Anne Bradstreet "The Prologue" "The Author to Her Book" Flashcards
Titles of Anne Bradstreet
“The Prologue” “The Author to Her Book”
Time Period “The Prologue”
1650s Bradstreet was Puritan, poems published without her knowledge
Plot Summary “The Prologue”
Narrator places her poetry in the historical context of literature throughout time, comparing her work to men’s and accepting that she might not write grand epics, but that her work is all the same important and satisfactory to her.
Key Characters “The Prologue”
N/A
Notable formal or stylistic elements “The Prologue”
Iambic pentameter, ABABCC rhyme scheme
Important themes and recurring motifs “The Prologue”
Greeks as representations of men’s knowledge/genius
Literary ‘schools’ or genres; analytical concepts; relevance to history “The Prologue”
Puritan perspective that women are lesser than and limited to domestic spaces
Lyric poem
Where is this from: “Thou ill-formed offspring of my feeble brain”
“The Author to Her Book”
Where is this from: “My rambling brat—in print— should mother call/ I cast thee by as one unfit for light”
“The Author to Her Book
Where is this from: “In critics’ hands beware thou dost not come”
“The Author to Her Book
Other useful hints for IDing this test “The Prologue”
Alludes to old writers and epic poetry
Time period and relevant historical context “Author to Her Book”
1650 Bradstreet was Puritan, poems published without knowledge
Plot summary “Author to Her Book”
Narrator likens her poetry to a child being sent out into the world with unrefined manners and hoping for the best
Key Characters “Author to Her Book”
Poem/child and mother/narrator
Notable Formal or Stylistic Elements “Author to Her Book”
extended metaphor of mother/child relationship author/book, iambic pentameter, rhymed couplets
Important themes and recurring motifs “Author to Her Book”
Mother/child metaphor
Literary ‘schools’ or genres; analytical concepts; relevance to history “Author to Her Book”
Relation to Bradstreet’s poems being published without her knowledge
Where is this quote from: “Let poets and historians set these forth/ My obscure lines shall not so dim their worth”
“The Prologue”
Where is this quote from: “Let Greeks be Greeks, and women what they are/ Men have precedency, and still excel”
“The Prologue”
Other useful hints ID text “Author to Her Book”
child and mother
