Criticizing and evaluating a particular literary work is not an easy task. In doing so, the analysis of such works is addressed toward the reader to whom this work might be interesting. In that sense, such an evaluation is rarely done by the author of the work, where the author expresses hisher feelings toward her creation. In that regard, the poem “The Author to Her Book” by Anne Bradstreet is an ideal example of a self-assessment in the form of poetry.
This paper analyzes Bradstreet’s work in terms of its meaning, arguing that the metaphors used in the poem strengthened the context of the work, outlining the strong relationship between the author and her creation.
In the first line, Bradstreet is addressing her narration toward the poem using a form of a negative metaphor, comparing the poem to an “ill-formed offspring”, created by her “feeble brain.” In this line, Bradstreet sets the tone of the poem, wherein criticizing the poem she criticizes herself, and no matter how “ill-formed” the poem is, she still loves it as it is her “offspring”.
In the following four, the author using birth as the analogy of writing the work expresses the feeling of regret, as the poem however it was, remained private to her until her friends published her work, which was an unwise decision in her opinion. The process of publishing the unfinished and unpolished work can be compared to a child being taken to a Trudge in rags, where her mother did not have the opportunity to properly dress him up.
Assessing her poem as unfinished, Bradstreet compared it to a “rambling brat” whose occurrence in public (publishing) made her blush as he returned home (being criticized in press). In the following two lines, the author describes her reaction to such critique as the desire to deem the work as “unfit” for publicity, as she thinks the work was irksome to be seen by others. Nevertheless, the work remains her own, she could not abandon him, and thus, she was striving to make “the blemishes amend”.
The following four lines describe the process of revising the poem, comparing such process to washing a face, whereas she could see the face clearer, she saw more defects, and the more she revised a particular line-verse, the worse it became. She attempted to make the poem at least acceptable in metrics, nevertheless, the poem was even more “hobbling than it was before.
In the following two lines, the author explains her intention and her excuse to make the poem, where she used a metaphor of searching for a better dress for her child, but “homespun” cloth was not suitable for being shown to the public. In that sense, the author thinks that her work, not intended for publishing, resembles homemade clothing, compared to the evening dress which is a polished work.
In that regard, the author concludes that the poem is destined to “roam” “among vulgar” in its current state. Her advice is her apprehension of coming into the hands of critics. The author, nevertheless, denies her involvement in this work as a woman, acknowledging that she is poor, and that is why she sent her work, which might contradict the idea that her poem was published without her will.
It can be seen that the strong connection of the author with her creation was expressed as a set of emotional experiences. In that sense, the metaphors used of the mother and child emotions showed the degree to which assessing owns work is a difficult job, where there is no harsher critic of the work than the author herself.
References
Bradstreet, A. (2002). The Author To Her Book. Web.