Traveling to the New World in 1630 at age eighteen, poet Anne Bradstreet lived an arduous and difficult life in the infant American colonies. After writing for many years in America and having her poems secretly published by her brother-in-law in England, Anne Bradstreet became not only the first published female American poet, but the first published American poet ever. As a Puritan, Bradstreet projected her religion, as well as her worldly observations, heavily on her poetry. She also explored the emotional and societal aspects of her life, often writing about sin, redemption, frailty, death, and immortality- common themes of the American Colonial era. As author Charlotte Gordon discusses in her work Mistress Bradstreet: The Untold Life of America's First Poet, Bradstreet became the voice of an era, a woman who wrote poetry not even a man could write. She became the representative of those in the colonies who lived in poverty and struggled to feel represented.
Born Anne Dudley to the well-known and wealthy Dudley family, Anne experienced a pleasant childhood. As a young girl, Anne’s father, Thomas Dudley, highly valued her education and encouraged her to read complex authors, including Homer, Ovid, Seneca, and Hobbes, who eventually influenced her own writing. Because her father held a high position while still living in England and…show more content… While this last event was surely a tragedy, the event of her house lighting on fire inspired Bradstreet to write one of her most famous poems, “Verses Upon the Burning of our House”, a poem discussing her struggle to accept the burning of her home as a part of God’s plan. As a woman, Bradstreet was also highly criticized for partaking in the activity of writing, something quite scandalous for a lady of that time to
