"The Author to Her Book" by Anne Bradstreet

The Author to Her Book. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1678

Thou ill-formed offspring of my feeble brain,

Who after birth did'st by my side remain,

Till snatched from thence by friends, less wise than true,

Who thee abroad exposed to public view;

made thee in rags, halting, to the press to trudge,

Where errors were not lessened, all may judge.

At thy return my blushing was not small,

My rambling brat (in print) should mother call;

I cast thee by as one unfit for light,

Thy visage was so irksome in my sight;

Yet being mine own, at length affection would

Thy blemishes amend, if so I could:

I washed thy face, but more defects I saw,

And rubbing off a spot, still made a flaw.

I strectched thy joints to make thee feet,

Yet still thou run'st more hobbling than is meet;

In better dress to rim tee was my mind,

But noght save homespun cloth, in the house I find.

In this array, 'monst vulgars may'st thou roam;

In critics' hands beware thou dost not come;

And take thy way where yet thou art not known.

If for thy Father asked, say thou had'st none;

And for thy Mother, she alas is poor,

Which caused her thus to send thee out of door.

This poem is essentially a metaphor comparing her poetry to a child of hers. This child (poetry) has been sent out into the world without her consent or her knowledge. Notice the comparisions between a little child and her poetry.

Questions:

1. What is the tone of the speaker's references to those friends who "exposed" her book to "public view' (that is, circulated it without her consent)? How does this tone indicate her ambiguous feelings about them?

2. How does the speaker excuse the fact that she is issuing her book of poetry on her own initiative? How does the tone produce humor? How does the tone of the concluding metaphor encourage you to smile, or even to laugh?

3. What attitude toward herself does the speaker express? How do you react to this attitude? How do you think you are expected by the poet to react?

4. What is the tone of the extended metaphor of the child in lines 11-18?

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