Bradstreet's "To My Dear and Term Paper

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The literary techniques used in both poems help deliver the message of unending and perfect love.

The intended audience is different for each poem; in "To My Dear and Loving Husband," the poet is speaking directly to her husband as opposed to making a more declarative statement as we see in "How Do I Love Thee." Bradstreet is speaking directly to her husband and Browning is speaking to readers. This difference does not diminish the effect of either poem but it is significant when examining strategy. We can look at Bradstreet's poem as more personal in that she might not have intended this poem for public consumption and even if she did, she still chose to address her husband directly, giving him all of her attention. Bradstreet's poem is also composed with a mood and tone of humility, indicating that the love she shares with her husband is invaluable. Browning's poem also indicates that her love is extremely important, claiming she will "love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach" (Browning 2-3). She, too, seems to compare this love to her love for God when she writes, "I love thee with a love I seemed to lose with my lost saints" (11-12).

Their strategy of expressing love in lyric form is popular and very expressive.
In "To My Dear and Loving Husband," we do not think of Puritan women expressing their love so freely, which is refreshing in its own way. In addition, it is worth noting that the poet might even love her husband more than God; this is unclear but the fact that a Puritan woman would hint at it is interesting. The poem is almost a sonnet and it is composed of couplets.

While these poems were composed centuries apart, they share the bond of utter devotion and they are filled with passion. Each poet declares a type of love that is unmatched and this is expressed through mood and tone. Each poet allows us to see the depth of their love through metaphors and symbols, demonstrating the extreme power of love. Love is a powerful motivator and while these poems appear to have much in common, it is important to recognize the Bradstreet wrote her poem for her husband while Browning wrote her poem for readers. Certainly both poems could have been composed with public consumption in mind but Bradstreet's poem remains more personal and intimate because she is addressing him and, above all, we understand that she wants him to know how she feels above all else.

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https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/bradstreet-dear-27145