Introduction
Over the ages and at the time of the Revolution, the majority of authors and poets in American history have been men. Some women authors, such as Phyllis Wheatley and Anne Bradstreet, presented an extraordinary portrayal of history and used poetry to communicate their ideas and opinions. Their voices were heard in a macho environment because these writers were dynamic and distinctive, drawing inspiration from religion and historical periods. Wheatley was a poet in the 1700s, whereas Bradstreet was a writer in the 1600s (Belasco & Johnson, 2006). Their terrible difficulties and battles show their commonality, despite their differences, as depicted by Bradstreet’s radical feminism (via her symbolic interpretations) and Wheatley’s abolitionist attitude.
The Similarity
Belasco and Johnson (2006) state that both Wheatley and Bradstreet penned their works at times of immense social upheaval and change, such as the Age of Revolution. Religious evolution, colonialism, slavery, sexism, and racism were only a few of the socially divisive challenges that nations faced throughout the 1600s and 1800s. As women attempting to adopt a divisive symbol, they penned poetry that demonstrated their unique will to succeed where society had failed. They overcame obstacles to achieve literary success. Phillis Wheatly was confronted with the age-old problem of enslavement and integration into a racist culture. That is why she wrote so much poetry about emancipation, oppression, and liberation. At age seven, she and other enslaved people participated in the harrowing Trans-Atlantic Trade and were brought to Boston. After John Wheatley bought Wheatley to be his wife’s company in Boston, she became his servant. Wheatly published Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, when she was just twelve years old, making her the first black woman poet. After releasing many collections of poetry, Wheatley passed away in 1784.
Even though she was born in England, Ann Bradstreet made significant contributions to the problems facing communities all around the world. Bradstreet’s culture was European, but it had the same problems with sexism and mistreatment of women as the United States had. Levine et al. (2017) explain that Bradstreet, encouraged by her father to pursue an education, aimed to infer meaning from her firm religious beliefs and explore underlying societal concerns. “Like any good Puritan, Bradstreet constantly probed her conscience and grappled with making meaning of occurrences, such as the home fire questioning a divine design,” which displays her artistic exploration of societal problems and religion. Reference: (Levine et al., 2017; p. 218). By the time of her death in 1672, Bradstreet had published two collections of poetry that captured the spirit of the era while illuminating its hardships and triumphs. Bradstreet and Wheatley’s shared affinity for literature may have been influenced by their same upbringings and early successes in reading and school. Their literary journeys to freedom and achievement find parallels in the struggles of real people.
The Difference
The subjects and writing styles of these works are informed by the wide range of eras and civilizations in which its authors have lived and by the difficulties each has faced. Wheatley’s poetry has been used to establish her as a Puritan who saw her enslavement as a means by which she became closer to God ( (Showalter, 2010). Slavery had left a strong need for freedom in Wheatley, and the poem To the Right Honourable William, Earl of Dartmouth, is an expression of that longing. She explains how she was taken from her family and how her enslavement was similar to the connection between the colonies and England. In her accounts, slavery has been devastating for her, and she wanted to be free. She had a deep dislike for slavery, despite her devotion to religion and the belief that it brought her closer to God.
By contrast, Bradstreet’s work frequently distanced itself from Puritan ideals and questioned their continued relevance. Bradstreet’s initial skepticism of God’s existence was replaced by awe at the wonders she witnessed. Her evolving worldview is reflected in lines from the song Verses about the Burning of our house: “And when I could no longer see, / I blest His name that gave and took, / That laid my possessions now in the dust. / Yea, thus it was, and so ’twas right. / It was his own, it was not mine” (Bradstreet, 1666). More than that, Bradstreet’s feminist perspective on society’s contempt for women’s place was made clear in her poetry. She writes poetry to demonstrate how English culture has undervalued women and relegated them to the home.
However, she was not trying to encourage them to defy their spouses or abandon their parental duties. Bradstreet emphasizes the value of a woman and her love in her poetry Letter to the beloved and loving husband by saying, “If ever wife was happy in a man, /compare with me, ye ladies, if ye may. / I regard thy love more than vast mines of money” (Bradstreet, 1678). Wheatley and Bradstreet’s lives and the cultures in which they flourished had a substantial impact on the topics and ways they explored in their poetry.
Conclusion
Poetry by Wheatley and Bradstreet is analyzed in literature to show how, although having lived in civilizations with similar problems, they approach and express those problems differently. Despite being born and raised in different eras, both authors went through comparable experiences that ultimately led to their respective creative achievements. It was a battle for them to reach their full academic potential and break out of their circumstances. Thus, despite differences in worldview, writing technique, and subject matter, there are commonalities in their poetic and literary works.
References
Belasco, S., & Johnson, L. C. (2006). The Bedford anthology of American literature. Bedford/St. Martins.
Levine, R. S., Elliott, M. A., Gustafason, S. M., Hungerford, A., & Loeffelholz, M. (Eds.). (2016). The Norton anthology of American literature: Volume A and B (Vol. 1). WW Norton & Company.
Showalter, E. (2010). A jury of her peers: American women writers from Anne Bradstreet to Annie Proulx. Vintage Books.
Bradstreet, A., & Hensley, J. (1967). The works of Anne Bradstreet. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
Wheatley, P. (1773). Poems on various subjects, religious and moral. Printed for A. Bell.