Topic > Literary Analysis of Anne Bradstreet's Prologue

IndexBradstreet's unique style revealing the role of womenDiscreet speech to readersConclusionIn "The Prologue", when Anne Bradstreet suddenly changes her point of view from belittling herself to proving and agreeing with the standard thinking about women of the past, we see the emphasis on highlighting the oppression and objectification of women in a puritanical male society. In this moment, Bradstreet reveals a concern with female mistreatment and a sexist view on women that requires deeper consideration of the appreciation and consideration of a woman's abilities. This article will address this issue by examining the author's use of poetic structure to highlight her skills, repetition to add emphasis to her call for attention to feminism, and symbolism with objects, such as a pen, to frame the concerns about the female gender however suggest that in a Puritan society women were not expected to match a man's abilities or intellect. Specifically, Bradstreet's incorporation of iambic pentameter, tone change in the last three stanzas, symbolism, and repetition shows the emphasis the author is trying to portray on the ideologies that were expected to be bestowed upon women at that time and ridicules the expectations of males in that society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Bradstreet's Unique Style Reveals the Role of the WomanWhen reading the opening stanzas of "The Prologue," the author's meter and structure are something ideal to notice. "Singing of wars, of captains and kings, of cities founded, of states begun..." showcases Bradstreet's perfect use of iambic pentameter and the ABABCC rhyming form. Although they focus on how his “wondering eyes and envious heart” longed to imitate the works of the “Great Bartas,” readers can sense a tone of irony in how he so gracefully had a perfect sentence structure but then begins to compare itself. to a well-known poet, claiming that his writing technique could never have been so close. The perfect iambic pentameter contrasted with his “wondering eyes and envious heart” really plays an anticipatory role in how he clearly plays on his words to show irony because it is obvious that he is capable of doing so, but by implying this literary technique, Bradstreet is able to make his point. With her line being so neat and regimented, Bradstreet figuratively implies that despite being so “simple I according to my ability,” as a woman, she is very aware of the skills used by the highly recognized male poets of the time. And in doing so, she is able to demonstrate to readers that while she can achieve great things, for now she will succumb to social standards to highlight what women face on a daily basis. The literary technique used is her first step in introducing the ideology that women are just as capable of reaching the level of intellect as most men and just as her work suggests, she is quite aware of her poetic abilities. Throughout much of the poem, Bradstreet conforms to male expectations of stereotypes of women, even going so far as to say that her "dark verses should not so tarnish" the "value" of what male poets dutifully write about. The author uses symbolism to compare the fact that "from the schoolboy's tongue we expect no rhyme, nor a sweet consort with broken strings" to.