To My Dear and Loving Husband
-Anne BradstreetBryan Pfiester
The Life
• Born in 1612 to Thomas
Dudley and Dorothy Yorke.
• Married at age 16 (1628) to Simon Bradstreet.
• Emigrated to America in 1630 on the Arabella.
• Thomas Dudley was Deputy-Governor of
Boston, Mass. Simon Bradstreet acted as
Chief-Administrator.
The Life, cont’d.
• Turned to religion during hardships in the New
World.
• Anne suffered from paralysis in her joints, but
still helped her husband build a home and
gave birth to eight children.
• Her home later was engulfed in flames,
inspiring her other well-known poem, “Upon
The Burning of Our House”.
The Life, cont’d.
• Simon traveled frequently. Anne took solace
in her father’s library.
• Anne wrote poetry in secret. She did not
intend on her work being published.
• Anne’s friend, Anne Hutchison, made her
views public and was banish from the
community.
• John Woolbridge, her brother-in-law, secretly
copied her work for publication.
The Death
Mrs. Bradstreet contracted tuberculosis and
died after a long battle with the disease on
September 16, 1672, in Andover, Mass. At age
60.
The Poetry
• Anne’s work was heavily focused on her life
experiences and her love for her family.
• She is considered the first American poet.
• Her poems somewhat challenge Puritan
beliefs, and she may be considered an early
feminist.
To My Dear and Loving Husband
• Essentially conveys the love she feels for her
husband.
• Speaks of love conquering death.
• Somewhat challenges Puritanism.
Interesting Facts About the Author
• First settled in Salem, Mass., the location of the
infamous Salem Witch Trials. Her husband,
Simon was later buried here.
• Anne moved from home to home an estimated
seven times during her lifetime, mostly at Simon’s
urging.
• Bradstreet’s father and husband were essential to
the founding of Harvard University. Some of her
children were graduates and The Bradstreet Gate
is still part of the campus today.
Interesting Facts, cont’d.
• Bradstreet struggled with illness for most of
her life. She had smallpox, a paralytic disease,
tuberculosis and other ailments during her
lifetime.
• Four years after Bradstreet’s death, Simon
married another woman, also named Anne.
• The majority of Bradstreet’s poems, and
nearly all of the ones studied today, were
published after her death.
Sources:
• Biography http://www.annebradstreet.com/anne_bradst
reet_bio_001.htm
• http://massmoments.org/moment.cfm?mid=
106
• Poem Analysis http://www.helium.com/items/844998poetry-analysis-to-my-dear-and-lovinghusband-by-anne-bradstreet
Sources cont’d:
• Pictures http://www.poemofquotes.com/annebradstre
et/
http://floor-to-ceilingbooks.blogspot.com/2011/11/thats-allfolks.html
• Interesting Facts http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Bradstreet