Reading guide for selections by Anne Bradstreet and John Berryman’s

“Homage to Mistress Bradstreet

Word process your responses except where you are asked to annotate your text.

For the Anne Bradstreet selections:

1. What is the rhyme scheme of “To My Dear and Loving Husband?”

2. What is the gist of the poem?

3. What kinds of images does Bradstreet select to express her feelings and what might these tell

us about Puritan beliefs?

4. What images does she employ in “In Memory of My Dear Grandchild…?”

5. Explain Bradstreet’s relationship to God as she expresses it in “To My Dear Children.” Be

specific.

For John Berryman’s “Homage to Mistress Bradstreet”:

1. In “Homage…,” Berryman envisions a dialogue between the speaker and Mistress Bradstreet.

Annotate your text to indicate who the speakers are in and within stanzas 25-35.

2. What is the gist of stanzas 17-22?

3. Of stanzas 24-25?

4. Of stanzas 25-35?

5. What is the speaker’s attitude toward Mistress Bradstreet in stanzas 36-39?