An Annotation of Anne Bradstreets In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Elizabeth Bradstreet :: Memory My Dear Grandchild Elizabeth Bradstreet

An Annotation of Anne Bradstreets In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Elizabeth Bradstreet This poesy is a firsthand account of how Anne Bradstreet was feeling when she experienced the wrong of her granddaughter, Elizabeth. Although Bradstreets berth on Elizabeths death seems to reflect her belief in Gods plan, the diction suggests otherwise.In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Elizabeth Bradstreet, Who Deceased August, 1665, Being a Year and matchless-half Oldby Anne Bradstreet 1Farewell dear babe, my he subterfuges too much subject matter,Farewell seraphic babe, the pleasure of mine eye,Farewell fair flower that for a length was lent,Then taen away unto eternity.Blest babe, why should I once quetch thy fate,Or sigh thy days so soon were terminate,Sith thou art settled in an everlasting state.2By disposition trees do rot when they are grown,And plums and apples thoroughly ripe do fall,And corn and pip are in their season mown,And time brings down what is both bullocky and tall.But plants new set to be eradicate,And buds new blown to confound so short a date,Is by His hand alone that guides nature and fate.Bradstreet begins the poem by describing how she felt for her granddaughter, and this is seen in the way she describes Elizabeth as a babe and flower. In phrases such as my hearts too much content and the pleasure of mine eye, it is quite clear that she felt deeply for the teeny lady friend. It is obvious that a grandmother would be deeply saddened by the loss of her grandchild. However, the poem shifts focus from what Elizabeth meant to her grandmother to how Bradstreet sees this death. The repetition of farewell emphasizes the tragedy of the posture and solidifies the fact that she is gone. She continues to say goodbye as though this little girl died before she should have. This declaration continues when Bradstreet describes her as a fair flower that for a space was lent. In using the word lent, it sounds as though the girl was robbed of the fullness of life and never had the opportunity to live. But who decides who gets to live? God. What Bradstreet is rightfully saying is that God didnt let her granddaughter live, and, resultantly, she is marking his decision as a mistake by remonstrateing about it. This is not characteristic for one of such alleged concrete beliefs in God. The fact that Bradstreet mentions that she should not complain of the loss because she is in an everlasting state questions her religious sincerity.