JOURNAL #2 (Anne Bradstreet)

Michelle Romero

Eng. 48, Dr. Scott Lankford

10/11/07

"My fifth, whose down is yet scarce gone,

Is 'mongst the shrubs and bushes flown,

And as his wings increase in strength,

On higher boughs he'll perch at length,"

From "In Reference to Her Children, 23 June 1659"

While all of Anne's poems are beautiful, many are simply delightful. In a way, it is refreshing to read her poems with themes of love for her husband and love for her children. In this particular poem, Anne proudly describes how each of her children is doing at this time in her life. It reminds me of when grandmothers get together with their little old lady friends and talk about the kids and gloat about whose kids are doing what.

The quote above just made me laugh because Anne devotes exactly 6 lines to describe how well off each of her children is doing, but these mere four lines briefly mention her 5th child, a.k.a "the problem child." This child is among the "shrubs and bushes." This can mean he is hanging out with the wrong crowd, the "shrubs" of the world, but certainly it depicts how he is failing to fly at the moment.

I found it amusing to see how every parent, Puritan or not, goes through the same challenges in child-rearing as all the rest.

The metaphor she uses is consistent throughout the story. Her children are depicted as birds, who have flown or are learning to fly and grow their wings (symbolizes independence). Home to Anne, and I imagine the Puritans, is clearly intended to be a nest for nurturing these precious birds so that they may grow and live their lives with their spouses and nurture and family of their own. This type of writing exposes the role of the Puritan women of her time and their purpose in the home.