Theme and Structure of “To My Dear and Loving Husband” by Anne Bradstreet

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Main body
Conclusion
Work Cited

Introduction

“To My Dear and Loving Husband” by Anne Bradstreet is a poem devoted to the author’s husband, telling about their genuine love. In the verse, the poet claims to be united with her partner, saying that “If ever two were one, then surely we” (Bradstreet 1). The woman also states that their feelings are above all the financial matters, which is unique for that time. The main theme of the poem is conjugal love, which is supposed to be eternal from the point of view of the poet. To illustrate the message of the verse and to increase its power, the author uses multiple literary devices, as well as the structure of the text, to make the narration deeper and more complex.

Main body

Bradstreet utilizes numerous elements in the poem to enrich the text’s simple theme and make the narration more vivid. One of the elements used in the poem is anaphora in the first three lines, starting with “If ever…”, making an accent on the beginning of the verse, attracting the attention of the audience (Bradstreet). There are also many examples of hyperbole, which was widely used in the poems of that time, making the reader feel that most of the meanings are exaggerated. For example, “If ever man were loved by wife, then thee” is aimed at emphasizing the feelings of the narrator toward her husband (Bradstreet 2). Another example is, “I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold”, which makes the audience feel the depth of the woman’s feelings (Bradstreet 5). Bradstreet uses these devices to describe a real relationship, and not an inaccessible object of love as was typically done by other poets of that time, and shows her feelings as dramatic and elevated.

An important role in the verse is played by metaphors as they are an integral part of emotional poems, making the narration brighter to evoke the readers’ feelings. For example, the poet uses metaphors in the fourth and fifth lines “Compare with me, ye women, if you can. I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold” (Bradstreet 4, 5). With the help of this element, Bradstreet shows that she ranks her husband’s feelings higher than all the riches. Another metaphor can be found in the sentence “My love is such that rivers cannot quench”, comparing love to thirst, which is a reference to physical love (Bradstreet 7). From this perspective, metaphors play a significant role in the poem, enriching its vocabulary and making the narration more vivid and picturesque.

From a structural point of view, the poem also attracts much attention as it consists of six rhyming couplets, made of twelve lines total. “To My Dear and Loving Husband” is written in iambic pentameter, which is shown by the lines “If ever wife was happy in a man, / Compare with me, ye women, if you can” (Bradstreet 3-4). The rhyme scheme in the poem is AABBCCDD, meaning that all the couplets are rhymed throughout the text with the only exception in the eighth and ninth lines. However, the words “quench” and “recompense” may be considered an example of near rhyme (Bradstreet 8, 9). Such a rhythmic form is typically used for portraying important subjects and in this poem, it implies the depth of the narrator’s love for her husband.

Conclusion

In conclusion, “To My Dear and Loving Husband” is a dedication of the poet to her spouse, claiming their true and eternal life. To support the main message of the poem, the writer uses numerous literary devices, including anaphora, hyperbole, and metaphor. It allows Bradstreet to make the narration more vivid and picturesque. There is also an important role of the poem’s structure as it creates a specific atmosphere in the text, creating a rhythmic form, aimed at increasing the depth of the narrator and her husband’s feelings.

Work Cited

Bradstreet, Anne. “To My Dear and Loving Husband”. The Complete Works of Anne Bradstreet. 1981. Web.

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Theme and Structure of “To My Dear and Loving Husband” by Anne Bradstreet

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