"Compare yourselves with me, you women, if you can." (Brad Street 4). Anne Bradstreet was a truly unique woman of her time. In the Puritan era, women were not known for poetry and especially were not known for being independent. The Puritans were very close to God and took the Bible as a way of life (Kizer). Anne Bradstreet was a typical Puritan woman in society but ended up being extremely influential and unique; his poetry inspired many. Anne was a Puritan era woman, meaning she didn't have much revelation about what was going on in her life, the man was dominant (Kizer). Women weren't even supposed to write freely back then (Kinsella 98). She married at sixteen and ended up having eight children, some of whom did not live long (Gordon 191). This is important to Anne because her writing was influenced by her life. Anne is well known for her poem “To My Dear and Loving Husband” which (as the title suggests) speaks of her deep love for her husband (Kinsella 99). She also wrote poems titled "In memory of my dear niece Elizabeth Bradstreet "On my dear nephew Simon Bradstreet", "To my dear children" and "On my dear and loving husband his journey to England" (Gordon 191). All of these poems are examples of her writings that talk about her family and her love for them. Anne changed the literary world with her writings. She proved that women are as capable as men were published after her death because she could not enjoy fame. Anne was a great poet whose work inspired many and challenged some thoughts. Paula Kopacz wrote a critical work on Anne's poetry “Contemplations”. of how Anne's poetry was different from that of other poets of her time Most writers of the Puritan era d...... middle of paper ......, but it will always be there a "Mistress Bradstreet" (Gordon). Works Cited Bradstreet, Anne. "Contemplations." Foundation for Poetry. Foundation for Poetry, 2000. Web. 11 May 2014. .---. "To my dear and loving husband." Poet.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. May 13, 2014. Gordon, Charlotte. Mistress Bradstreet: The Untold Life of America's First Poet. NewYork: Little, Brown, 2005. Print.Works, Steve. Main speech. 2006. Kinsella, Kate. "The Puritan Influence". Prentice Hall Literature. Timeless voices, timeless themes. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002. 98-102. Print.Kizer, Kay. "Puritans." ND. Network. May 15, 2014..Kopacz, Paula. “Contemplations”. Masterplots II: Poetry, revised edition (2002): 1-3. Literary reference center. Network. May 7 2014.