Introduction
Love and hate are two distinctive emotional subjects that describe the opposite of the other. In this context, love refers to a strong affection or feeling towards a person while hate refers to a strong feeling of resentment or dislike towards a person.
This essay is going to expound on the theme of love and hate concerning two poems “My Husband’s Back” by Susan Minot and “To My Dear and Loving Husband” by Anne Bradstreet. This essay will focus on women’s view of hate and love concerning their spouses and the societies that they live in.
Similarities between the poems
While comparing the two poems, it was quite apparent that the two poems “My Husband’s Back” by Susan Minot and Anne Bradstreet “To My Dear and Loving Husband” were composed by women who were striving to communicate their inner feelings with regards to how they viewed their respective husbands conduct, feelings, and demeanor.
This is illustrated by the titles of the two poems and the themes captured within the poems. For example, Bradstreet poem is a love letter to her husband, depicting her strong feelings of affection, while Minot’s poem depicts her feelings of resentment towards her husband.
To further depict the themes within the poems, the two poets have extensively used paradox to express their deep feelings. For instance, Minot, in her poem, laments that she has been through many difficult situations in her marriage, “I have traveled everywhere to get to.”
In this stanza, Minot tries to explain how she has suffered and toiled in her marriage while at the same time, she still claims that she loves the same husband that she consistently claims to hate. On the other hand, Bradstreet is very affectionate about her love for her husband, while the first three lines of her first stanza which start with “if ever” depicts a paradox between her claim of loving her husband and her indication of not believing in love.
Another recurring similarity in the two poems is the societal setting under which the poems were written. Both poems represent two women who feel as though they are not equal to the men in their lives and as such, their feelings towards their husband’s whether love or hate are not equally felt.
For instance, when Bradstreet says that “If ever wife was happy in a man” depicts that although there were love and affection between her and her husband, Bradstreet feels as though she was not equal to her man or her man was looking down upon her.
On the other hand, throughout Minot’s poem, it was quite evident that Minot was overwhelmed by the roles that she had to play while her husband had minimum responsibility thus depicting the theme of inequality which in this poem translates to the hatred that Minot feels towards her husband.
The last similarity between the two poems lies in the ability of the two poets to illustrate their feelings (love/hate) by way of using imagery. The two poems try to indulge the reader into believing and envisioning the feelings of the poets through images. In Minot’s poem, the reader understands her misery when Minot says, “my spine collides with all its bones,” thus depicting the pain that she goes through in her marriage. This is depicted by Bradstreet when she says that her love for her husband cannot be equated to gold.
Differences between the poems
While comparing the two poems, it was also evident that there were some observable differences. The most outstanding difference between the two poems was the themes captured. In Minot’s poem, the major theme that the poet captured revolved around hatred for her husband and the life that she was leading in her marriage.
On the other hand, Bradstreet poem majored on the theme of love as she was thankful to her husband for the endless love that he portrayed for her as she hoped that they would still love each other even after death.
Further, the tones of the two poems are very different with each poem embracing a tone that is consistent with the theme. Minton’s poem “My Husband’s Back” Minton tone throughout the poem is sorrowful, somber, and commiserating to the extent that she makes the reader sympathize with her situation.
This is contrary to the tone that the Bradstreet poem employs. In Bradstreet poem, the tone of the poem is more declarative, relaxed and humorous to some extent especially when she says “Compare with me ye women if you can” thus making the reader envious of her devoted love to her husband.
The poems are also very different in terms of the language used. For instance, Bradstreet has extensively used figurative language to demonstrate that she loves her husband and that there is no way she can ever repay her husband’s affection towards her.
Further, she emphasizes on the extent of her love by saying, “I prize thy love more than whole Mines of gold” thus equating her love to a price more than the gold’s price. While on the other side, Minton has dwelt on the narration of events rather than using figurative language to depict hate. Lastly, unlike Minton, Bradstreet has used repetition to emphasize her feelings of affection.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is important to note that although the two poems represented two different themes which are in line with the context of this paper, the two poems had more similarities than differences as they were both written by two different women living in a male-dominated society.