The Prologue

BY ANNE BRADSTREET

To sing of Wars, of Captains, and of Kings,

Of Cities founded, Common-wealths begun,
For my mean Pen are too superior things;
Or how they all, or each their dates have run,
Let Poets and Historians set these forth.
My obscure lines shall not so dim their worth.

But when my wond’ring eyes and envious heart

Great Bartas’ sugar’d lines do but read o’er,
Fool, I do grudge the Muses did not part
‘Twixt him and me that over-fluent store.
A Bartas can do what a Bartas will
But simple I according to my skill.

From School-boy’s tongue no Rhet’ric we expect,

Nor yet a sweet Consort from broken strings,
Nor perfect beauty where’s a main defect.
My foolish, broken, blemished Muse so sings,
And this to mend, alas, no Art is able,
‘Cause Nature made it so irreparable.

Nor can I, like that fluent sweet-tongued Greek

Who lisp’d at first, in future times speak plain.
By Art he gladly found what he did seek,
A full requital of his striving pain.
Art can do much, but this maxim’s most sure:
A weak or wounded brain admits no cure.

I am obnoxious to each carping tongue

Who says my hand a needle better fits.
A Poet’s Pen all scorn I should thus wrong,
For such despite they cast on female wits.
If what I do prove well, it won’t advance,
They’ll say it’s stol’n, or else it was by chance.

But sure the antique Greeks were far more mild,

Else of our Sex, why feigned they those nine
And poesy made Calliope’s own child?
So ‘mongst the rest they placed the Arts divine,
But this weak knot they will full soon untie.
The Greeks did nought but play the fools and lie.

Let Greeks be Greeks, and Women what they are.

Men have precedency and still excel;
It is but vain unjustly to wage war.
Men can do best, and Women know it well.
Preeminence in all and each is yours;
Yet grant some small acknowledgement of ours.

And oh ye high flown quills that soar the skies,

And ever with your prey still catch your praise,
If e’er you deign these lowly lines your eyes,
Give thyme or Parsley wreath, I ask no Bays.
This mean and unrefined ore of mine
Will make your glist’ring gold but more to shine.

Poem Analyzed by Emma Baldwin

B.A. English (Minor: Creative Writing), B.F.A. Fine Art, B.A. Art Histories

‘The Prologue’ by Anne Bradstreet is a subjective poem about the poet. Anne Bradstreet
proclaims herself as an uprising author in the field of English Literature in this poem.
A prologue introduces readers to a work of literature. It gives an idea of the overall story
of the book or any comments that will help readers understand the plot easily. Likewise,
in this poem, she is introducing herself to the literary circle as well as the contemporary
reading public. The poet is helping the readers to know her better as a person and as an
author. Her poetic words seem to be a bright specimen of what kind of an intellectual
woman Anne Bradstreet was in her life.

Summary
‘The Prologue’ by Anne Bradstreet is an interesting analysis of the poet’s own writing
abilities in comparison to those possessed by men.
The poet takes the reader should several different reasons and ways that her poetry, as a
woman, is inferior to male writing. She believes, as women were taught to in her time,
that she has a weaker brain. This keeps her from attempting to write on historical topics
or anything of worldly importance. There are a few arguments within the poem for a
woman’s ability to write but she always comes back around the placating the men who
might be upset by her choice to write rather than sew.

Structure
‘The Prologue’ by Anne Bradstreet is an eight-stanza poem that is separated into sets of
six lines, known as sestets. These sestets follow a simple rhyme scheme of ABABCC,
changing end sounds from stanza to stanza. Among several other literary devices,
Bradstreet makes use of iambic pentameter. This means that each line contains five sets
of two beats. The first of these is unstressed and the second is stressed.

Literary Devices
Bradstreet makes use of several literary devices in ‘The Prologue’. These include but are
not limited to, caesura, allusion, and alliteration. The first of these, caesura, occurs when
a line is split in half, sometimes with punctuation, sometimes not. The use of
punctuation in these moments creates a very intentional pause in the text. A reader
should consider how the pause influences the rhythm of one’s reading and how it might
precede an important turn or transition in the text. For example, like four of the first
stanza which reads: “Or how they all, or each their dates have run”.
An allusion is an expression that’s meant to call something specific to mind without
directly stating it. There are several examples throughout this poem, for instance, the
reference in the second stanza to “Bartas”. This refers to the French Protestant
poet Guillaume du Bartas whose poetry Bradstreet admired.
Alliteration occurs when words are used in succession, or at least appear close together,
and begin with the same sound. For example, “Captains” and “Common-wealths” as well
as “broken, blemished” in line four of stanza four.

Themes
‘The Prologue’ by Anne Bradstreet presents different themes to the readers. The major
theme of the poem is art. The poet celebrates the power of art in a discursive manner.
She broods upon the freedom it provides to women as artists. There is also a reference
to the works of French writer Bartas and Greek writers like Homer in the poem. By
alluding to those writers, she glorifies the literary dignity of classical art. There is
another important theme in the poem. It is equality. The poet does not directly talk
about gender equality in all spheres of life. Her focus is on the issue of equality in the
literary world. She wants to be recognized in the world of literature in which men
dominated from the beginning.
The poet also introduces the theme of proto-feminism in the poem. Proto-feminism as
the word reflects is an early form of Feminism. It is not the same as Feminism in today’s
world. The tone of proto-feminists was mild and reserved. Likewise, the poet chose
specific issues about the dignity of women and equality. She voices her opinion for the
acceptance of female writers according to their literary merits along with the male
writers of her time.

Elements of Feminism in The Prologue

‘The Prologue’ by Anne Bradstreet is a poem often about the celebration of women
writers of 17th century Europe. The poet acts as a representative of the women writers
of her time. What she says in the poem is not solely her problem. It is with all the women
artists of the age. They had the same literary merits as their male counterparts. Still, the
laurel of recognition found a cozy went to the male writers. While thinking about it the
poet somehow feels a little dejected about the patriarchal society. The tone of the poet
reflects that of a proto-feminist. Her voice is mild yet forceful. The grace of her appeal
reflects her literary merit. That’s why she says, “It is but vain unjustly to wage war./ Men
can do best, and Women know it well.”
However, the poet raises the issues of women. In her personal notes, she captures the
mindset of society with women. The poet says, “I am obnoxious to each carping tongue/
Who says my hand a needle better fits.” In this way, she wages an indirect protest against
all the prejudices that put the better half of the human race behind the curtains of their
rooms. This pen of the poet wrote for those who didn’t get enough recognition for their
gender. She attacks the basis of gender conception as well as the unequal treatment of
women in the literary circle. Apart from that she also celebrates her womanhood in the
last two lines of the poem, “This mean and unrefined ore of mine/ Will make your
glist’ring gold but more to shine.”

Analysis, Stanza by Stanza

Stanza One
To sing of Wars, of Captains, and of Kings,
Of Cities founded, Common-wealths begun,
For my mean Pen are too superior things;
Or how they all, or each their dates have run,
Let Poets and Historians set these forth.
My obscure lines shall not so dim their worth.
In the first stanza of ‘The Prologue,’ the poet makes use of several capital letters. Like
other poets, such as Emily Dickinson, Bradstreet used capitalization in order to draw
greater attention to words that she found to be the most important in a line or phrase.
Most of these words are nouns, such as the case in the first stanza. The first words that
she capitalizes are “Wars,” “Captains,“ and “Kings“.
She is describing how as a writer she is not going to try to attempt to write about these
three important things. She adds to this by saying that she will also stay away from the
beginnings of civilizations and cities. These are wide-ranging topics which at a time,
were some of the most popular to write about. She says that from her pen specifically,
these things are “to superior“.
As a woman, she believes that she should leave these “superior things to men. “Let poets
and historian set these forth“. She believes that as a woman she is lacking something
that allows men to write successfully about these historical topics. She does not go into
detail about what these things are exactly.

Stanza Two
But when my wond’ring eyes and envious heart
Great Bartas’ sugar’d lines do but read o’er,
Fool, I do grudge the Muses did not part
‘Twixt him and me that over-fluent store.
A Bartas can do what a Bartas will
But simple I according to my skill.
In the second stanza of ‘The Prologue’, she expresses her disappointment in the fact that
she was not given the same skills as other people were to write successfully about large
important topics. She would like to have the ability to do justice to these periods of
history that she’s interested in. She believes that the “Muses” did not give her what she
needs to write successfully. The word “Muses” refers to Greek mythology and the belief
that there were goddesses of the arts and sciences who bestowed abilities onto the
lucky few. One person that she compares herself against is Guillaume du Bartas a
French Protestant poet.
By alluding to this specific writer, the poet reveals to the reader that this is the kind of
writer that she would like to be. She admires the kind of works that he completed. In the
fifth and sixth lines of this stanza, the speaker says that she’s going to do what she will
“according to” her “skill”.

Stanza Three
From School-boy’s tongue no Rhet’ric we expect,
Nor yet a sweet Consort from broken strings,
Nor perfect beauty where’s a main defect.
My foolish, broken, blemished Muse so sings,
And this to mend, alas, no Art is able,
‘Cause Nature made it so irreparable.
In the third stanza of ‘The Prologue’ the speaker outlines how the poet is going to be
contented with her own, as she believes, meager skills. Just as we don’t expect a young
boy to write impressive words so too does society not expect a woman like Anne
Bradstreet to write as a male poet would. here is a “main defect“ in the poet’s nature.
She is a woman. This means that she is always going to have the lowest of expectations
set for her. Whatever the muses gave her, it was not very much.

Stanza Four
Nor can I, like that fluent sweet-tongued Greek
Who lisp’d at first, in future times speak plain.
By Art he gladly found what he did seek,
A full requital of his striving pain.
Art can do much, but this maxim’s most sure:
A weak or wounded brain admits no cure.
In the fourth stanza of the poem, there is an allusion to Demosthenes, a Greek. He was
an orator famous for having overcome a speech impediment. He “lisp’d” (an example
of syncope) at first but then learned to “speak plain”. In the same way that he worked to
overcome his speech impediment, Bradstreet worked to become a poet in a male-
dominated world. She may see herself as less in some ways but she has made an
accomplishment that shouldn’t be overlooked. The poet pushed through the “pain” just
as much as he did.
She admits in the last lines of this stanza that she’s not entirely sure that the power of
“Art can do much” for her. The poet returns to the idea that she is lacking in some way
that this man, and other men, are not. She uses the words “weak” and “wounded” in the
last line of this stanza when speaking about her own brain. This is a trouble depiction of
the poet’s mind, but one that a reader should consider in full. This is how most men, and
many women of her time saw themselves.

Stanza Five
I am obnoxious to each carping tongue
Who says my hand a needle better fits.
A Poet’s Pen all scorn I should thus wrong,
For such despite they cast on female wits.
If what I do prove well, it won’t advance,
They’ll say it’s stol’n, or else it was by chance.
She adds in the fifth stanza of ‘The Prologue’ that she is “obnoxious” to some. There are
many, as mentioned above, who don’t believe that a woman should write. They think her
hand would “better fit” a sewing needle. The men who speak about her this way believe
she is going to mess up poetry in some way. This isn’t something that’s specifically
targeted at Bradstreet but at all women who try to step out of their predetermined
roles.
If she’s successful, she knows that they’ll never admit that they were wrong. Her writing
could be as good as a man’s but she’s never going to get the credit that she deserves.
They will say that she was successful by “chance”.

Stanza Six
But sure the antique Greeks were far more mild,
Else of our Sex, why feigned they those nine
And poesy made Calliope’s own child?
So ‘mongst the rest they placed the Arts divine,
But this weak knot they will full soon untie.
The Greeks did nought but play the fools and lie.
The poet brings back in Greek mythology in the sixth stanza with a reference to the
“nine” muses. She believes that the Greeks were better than today’s men in this very
obvious way. They knew that women had something to give to the arts and sciences and
therefore made them the muses and not men. A reader should make sure to take note of
the use of enjambment in this stanza and in other stanzas that flow throughout the
poem. There is a good example between the second line and the third in stanza six.
The poet believes, despite what feels like a good argument that the stronger “male”
brains will “untie” it. They will soon find a way around her idea about the muses. They’ll
say something like the Greeks were “fools” and liars.

Stanza Seven
Let Greeks be Greeks, and Women what they are.
Men have precedency and still excel;
It is but vain unjustly to wage war.
Men can do best, and Women know it well.
Preeminence in all and each is yours;
Yet grant some small acknowledgement of ours.
Just as in the second stanza when she mentioned Bartas, Bradstreet now says that
Greeks should be Greeks and women should be women. There is no way to change one’s
nature. Men are going to have “precedency” and outperform their female counterparts,
that’s just the way the world is, she says. She doesn’t believe a war fought to change this
fact would result in anything.
Speaking directly to the men, likely those who critique her, she tells them that they are
smarter. They’re always going be in charge. but, she’d like some “small acknowledgment
of ours,” of women’s successes.

Stanza Eight
And oh ye high flown quills that soar the skies,
And ever with your prey still catch your praise,
If e’er you deign these lowly lines your eyes,
Give thyme or Parsley wreath, I ask no Bays.
This mean and unrefined ore of mine
Will make your glist’ring gold but more to shine.
There is a good example of anaphora in the first two lines of this stanza with the word
“And”. This word starts both lines as the poet brings the poem to a conclusion. She uses
a metaphor to call the men “high flown quills” in the first line. The poet is showing off
some of her skills using techniques like internal rhyme to finish the poem off strongly.
A reader should have realized by this point that this poem goes against everything the
poet is actually saying within it. With these eight stanzas, she is proving the opposite of
her conciliatory agreement with men. She can write, as well or better than any man of
her time or any time.
She asks that if the high flying men ever take the time to read her verse they treat it
accordingly. The poet isn’t looking for anything grand, just a simple acknowledgment is
all. In the final two lines, she suggests that her poetry is “ore” next to the “gold” of male
poetry. This is meant to pacify the men who might’ve been upset by her desire to write
at all. But it also ends the poem with a clever bang, once again showing off her skill.