by A. Jacobina Poulsen

Created on: January 29, 2009

The beauty of "Before the Birth of One of Her Children" by Anne Bradstreet lay in its universal themes and concerns. Although Bradstreet wrote this poem more than three hundred years ago, the maternal fears, love and hope she expressed will ring true to the minds of any modern woman who is expecting a child.

Anne Bradstreet was born in the year 1612 to a wealthy family in England. Growing up, she had the benefit of an extensive education. She came to the shores of New England as the young bride of Simon Bradstreet, who would one day be governor of Massachusetts. This new world was harsh and unfamiliar to her. The Puritan ethic and way of life was difficult and limiting, especially for women. Yet her poetry reveals a strong belief in her own intelligence and that of women in general. For that reason she is sometimes called America's first feminist. However independent her ideas, Anne embraced her husband's faith and sought comfort in its beliefs on eternity. Anne also dedicated herself to her marriage and children; it is clear she was very much in love with her husband. "Before the Birth of One of Her Children" reflects this focus on hearth, home and God.

She begins the poem by advising her child that death is part of life, that no matter how much we love another, they must leave us when their time has come and that this death sentence on all is "irrevocable".

"No ties so strong, no friends so dear and sweet,
But with death's parting blow is sure to meet. "

Anne writes of her own possible death, whether it be soon or in the future. One must consider that for women of that time, childbirth carried a serious risk of mortality. Also, Anne suffered from ill health for a great part of her life and so her thoughts of death are quite understandable. Anne does not yet know this child, yet she feels compelled to write to her unborn baby of that mysterious maternal love and bond.

"We both are ignorant, yet love bids me
These farewell lines to recommend to thee,
That when that knot's untied that made us one,
I may seem thine, who in effect am none. "

The poem speaks of remembering her worth and value and letting her faults be interred in her "oblivious grave". She instructs the child-to-be to watch over Anne's other children, especially in the case of a second wife taking her place in the home. Finally Anne speaks of the tears she shed as she wrote this poem to her yet unknown child, tears we can feel in her simple, yet elegant language.

And that is the beauty of Anne Bradstreet's poetry. Written in iambic pentameter with simple rhymes, she manages to write with both clarity and eloquence. Both her heart and mind are employed in each moving line. It is this quality that makes Bradstreet both accessible and and admired. "Before the Birth of One of Her Children" displays the qualities that make her one of America's finest poets.

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