If ever two were one，then surely we.
If ever man were loved by wife, then thee;
If ever wife was happy in a man，
Compare with me，ye women，if you can.
I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold
Or all the riches that East doth hold.
My love is such that rivers cannot quench，
Nor ought but love from thee，give recompense.
Thy love is such I can no way repay,
The heavens reward thee manifold，I pray.
Then while we live，in love let’s so persevere
That when we live no more，we may live ever.
This is a love poem wrote by Anne Bradstreet. She dictated by her emotion which was such great love for her husband, that she wished their love will be honored even after their death, and said “ If ever two were one, then surely we, if ever man were loved by wife, then thee:” Usually in the earlier writers, majority of the poems, describing the love, were wrote by masculine. So the existing of Anne was became extraordinarily occasion time that a woman proving the love to her husband.
When she said “ if ever wife was happy in a man, compare with me, ye woman, if you can.” she is clearly in love with her husband and declares her love for him through out this passage. She feels this desire for him and his love for her is like no other in the world. She challenges any woman, who may claim they too have experienced this same kind of love.
She was thankfully valued their love, “I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold or all the riches that the East doth hold.” and explains how their love is never changing even through difficult times. She describes his love as her sole satisfaction that "quenches" and said in the passage “My love is such that rivers cannot quench, Nor ought but love from thee, give recompense” her soul and she prays to the heavens that their infinite love will go on after their death.
In this passage, “Thy love is such I can no way repay, The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.” She saying even if this love was a debt, or a something obligate would be harder for no way to pay back.
The last phrase of the poem, “Then while we live, in love let's so persevere
That when we live no more, we may live ever.” determine the value of love when the person are alive, then if they are passed away.
Anne Bradstreet
Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672) is one of the most important figures in the history of American Literature. She is considered by many to be the first American poet, and her first collection of poems, "The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America, By a Gentlewoman of Those Parts", doesn't contain any of her best known poems, it was the first book written by a woman to be published in the United States. Mrs. Bradstreet's work also serves as a document of the struggles of a Puritan wife against the hardships of New England colonial life, and in some way is a testament to plight of the women of the age. Anne's life was a constant struggle, from her difficult adaptation to the rigors of the new land, to her constant battle with illness.
It is clear to see that Anne's faith was exemplary, and so was her love for children and her husband, Governor Simon Bradstreet. Anne's poems were written mainly during the long periods of loneliness while Simon was away on political errands. Anne, who was a well educated woman, also spent much time with her children, reading to them and teaching them as her father had taught her when she was young. While it is rather easy for us to view Puritan ideology in a bad light because of it's attitude towards women and strict moral code, her indifference to material wealth, her humility and her spirituality, regardless of religion, made her into a positive, inspirational role model for any of us.
Another one of Anne's most important qualities was her strong intuition, although only subtly hinted at in her work, probably for fear of reprisal from the deeply religious Puritan community, one cannot help but feel her constant fascination with the human mind, and spirit, and inner guidance.
Her style is deceptively simple, yet speaks of a woman of high intelligence and ideals who was very much in love, and had unconditional faith. While it was difficult for women to air their views in the 17th Century, Anne Bradstreet did so with ease, as her rich vocabulary and polyvalent knowledge brought a lyrical, yet logical quality to her work which made it pleasant for anyone to read.
