Introduction to “The Prologue” by Anne Bradstreet

“The Prologue” is one of the most significant works by Anne Bradstreet, often considered the first notable poet of colonial America. Published in her 1650 collection The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America, the poem serves as a bold manifesto for female intellectualism in a strictly patriarchal Puritan society.

1. Introduction

“The Prologue” is an eight-stanza poem written in iambic pentameter with an ABABCC rhyme scheme (sestets). On the surface, it appears to be a humble apology for her “simple” verse. However, beneath this “modest” exterior lies a sharp, satirical critique of the men who believed women were incapable of serious poetry. Bradstreet uses the poem to carve out a space for herself among the greats of English literature.

2. Background

To understand the poem, one must consider the Puritan context of 17th-century New England:

• Gender Roles: Women were expected to focus on domestic duties (sewing, cooking, child-rearing). Writing was seen as a masculine pursuit.
• The “Tenth Muse”: The title of her book was chosen by her brother-in-law, suggesting she was a divine anomaly. Bradstreet uses “The Prologue” to address the skepticism she faced from her community.
• Literary Influence: Bradstreet was highly educated and well-versed in the classics, which she references to prove her intellectual worth.

3. Line-by-Line Detailed Analysis

To provide a truly granular look at “The Prologue,” we must examine how Bradstreet uses specific vocabulary and rhetorical structures to mask her ambition with “humility.”

Stanza-by-Stanza Deep Dive

Stanza 1: The Rejection of Epic Themes

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

Of Cities founded, Common-wealths begun,

For my mean Pen are too superior things;

• Analysis: Bradstreet lists the “Grand Themes” of classical poetry (like Virgil’s Aeneid or Homer’s Iliad). By using the word “mean,” she isn’t saying she is “unkind,” but rather “low-born” or “common.” She is setting up a false wall, claiming these topics are “too superior” for a woman.

Stanza 2: The Limitation of Talent

My obscure lines shall not so dim their worth,

To sing each art, as some here-to-fore have done,

But simple I according to my skill,

Let learned Greeks their art and practice fill.

• Analysis: She uses the word “obscure” to describe her own writing. This is ironic; her writing is actually very clear and sharp. She defers to “learned Greeks,” suggesting that poetry is a specialized trade that she, as a simple woman, shouldn’t interfere with—though the very act of writing this poem contradicts her.

Stanza 3: The Envy of Bartas

A Bartas can do what a woman cannot,

Oh Mack-Fleckno, or some such great name,

My trembling Muse shall at his footstool sit.

• Analysis: Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas was a famous French poet she admired. By claiming she can only sit at his “footstool,” she adopts a pose of extreme submission. However, by naming him, she proves she has read him, which immediately establishes her as an educated intellectual—not just a housewife.

Stanza 4: The Flaw in Nature

Nor can I, like that fluent sweet-tongued Greek,

Who mended what Nature had left imperfect,

With pebbles in his mouth…

• Analysis: This is an allusion to Demosthenes, the Greek orator who overcame a speech impediment by practicing with pebbles in his mouth. Bradstreet is making a clever argument: If a man can “mend” a natural defect with practice, why can’t a woman “mend” her supposedly “inferior” mind with education?

Stanza 5: The “Carping Tongues”

I am obnoxious to each carping tongue

Who says my hand a needle better fits,

A Poets Pen, all Scorn, I should thus wrong:

For such despight they cast on female wits.

• Analysis: The tone shifts here. “Obnoxious” in the 17th century meant “exposed to” or “vulnerable to.” She is calling out her critics (the “carping tongues”) who think she should be sewing (the needle) instead of writing (the pen). She highlights the “scorn” men feel toward “female wits.”

Stanza 6: The Double Standard

If what I do prove well, it won’t advance,

They’ll say it’s stol’n, or else it was by chance.

• Analysis: This is one of the most famous couplets in early American literature. Bradstreet exposes the Catch-22 of being a woman: If her poetry is bad, it proves women are stupid. If it is good, men will claim she stole it from a man or just got “lucky.” It is a scathing indictment of prejudice.

Stanza 7: The Greek Precedent

The Greeks did naught, but play the fools and lie,

If they did not recognize female worth,

For why did they the Muses nine create,

And Poesie’s Goddesses, each one a maid?

• Analysis: She uses a “logical trap.” She points out that the very Greeks men admire created nine female Muses to oversee the arts. If women are truly incapable of art, why are the deities of art all women? She essentially calls her male critics hypocrites for admiring Greek culture while demeaning women.

Stanza 8: The “Parsley” Request

Give wholesome Parsley wreath, I ask no bays.

This mean and unrefined ore of mine

Will make your glistring gold but more to shine.

• Analysis: The “Bay” (Laurel) was the prize for the best poets. “Parsley” was a common kitchen herb. She “humbly” asks for the kitchen herb, but the metaphor she uses—“unrefined ore” vs. “glistring gold”—is actually a subtle boast. She suggests that her “raw” talent will provide a contrast that makes the men’s “polished” work look even better, ensuring her work is included in the conversation.

Literary Devices Summary

• Sestet Structure: Each stanza is six lines, providing a disciplined, “orderly” feel that mirrors the Puritan values of the time.
• Occupatio: The technique of saying you won’t talk about something (wars, kings) while actually talking about it.
• Juxtaposition: The constant contrast between the “Needle” (domesticity) and the “Pen” (intellectualism).

4. Figures of Speech

5. Conclusion

“The Prologue” is a masterpiece of subversive rhetoric. Anne Bradstreet manages to fulfill the outward expectations of Puritan modesty while simultaneously dismantling the argument that women are intellectually inferior. She does not ask to replace men, but she demands a place beside them. The poem remains a foundational text in feminist literature, proving that the “needle” and the “pen” can belong to the same hand.