"The Author to Her Book" was written in the mid-1600s by the Puritan poet Anne Bradstreet, after she and her family had emigrated from England to America. In the poem, Bradstreet explores her own feelings towards her one published collection of poetry, The Tenth Muse, Lately Sprung Up in America, which was supposedly published without her knowledge (though some critics cast doubt on this story). The poem expresses doubt and disappointment about her work from start to finish. This is achieved through an extended metaphor that characterizes the book as the "ill-form'd offspring" of the author's "feeble brain."
|
Get
LitCharts
|
|
The Full Text of “The Author to Her Book”
1Thou ill-form’d offspring of my feeble brain,
2Who after birth didst by my side remain,
3Till snatched from thence by friends, less wise than true,
4Who thee abroad, expos’d to publick view,
5Made thee in raggs, halting to th’ press to trudge,
6Where errors were not lessened (all may judg).
7At thy return my blushing was not small,
8My rambling brat (in print) should mother call,
9I cast thee by as one unfit for light,
10Thy Visage was so irksome in my sight;
11Yet being mine own, at length affection would
12Thy blemishes amend, if so I could:
13I wash’d thy face, but more defects I saw,
14And rubbing off a spot, still made a flaw.
15I stretched thy joynts to make thee even feet,
16Yet still thou run’st more hobling then is meet;
17In better dress to trim thee was my mind,
18But nought save home-spun Cloth, i’ th’ house I find.
19In this array ’mongst Vulgars mayst thou roam.
20In Criticks hands, beware thou dost not come;
21And take thy way where yet thou art not known,
22If for thy Father askt, say, thou hadst none:
23And for thy Mother, she alas is poor,
24Which caus’d her thus to send thee out of door.
The Full Text of “The Author to Her Book”
1Thou ill-form’d offspring of my feeble brain,
2Who after birth didst by my side remain,
3Till snatched from thence by friends, less wise than true,
4Who thee abroad, expos’d to publick view,
5Made thee in raggs, halting to th’ press to trudge,
6Where errors were not lessened (all may judg).
7At thy return my blushing was not small,
8My rambling brat (in print) should mother call,
9I cast thee by as one unfit for light,
10Thy Visage was so irksome in my sight;
11Yet being mine own, at length affection would
12Thy blemishes amend, if so I could:
13I wash’d thy face, but more defects I saw,
14And rubbing off a spot, still made a flaw.
15I stretched thy joynts to make thee even feet,
16Yet still thou run’st more hobling then is meet;
17In better dress to trim thee was my mind,
18But nought save home-spun Cloth, i’ th’ house I find.
19In this array ’mongst Vulgars mayst thou roam.
20In Criticks hands, beware thou dost not come;
21And take thy way where yet thou art not known,
22If for thy Father askt, say, thou hadst none:
23And for thy Mother, she alas is poor,
24Which caus’d her thus to send thee out of door.
-
“The Author to Her Book” Summary
-
-
“The Author to Her Book” Themes
-
Art and Creativity
- See where this theme is active in the poem.
-
-
Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Author to Her Book”
-
Lines 1-6
Thou ill-form’d offspring of my feeble brain,
Who after birth didst by my side remain,
Till snatched from thence by friends, less wise than true,
Who thee abroad, expos’d to publick view,
Made thee in raggs, halting to th’ press to trudge,
Where errors were not lessened (all may judg). -
Lines 7-10
At thy return my blushing was not small,
My rambling brat (in print) should mother call,
I cast thee by as one unfit for light,
Thy Visage was so irksome in my sight; -
Lines 11-14
Yet being mine own, at length affection would
Thy blemishes amend, if so I could:
I wash’d thy face, but more defects I saw,
And rubbing off a spot, still made a flaw. -
Lines 15-16
I stretched thy joynts to make thee even feet,
Yet still thou run’st more hobling then is meet; -
Lines 17-19
In better dress to trim thee was my mind,
But nought save home-spun Cloth, i’ th’ house I find.
In this array ’mongst Vulgars mayst thou roam. -
Lines 20-24
In Criticks hands, beware thou dost not come;
And take thy way where yet thou art not known,
If for thy Father askt, say, thou hadst none:
And for thy Mother, she alas is poor,
Which caus’d her thus to send thee out of door.
-
-
“The Author to Her Book” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
-
Assonance
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Apostrophe
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Caesura
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Consonance
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Enjambment
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Extended Metaphor
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Pun
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
-
“The Author to Her Book” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Thou
- Ill-form'd
- Didst
- Thence
- Thee
- Abroad
- Raggs
- Halting
- Trudge
- Judg
- Thy
- Rambling brat
- Visage
- Irksome
- Mine own
- Defects
- Joynts
- Run'st
- Hobling
- Meet
- Trim
- Nought
- Home-spun Cloth
- I' th' house
- Array
- 'Mongst
- Vulgars
- Mayst
- Criticks
- Dost
- Askt
- Hadst
- Alas
-
- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
-
Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Author to Her Book”
-
Form
-
Meter
-
Rhyme Scheme
-
-
“The Author to Her Book” Speaker
-
-
“The Author to Her Book” Setting
-
-
Literary and Historical Context of “The Author to Her Book”
-
-
More “The Author to Her Book” Resources
-
External Resources
-
The Puritan Experience — A more in-depth look into the Puritan movement.
-
Bradstreet's Life Story — A valuable resource on Anne Bradstreet from the Poetry Foundation.
-
America's First Poet — An NPR piece about the life and work of Anne Bradstreet.
-
Homage to Mistress Bradstreet — A poetic tribute to Anne Bradstreet by John Berryman.
-
The Book in Question — Read the full text of Anne Bradstreet's collection of poetry (the book referred to in this poem), "The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America."
-
-
LitCharts on Other Poems by Anne Bradstreet
-
Ask LitCharts AI:
The answer to your questions
Powered by LitCharts content and AI.
