Primary and Secondary Sources
Base your answers to the following questions on Source # 1 and Source # 2
Source #1
“If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were loved by wife, then thee.
If ever wife was happy in a man,
Compare with me, ye women, if you can.
I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold,
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee give recompense.
Thy love is such I can no way repay;
The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.
Then while we live, in love let’s so persever,
That when we live no more, we may live ever.”
- Anne Bradstreet, Poet, “To My Dear and Loving Husband,” 1678
Source #2
“Against all odds, Bradstreet had become a spokesperson for the New World—important publicity, as many people in England believed that once the settlers were removed from civilization, they would slip into savagery. If a woman, generally considered weaker than a man, could produce a volume of such learned and sophisticated poetry, then maybe life in New England would not harm the settlers. In fact, according to Bradstreet and the other New English Puritans, life in New England could only improve them. New Englanders were on a mission from God to purify the church, whereas, in Old England, the congregations were corrupt and the church leaders misguided. As a result, New Englanders believed they were blessed. In America, the babies were healthier, the crops more plentiful, and the people richer.”
- Charlotte Gordon, Writer, “If Ever Two Were One: Anne Bradstreet’s ‘To My Dear and Loving Husband,” 2014