Anne Bradstreet Response

Any type of love poem should contain words of passion, love, emotion, and feeling. With the assistance of these words and phrases, the author will be allowed to more efficiently express any type of loving emotions towards their audience. In Anne Bradstreet’s “To My Dear and Loving Husband”, Bradstreet uses pathos to appeal to her audience’s feelings of love and devotion. Throughout her composition of this poem, she implants various examples of pathos. Without the use of pathos, in her love poem, she would not have been able to explicitly state her excessive love towards her audience.
Pathos is a technique used by many authors to appeal to the audience’s inner and deepest emotions. Bradstreet implements pathos in her love poem to allow her true feelings, for her husband, to be known by the entire world. “ If ever two were one, then surely we,” (Bradstreet, 1). In stating these words, she was describing how her husband’s and her love was the strongest love one could ever find. When Bradstreet said, “ compare with me, ye women, if you can,” (4) she was describing, to her husband, how much she truly believed that she was the only woman to completely fulfill his needs and wants. In her eyes, no other woman could possibly try to attain or perfect the accomplishments Bradstreet overcame to please her husband. “ I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold,” (Bradstreet, 5). Since gold was considered a significant and amazing find, she compared her husband’s and her love to it. In doing this, she gave her husband a direct example of how much she loved him. With this example, he would then be able to relate her love for him. Bradstreet said, “ My love is such that rivers cannot quench,” (8). In this quote, Bradstreet gave rivers a form of personification, by stating that they “ cannot quench” (8). Since rivers are considered as strong and powerful, Bradstreet was explaining how this object, though being strong and powerful, could still not withstand the power of her husband’s and her love. “ Thy love is such I can no way repay,” (Bradstreet, 9). In view of the fact that Bradstreet had already established how good of a woman she was to him, she tried not to sound so cocky by explaining how she was only inspired by his love. Without “thy love” (Bradstreet, 9), meaning her husband’s love, she would have not been able to have developed the love she had for him. With the stating of “ the heavens reward thee manifold, I pray,” (Bradstreet, 10) Bradstreet expresses how such a powerful being, as God, has encouraged her husband’s and her love. Since her “ manifold” (Bradstreet, 10) is being rewarded, this means that God is giving a blessing towards her husband’s and her love. “ Then while we live, in love let’s so persevere,” (Bradstreet, 11). Bradstreet is attempting to describe to her husband how she wants their love to continue throughout the rest of their lives. The feelings she receives from their love are too overwhelming for her to simply let go of. Bradstreet said, “ that when we live no more, we may live ever,” (12). Even though her husband and her may be dead, she still wants their love to continue on. With her use of pathos, she expresses her feelings towards her husband.
Without the use of pathos, in her love poem, she would not have been able to explicitly state her excessive love towards her audience. If a love poem does not contain any type of pathos, then the poem cannot be considered a love poem. Pathos is what is used to attain the audience’s emotions. It gives the audience a bird’s – eye view of Bradstreet’s inner, most feelings for her husband. If there is no emotion within the poem, then it could only be considered as a normal poem.