Anne Bradstreet's The Author to Her Book describes the complex attitude of the author - specifically the attitude of an author towards her work. Through use of a controlling metaphor, that of a child, Bradstreet manages to convey all of her feelings towards one of her works.
In order to introduce the controlling metaphor of The Author to Her Book, Bradstreet begins by using words that allude to the idea of birth. Within line one, Bradstreet uses the phrase "offspring of my feeble brain" to show the closeness that she ties between the work of an author and the authors themselves. Since the word offspring conveys a powerful meaning - a strong bond between two, a parent and a child, it shows that Bradstreet's attitude towards her works is one where she perceives that same bond. The second line of the poem consists of the phrase "who after birth did'st by my side remain," showing another connection to the controlling metaphor of the poem - birth and yet again shows the close connection between an author and their work.
English: "The Tenth Muse," a collection of poems a...
one of the more common paintings of anne bradstree...
Second edition title page of Anne Bradstreet's poe...Another part of the controlling metaphor of a child that shows Bradstreet's attitude about one of her works is contained in lines four through line fourteen. Within the lines, lie Bradstreet's feelings about the state of her piece, shown through her feelings about the appearance of the metaphorical child. Throughout the lines, a description of a lack of perfection is given - "I cast thee as one unfit for light", "they blemishes amend", "more defects I saw", and "still made a flaw" all contribute greatly to the overall picture that no matter what, the work of the author is never in need of correction. In fact, Bradstreet shows the reader of her poem that the corrections to a...