19 Matching Annotations
  1. Jan 2024
    1. Thou ill-form’d offspring of my feeble brain, Who after birth didst by my side remain, Till snatched from thence by friends, less wise than true,

      Bradstreet appears to dislike her own writing at times and clearly did not mean for it to become public. She also labels her buddies untrustworthy and dumb, which is quite entertaining.

  2. Oct 2023
    1. Peyton Farquhar was dead; his body, with a broken neck, swung gently from side to side beneath the timbers of the Owl Creek bridge.

      Concludes with disclosing the dismal reality that the man, Peyton Farquhar, was already dead, and his execution had taken place at Owl Creek Bridge.

    1. Because I could not stop for Death – He kindly stopped for me – The Carriage held but just Ourselves – And Immortality.

      She demonstrates in her poetry that she has come to terms with death and won't be afraid of it when the time comes.

    1. I felt a Funeral, in my Brain, And Mourners to and fro Kept treading - treading - till it seemed That Sense was breaking through -

      I believe that the poem's story is introduced in this first stanza. It demonstrates to us that the narrator is experiencing in her mind a funeral. implying that she believes her previous attitude has passed away and the rest of her mental landscape is in sorrow for her.

    1. As when a little Girl

      compares her confinement experience to that of a little kid. This would imply that she has been subject to these limitations ever since she was a little child.

    1. Wild nights - Wild nights!

      This seems to be one of Emily Dickinson's most intriguing poems. This poem in particular Dashes are used in Emily Dickinson's poetry to connect words rather than to separate them, in contrast to conventional punctuation. They link not only the words of a text but also our emotions, as is particularly evident in this poetry.

  3. Sep 2023
    1. Plutonian

      Poe is implying that the raven appears to originate from the world of the dead. Pluto, the Roman deity of death, is referenced by the term "Plutonian."

    1. By the name of Annabel Lee; And this maiden she lived with no other thought    Than to love and be loved by me.

      Since Poe frequently writes about lost love, I can only conclude that this will not end well. Additionally, this comes across as a little narcissistic, but that is to be expected from Poe.

    1. O God! can I not save One from the pitiless wave

      The sand grains might be a metaphor for something else, like passing time. Nevertheless, the speaker is concerned about being hit by the waves.

    1. The man wore motley.

      This man was rough; he appeared to have been drinking excessively and for an extended period of time. His white shirt surely has a wine stain on it, and one of his shoes is undoubtedly undone.

    1. remain fixed, while the great torrent of migration and improvement,

      Change vs tradition. Common literary devices in American works make sense when the old and new worlds collide.

    1. If ever two were one, then surely we. If ever man were loved by wife, then thee.

      I enjoy how the structure of Bradstreet's poem explains how the couple's union came about. They both displayed a love that was so intense that nothing in the world could compare. She continued by saying that because of how strong their love is, they will remain connected even beyond death.

    2. Compare with me, ye women, if you can.

      The author is so sure of her love and loyalty to her husband that she challenges any of her contemporaries to outdo her commitment.

    1. My head, my heart, mine Eyes, my life, nay more,

      Beginning with her spouse, who is not present, Anne emphasizes their close emotional connection by outlining numerous elements of herself and her life that are tied to him.

    1. All things within this fading world hath end,   Adversity doth still our joyes attend;

      I feel like she is saying that everything in the world will eventually come to an end and that adversity will eventually find us all, which is something I can personally connect to. But we can be resilient and resist it. a fact to which everyone can attest.

    1. Till snatched from thence by friends, less wise than true,

      Bradstreet didn't feel her work was ready for public consumption, thus she wasn't yet ready to release it. But her pals had other opinions.

    2. Thy blemishes amend, if so I could: I wash’d thy face, but more defects I saw, And rubbing off a spot, still made a flaw.

      According to my interpretation, if something seems ugly or broken, trying to fix it usually seems to create a new problem or just make things worse. Learn to accept things that, on the surface, may seem undesirable.

    1. when I own I offer here the history of neither a saint, a hero, nor a tyrant

      Equiano describes himself as a "private and obscure stranger" who is "neither a saint, a hero, nor a tyrant". Equiano is essentially leaving nothing out in his life narrative. It nearly makes one wonder why he is even penning his story in the first place. The opposite approach might have been used by Benjamin Franklin to begin his life tale.

    1. breathing figures

      I'm reminded of self-portraits when I see this. When producing them, you must try your hardest to make it appear as though you are staring in a mirror.