Bradstreet, Anne

Bradstreet, Anne
orig. Anne Dudley

born с 1612, Northampton, Northhamptonshire?, Eng.
died Sept. 16, 1672, Andover, Massachusetts Bay Colony

English-born American poet, one of the first poets of the American colonies.

At age 18 she sailed from England with her husband, her parents, and other Puritans to settle on Massachusetts Bay. She wrote many of her poems while rearing eight children. Without her knowledge, her brother-in-law took her poems to England, where they were published in 1650. She won critical acceptance in the 20th century, particularly for "Contemplations," a sequence of religious poems first published in the mid 19th century. Her prose works include "Meditations," a collection of aphorisms.

* * *

▪ American poet
née  Anne Dudley 
born c. 1612, Northampton, Northamptonshire?, England
died September 16, 1672, Andover, Massachusetts Bay Colony [U.S.]
 one of the first poets to write English verse in the American colonies. Long considered primarily of historical interest, she won critical acceptance in the 20th century as a writer of enduring verse, particularly for her sequence of religious poems, “Contemplations,” written for her family and not published until the mid-19th century.

      Anne Dudley was the daughter of Thomas Dudley, chief steward to Theophilus Clinton, the Puritan Earl of Lincoln. She married Simon Bradstreet, another protégé of the earl's, when she was 16, and two years later she, her husband, and her parents sailed with other Puritans to settle on Massachusetts Bay.

      She wrote her poems while rearing eight children, functioning as a hostess, and performing other domestic duties. The Bradstreets moved frequently in the Massachusetts colony, first to Cambridge, then to Ipswich, and then to Andover, which became their permanent home. Bradstreet's brother-in-law, without her knowledge, took her poems to England, where they were published as The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America (1650). The first American edition of The Tenth Muse was published in revised and expanded form as Several Poems Compiled with Great Variety of Wit and Learning (1678).

      Most of the poems in the first edition are long and rather dully imitative works based on the standard poetic conventions of the time, but the last two poems—“Of the Vanity of All Worldly Creatures” and “David's Lamentation for Saul and Jonathan”—are individual and genuine in their recapitulation of her own feelings.

      Her later poems, written for her family, show her spiritual growth as she came fully to accept the Puritan creed. She also wrote more personal poems of considerable beauty, treating in them such subjects as her thoughts before childbirth and her response to the death of a grandchild. These shorter poems benefit from their lack of imitation and didacticism. Her prose works include “Meditations,” a collection of succinct and pithy aphorisms. A scholarly edition of her work was edited by John Harvard Ellis in 1867. In 1956 the poet John Berryman (Berryman, John) paid tribute to her in Homage to Mistress Bradstreet, a long poem that incorporates many phrases from her writings.

      (To read two of Bradstreet's poems, see Anne Bradstreet: Two Poems.)

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Bradstreet, Anne — orig. Anne Dudley ( 1612, Northampton, ¿Northhamptonshire?, Inglaterra–16 sep. 1672, Andover, Massachusetts Bay Colony, EE.UU.). Poetisa estadounidense de origen inglés y una de las primeras de las colonias americanas. A los 18 años llegó en… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Bradstreet,Anne Dudley — Brad·street (brădʹstrēt ), Anne Dudley. 1612 1672. English born colonial poet who wrote several collections of verse, including The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America (1650). Her husband, Simon (1603 1697), was a colonial administrator and… …   Universalium

  • Bradstreet, Anne —    см. Брэдстрит, Анна …   Писатели США. Краткие творческие биографии

  • Bradstreet — Anne Bradstreet Anne Bradstreet (* um 1612 in Northampton, England; † 16. September 1672 in Andover, Massachusetts) war die erste Dichterin englischer Sprache, deren Werke publiziert wurden. Leben und Werk Sie kam 1630 mit der Flotte John… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Anne Bradstreet — (* um 1612 in Northampton, England; † 16. September 1672 in Andover, Massachusetts) war die erste Dichterin englischer Sprache, deren Werke in den Kolonien der neuen Welt publiziert wurden. Leben und Werk Sie kam 1630 mit der Flotte John… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Anne Bradstreet — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Primera edición de los poemas de Bradstreet (1678) Anne Bradstreet (ca. 1612 – 16 de septiembre de 1672) fue la primera escritora y poeta estadounidense en publicar un libro. Bradstreet nació con el nombre de Anne… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Anne Bradstreet — (née vers 1612 à Northampton, Angleterre morte le 16 septembre 1672 à Andover, Massachusetts) fut la première femme écrivain et la première poétesse américaine dont les œuvres furent publiées. Elle est considérée comme le premier écrivain féminin …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Anne Bradstreet — noun poet in colonial America (born in England) (1612 1672) • Syn: ↑Bradstreet, ↑Anne Dudley Bradstreet • Instance Hypernyms: ↑poet * * * Anne Bradstreet [Anne Bradstreet …   Useful english dictionary

  • Anne Dudley Bradstreet — noun poet in colonial America (born in England) (1612 1672) • Syn: ↑Bradstreet, ↑Anne Bradstreet • Instance Hypernyms: ↑poet …   Useful english dictionary

  • Bradstreet — noun poet in colonial America (born in England) (1612 1672) • Syn: ↑Anne Bradstreet, ↑Anne Dudley Bradstreet • Instance Hypernyms: ↑poet …   Useful english dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”