Anne Bradstreet's use of Plain Style.
Anne Dudley was very young when she got her start on life. She was born and got her education in England. At sixteen, she married Simon Bradstreet, who was a friend of her father. They moved to American when Anne was eighteen years old. Her life was much tougher in American than it had been in England. She lived in well-established surroundings while in England and received a very good education. Anne had many children and loved them all very much. She had a strong belief in the Puritan religion.
Anne was the first woman in American Literature to have a book published. It was titled The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America. Her husband's brother had it published in 1650. Anne was not excited to find out, instead was almost ashamed of her work. Around 1678, a second edition was published after she revised and added some new poems. "Bradstreet's poetry consistently reflects the Puritan spiritual and communal vision that informed her life" (Cowell 383).
Plain style is very simplistic and is written with didactic intent. Anne Bradstreet is famous for her use of plain style in her poems. She has many poems, all of which are done in this style. All of her poems have a clear story and lesson to them. She showed her passion for her faith in the Lord and her family through writing. Her plain style has become a marking point in American Literature. The poem that plain style is very evident to me is "To My Dear and Loving Husband." She starts off by saying, "If ever two were one, then we. / If ever man were loved by wife, then thee; / If ever wife were happy in a man, / Compare with me ye women if you can" (Bradstreet 394). Her sentences seem complex and hard to understand, but once you reread them they are easily understood. .
She is simply saying, "If two people were ever in love, then it is us. / If a man was ever greatly loved my his wife, it is you; / If ever a woman was completely happy with her husband, / Compare me to that woman if at all possible.