| Thou Ill-Form'd Offspring | |
Anne Bradstreet was one of the greatest poets of the 17th century. Born in Northamptonshire, England to Thomas Dudley and Dorthy Yorke, Anne Bradstreet was the first daughter and the second of five children.
Her childhood was by many accounts full of luxury. Her father was the chief steward for Theophilus Clinton, the Puritan Earl of Lincoln. She had private tutors, access to the Earl's library, encouragement from her father (who loved history), and religious indoctrination.
At the age of 16, she married Simon Bradstreet. The year was 1628 and she had just recovered from rheumatic fever. Her new husband was nine years older than Anne; he was the son of a minister and a graduate of Emmanuel College, at Cambridge.
In 1630, Bradstreet travelled to America with her husband and her parents — as part of Jim Winthrop's party, the first setters on Massachusetts Bay. She was in a prominent status because of the positions that her father and husband held in the community (both governors).
Her first son, Samuel, was born in 1633. The family then moved from Cambridge to Ipswich, and then to North Andover (where Bradstreet lived for the rest of her life). She had seven more children: Dorthy, Sarah, Simon Jr., Dudley, Hannah, John, and Mercy.
She wrote poetry for herself, but it was also distributed among family and friends (as was the custom). She wrote epics, dialogues, love lyrics, public elegies, private elegies, a long meditative poem, and religious verse.
In 1650, her brother-in-law published a volume of her poetry entitled "The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America. "In 1678," The Tenth Muse "was printed in America under a new title: "Several Poems Compiled with Great Variety of Wit and Learning. "Bradstreet appears to have corrected some of the poems, and additional poems were added (many of which are now her most wel-known works).
She wrote about her experiences as a wife, mother and woman in 17th century New England. She reflected upon her life and her work. Her style stands in stark contrast to what we would consider the Puritan ideal.
Bradstreet was known and loved in America and in England. When she died in 1672, elegies and eulogies were written for her. The preface to "The Tenth Muse" says it well: "It is the Work of a Woman, honoured, and esteemed wher she lives, for her gracious demeanor, her eminent parts, her pious conversation, her courteous disposition, her exact diligence in her place."
