature I
December 17, 2014 To My Dear and Loving Husband : A Secular and Spiritual Writing Anne Bradstreet’s poem,
To My Dear and Loving Husband
, reveals and strengthens the connection the speaker innately feels between her Puritan and secular life. The speaker, and presumably Bradstreet herself, do not seem to differentiate between earthly and Godly experiences, but instead see them as intrinsically intertwined, and essential to the relationship between human beings and God. Bradstreet expresses this notion by entwining her words of affection for her husband with that of biblical scripture. This technique not only elevates the earthly love she has for her husband to that of a divine calling, but also expresses a deeper …show more content…
She writes, “If ever two were one, then surely we”. The Gospel of Mark, which all puritans would be familiar with calls man to leave his parents and become one with his wife saying, “So they are no longer two, but one flesh” (NIV). Amongst the Puritan community, marriage was a sacred union and husbands and wives were expected to follow biblical teachings concerning the love between a man and a
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woman. This spousal love was meant to point beyond itself to the glory of God and serve to be a living example of God’s love for the church and its members. With this first line, Bradstreet sets the stage to express this poem’s consistent theme depicting the speaker’s deep love for her husband as something ordained by God, serving to emulate God’s deep love for his children.
Later in this poem, Bradstreet writes, “My love is such that rivers cannot quench”. Again
Bradstreet is on the surface, expressing her love and desire for her husband, while referencing
Solomon’s Song of Songs verse 8:7, “Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away” (NIV). Solomon’s Song of Songs is biblical poetry describing Christ’s love and
Detra Damskov
Instructor Kym Snelling
American Literature I
December 17, 2014 To My Dear and Loving Husband : A Secular and Spiritual Writing Anne Bradstreet’s poem,
To My Dear and Loving Husband
, reveals and strengthens the connection the speaker innately feels between her Puritan and secular life. The speaker, and presumably Bradstreet herself, do not seem to differentiate between earthly and Godly experiences, but instead see them as intrinsically intertwined, and essential to the relationship between human beings and God. Bradstreet expresses this notion by entwining her words of affection for her husband with that of biblical scripture. This technique not only elevates the earthly love she has for her husband to that of a divine calling, but also expresses a deeper …show more content…
She writes, “If ever two were one, then surely we”. The Gospel of Mark, which all puritans would be familiar with calls man to leave his parents and become one with his wife saying, “So they are no longer two, but one flesh” (NIV). Amongst the Puritan community, marriage was a sacred union and husbands and wives were expected to follow biblical teachings concerning the love between a man and a
Damskov 2
woman. This spousal love was meant to point beyond itself to the glory of God and serve to be a living example of God’s love for the church and its members. With this first line, Bradstreet sets the stage to express this poem’s consistent theme depicting the speaker’s deep love for her husband as something ordained by God, serving to emulate God’s deep love for his children.
Later in this poem, Bradstreet writes, “My love is such that rivers cannot quench”. Again
Bradstreet is on the surface, expressing her love and desire for her husband, while referencing
Solomon’s Song of Songs verse 8:7, “Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away” (NIV). Solomon’s Song of Songs is biblical poetry describing Christ’s love and