Review Of Anne Bradstreet's Poem 'The Author To Her Book'

Author is to Mother as Book is to Child In the poem, “ The Author to Her Book,” Anne Bradstreet refers to her book like it is her child. Just like a mother critiques her child as she walks out the door, Bradstreet critiques her book before the second edition is published. The poem is her outlet for her emotions regarding the exposure of the first edition, which was published without her knowledge. Bradstreet uses a conceit supported by metaphors throughout the poem, to express maternal feelings such as pride, frustration and protectiveness toward her book. Throughout the poem, Bradstreet expresses pride in herself and her work. Bradstreet compares herself to a single mother in line 22. “If for thy father asked, say thou hadst none;” (Bradstreet, line 22). She is taking complete ownership of her work and showing that she wants all the credit. In lines 23-24, “And for thy mother, she alas is poor, which caused her thus to
“Who after birth didst by my side remain, Till snatched from thence by friends, less wise than true, Who thee abroad, exposed to public view, Made thee in rags, halting to th’ press to trudge,”( Bradstreet, line 2-4). The verbs the author uses such as “ snatched” and “exposed” creates a tone of anxiety like the emotion a mom might feel when her child is suddenly taken from her. These lines make it clear that if Bradstreet had her way, she would keep the book close to her and shelter it as if it were her child. The emotion of protectiveness is reinforced again in lines 12-14. “Thy blemishes amend, if so I could: I washed thy face, but more defects I saw, And rubbing off a spot still made a flaw”( Bradstreet, line 12-14). Just like a mom wants her child to be accepted, Bradstreet wants her work to be accepted. In this section, the author shows that she tries to correct anything that could be criticized because she did not want her work to be judged too