Anne Bradstreet: America’s First Poet
“Let Greeks be Greeks, and women what they are." – Anne Bradstreet
Directions: Print off this sheet. Then use the listed websites to answer the questions below.
Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672) has been named America’s first American poet. She fled persecution in
England as a Puritan Separatist (Separatists sought to break away from the Anglican Church, which
dominated England). She was one of the Separatists to settle the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Bradstreet’s
writing exposed the power and strength of the American woman.
1. How many children did Anne Bradstreet have?
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5374129
2. What significant historical events were occurring during Bradstreet’s
life, which influenced her writing?
http://www.annebradstreet.com/anne_bradstreet_bio_001.htm
3. Her first collection of poems, "The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America, By a Gentlewoman of
Those Parts," doesn’t contain her most widely read poems. Yet, it is significant. Why is this
collection so important in American history? http://www.annebradstreet.com/Default.htm
4. Bradstreet was critical of the treatment and view of women in the colonies. Her poetry spoke
about the strength of women. Explain the cultural bias that Bradstreet spoke out against?
http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/16071783/lit/bradstre.htm
Extra Credit: What unique struggles did being a Puritan woman create for Bradstreet’s aspirations as a
female writer? http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/16071783/lit/bradstre.htm
Additional Sources:
Great American Authors Since 1650 . Dir.
Scott Gordon." Ambrose Video
Publishing: DVD.
RCAS [email protected]
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