Anne Bradstreet: Poems Lesson Plan

Comparison: Bradstreet and Taylor

Kind of Activity:

Classwide Discussion

Objective:

Students will compare two Puritan poems on the death of children, one by Bradstreet and the other by Edward Taylor.

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.9, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.2, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.1, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.4

Structure:

Death was depressingly frequent in the American colonies, and the poetry of the time reflects this. Though Bradstreet was fortunate to have no children die in childbirth, she did experience the deaths of three of her grandchildren. She reflects on these deaths poignantly in her poem "On Simon Bradstreet," which showcases...