Anne Bradstreet's Ironic Approach to Feminism

Anne Bradstreet's Ironic Approach to Feminism

Anne Bradstreet was a prominent 17th century author that should be an inspiration to not only women but also to all people who are discriminated against. She had the courage to write even though the men of her time didn't believe that women could or should write. She even had what one might call the audacity to use irony in some of her works to make the men of her time believe that she believed that her works were nothing compared to the male poets of the time. One of the poems that displayed this use of irony is "The Prologue". Bradstreet uses irony in this poem to make the readers believe that she knew her place in society and that she wasn't writing to outdo the male poets but she was just writing for the purpose of writing even though there is a much deeper meaning.

Bradstreet use of irony is evident very early in the poem. She says in the first 3 lines, "To sing of wars, of captains, and of kings, Of cities founded, commonwealths, begun, For my mean pen are too superior things". What she means by this is that her poetry is not good enough or worthy of discussing wars, captains, or kings. These subjects are considered superior and therefore should not be messed with by women authors or so it was believed at that time.

One of the most obvious uses of irony in this poem is in the third stanza. Bradstreet subtly expresses her grievances with the way women are treated by saying, "Fool I do grudge the Muses did not part Twixt him and me that overfluent store;" The reason these lines in the poem are so ironic is because of the fact that the Muses are Greek goddesses of literature and the arts. In ancient Greece these goddesses were worshipped for their great artistic talent and creativity. In the eyes of the men of the 17th century, these lines meant that Bradstreet truly believed that men were more talented than women and she only wished that she could be given the same talent from the muses. However, when readers of the 21st century read this poem, these lines take on a whole new meaning. When looked at from an ironic perspective, she is only pointing out the ironic fact that men used to worship women for creativity and artistic talent and now the men don't even believe that women can write.

In conclusion, Bradstreet was a very brave female author. She had the courage to attempt to completely fool the male readers of the time that she knew her place in society. She even helps her own case by writing such a well thought out poem, when she writes so well that the men are not able to figure out her true meaning it proves that she had more talent than most men of that century. Bradstreet's use of irony in this poem makes the readers believe that she knew that men had precedence and she was just writing to write but with further analysis you can see that there is a completely different meaning.