Poet Anne Bradstreet: 3 Things We Have In Common

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Surpisingly, a house fire is among the things Poet Anne Bradstreet and I have in common. My house caught on fire in the 1980s; hers, in the 1660s.

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Anne Bradstreet

1) Fire! Fire!

When I was ten-years-old, I awoke to the smell of smoke and a startled voice in the next room saying, “The house is on fire!” While the loss from my house fire was minimal⎯water heater, washer and dryer, minor water and smoke damage, Anne was not so fortunate. Sadly, many cherished books from her personal library that numbered over eight hundred were destroyed in her house fire. Imagine my pleasant surprise upon learning that instead of turning to anger, grief, and sorrow over this tragic loss, Anne chose, instead, to turn towards God. From a poem inspired by this event, titled “Upon the Burning of Our House July 10th, 1666“, Anne describes the moment of her loss:

And when I could no longer look,
I blest His grace that gave and took,
That laid my goods now in the dust.
Yea, so it was, and so ’twas just.
It was his own; it was not mine.
Far be it that I should repine.

Wealth

Later come verses that highlight what Anne knows to be true⎯that there are better things to pursue in this life than earthly wealth and material goods:

Adieu, Adieu, all’s vanity.
Then straight I ‘gin my heart to chide:
And did thy wealth on earth abide?
Didst fix thy hope on mouldring dust?
The arm of flesh didst make thy trust?
Raise up thy thoughts above the sky
That dunghill mists away may fly.
Thou hast a house on high erect;
Framed by that mighty Architect,
With glory richly furnished
Stands permanent though this be fled.
It’s purchased, and paid for, too,
By him who hath enough to do-
A price so vast as is unknown,
Yet, by His gift, is made thine own.
There’s wealth enough; I need no more.
Farewell, my pelf; farewell, my store;
The world no longer let me love.
My hope and treasure lie above.

Anne, the first poet to have her works published in both England and the New World, had the faith of a giant.

2) Marriage

Anne was a Puritan, and the Puritans believed marriage and children to be a gift from God. I, too, believe that “marriage between man and woman is essential to [God’s] eternal plan,” and that “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3)”¹ Married at age 16, Anne adored her husband and her eight children. Her poem, To My Dear And Loving Husband, reflects her feelings of adoration for her husband:

If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were loved by wife, then thee.
If ever wife was happy in a man,
Compare with me, ye women, if you can.
I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold,
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee give recompense.
Thy love is such I can no way repay;
The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.
Then while we live, in love let’s so persever,
That when we live no more, we may live ever.

3) Governor

Another commonality Anne Bradstreet and I have is that our family members served as governor in the Colonies⎯Anne’s father, Thomas Dudley, served several terms as governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; her husband, Simon Bradstreet, also served as governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. My 10th-great-grandfather, William Stone, served as the proprietary governor of Maryland from 1649 to 1655.

Incidentally, both Anne’s father and husband played roles in the founding of Harvard College. Her father was a founder; her husband, an overseer. In addition, two of her sons graduated from Harvard. This, of course, is back when Harvard College was centered on Christian principles. Read The Rules and Precepts of Harvard to see for yourself how much Harvard has changed over the years.

Fun fact: In 1997, Harvard dedicated a gate to Anne, America’s first published poet.

Additional Details

Mother

Happily, Anne seems to have had a wonderful relationship with her mother, Dorothy Yorke, based on the poem she wrote in her mother’s remembrance after Dorothy’s death on 27 December 1643 at age 61:^[71]

Here lies,

A worthy matron of unspotted life,
A loving mother and obedient wife,
A friendly neighbor, pitiful to poor,

Whom oft she fed and clothed with her store;

Conclusion

Although Anne suffered from health problems throughout her life, including smallpox, she loved to learn, and she lived a full life. Consequently, she left behind on September 16, 1672, at the age of 60, a legacy for today’s women, wives, and mothers to follow.

Source: Wikipedia