The Posture of Humility in Anne Bradstreet's 'Prologue' Tanushree Basuroy College

In keeping with tradition, Anne Bradstreet like several other Renaissance writers, introduces her work The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America (1650), through a prologue. Not only does it serve the purpose of acquainting the reader with the subject of the quaternions (set of four interrelated poems) but also allows the poet to “address the reader directly about the craft, or about the likely reception of the work that she expects” (Dasgupta, 16). Much like her other public works, the Prologue too adopts the tone of humility that is characteristic of Bradstreet’s writing style. What strikes one as unusual her is the excessive nature of her modesty that borders on self-deprecation. One must be advised against taking the poet’s words at face value. This paper attempts to determine if the supposed tone of humble compromise in the Prologue is, in fact, a posture assumed by Bradstreet to facilitate “affect” (Isobel Armstrong) among her readers, thus, convincing them of her skills as a writer.

Although often understood as reflecting the “ethos of Puritan self-effacement” (Dasgupta 8), the Prologue is actually a clever ploy that is used to appropriate Bradstreet’s craft while appeasing the predominantly male conservative audience...