Within the poem, “The Author to Her Book,” Anne Bradstreet uses a complex metaphor to describe her attitude towards one of her works that was published without her permission. Throughout the poem, she compares her anger towards her book to that of an unwanted child. Bradstreet apparently has the attitude of a perfectionist, so she did not think her book was worthy of publication. However, she was able to get it back and make corrections. Although Bradstreet has a negative attitude towards the publication of her book, she does show some signs of satisfaction when the book is returned to her.
Throughout the poem, Bradstreet displays her negative attitude through a complex metaphor. The metaphor compares an unwanted child to a book that was published without her permission. She immediately begins the poem by showing her displeasure for her own work. “Thou ill-formed offspring of my feeble brain. ” The metaphor shows a comparison of a malformed child to her piece. She also claims that her book was stolen from her. Being a perfectionist, she did not publish anything that was not perfect. Who after birth did’st by my side remain,/ Til snatched from thence by friends, less wise than true,/ Who thee abroad exposed to public view. ”
Based on these lines, she claims her friends took her work and published it for all to read. She also states that they were less wise than true. This could possibly mean that she believes that her friends were ignorant in that they did not realize the faults in her work. She then shows some signs of disappointment and possible embarrassment when she states that her errors were there for everyone to see. Where errors were not lessened, all may judge. ”
Within the first six lines of the poem, Bradstreet disguises her negative attitude through her complex metaphor. When Bradstreet is given a second chance after her book is returned, she has an attitude of satisfaction. After the sixth line, the speaker talks about correcting the “ill-formed child. ” Outside the metaphor, Bradstreet is actually referring to her being given the chance to fix and edit her book. “At thy return my blushing was not small,/ My rambling brat (in print) should mother call. Almost everyone who has created something has a feeling of attraction and love for it. The same applies for Bradstreet, “I cast thee by as one unfit for light,/ thy visage was so irksome in my sight;/ Yet being mine own, at length affection would. ”
After this, she starts to express her hope in correcting her faults within the book. “Thy blemishes amend, if so I could. ” However, being the perfectionist she is, she finds new problems every time she proofreads it. “I washed thy face, but more defects I saw,/ And rubbing off a spot, still made a flaw. Bradstreet allows herself to become temporarily positive when she tries to “improve her child’s clothes. ”
“Yet still thou run’st more hobbling than is meet;/ In better dress to trim thee was in my mind,/ But nought save homespun cloth in the house I find. ” In the last few lines, Bradstreet’s attitude of perfection is completed when she “lets her child free. “In this array, ’mongst vulgar may’st thou roam;/ In critics’ hands beware thou dost not come. ” “She claims that she is satisfied to let people read her work and that she does not want it to fall into the critics’ hands.
In the second half of the poem, Bradstreet shows her satisfaction with the re-publication of her book. Anne Bradstreet reveals various emotions throughout her poem, “The Author to Her Book. ” Within the first half, she has an extremely negative attitude towards the improper publication of her work. In the last part, however, she expresses satisfaction when she has the opportunity to correct her piece. By using a detailed complex metaphor, Bradstreet is able to demonstrate her complex attitude about her book within the poem.
