Sor Juana is saying that great people do not come from the same place. I believe she is also implying that great writers are not defined by only one gender. She believes that good work can come from men and women. She also is saying that when a person is skilled, they should not only celebrate themselves. I think she wants this man from Peru to see the skills in people other than being closed minded.

God of music. His task is to make the sun set each day. Also known as the Archer; the god of healing, giving the science of medicine to man; the god of light; and the god of truth.

People from all over the world traveled to find out their future from him.

reference: http://www.greekmythology.com/Olympians/Apollo/apollo.html

Perhaps the name of the man from Peru who criticized her?

Since Sor Juana is a nun, she will never marry. She is saying that you were considered a woman if you married. Sor Juana is stating that she is not defined as a woman because of her situation. She rejects the idea of femininity and the cultural limitations. She is not limited to a gender as a writer.

Bradstreet uses this as a way to address the unequal treatment women in writing profession will have. Even if she proves herself as a good writer, she will never find success because people will think she stole her writing or was lucky. Women writers cannot be as good as men.

By being a writer, Bradstreet challenged gender norms of her time. She uses this as the opportunity to bring to light the criticisms of her chosen profession, many people arguing that she's better off with a sewing needle, rather than a pen.

The eldest Muse. She was the Muse of eloquence and epic poetry who bestowed her gift on kings and princes.

Source: http://www.theoi.com/Ouranios/MousaKalliope.html

This stanza is interesting to highlight upon. Bradstreet is known for her feminist prose. However, here we see how her views were somewhat less "controversial." By that, I mean she is not completely arguing that women and men are equal. Bradstreet acknowledges the fact that men can do better than women and that women should accept that. Though, she still hopes that one day women will get acknowledgement for what they have accomplished.

Here Bradstreet displays her jealousy she has of Bartas. While she admires him, she believes he was born with more skill than her and that she will never compare. I believe that she may use Bartas as a way to display most men her in society, the fact that they are always better "by nature." She is preparing readers for her poetry to come, being both modest and envious.

The Salic Law of Succession. This law forbid succession of the throne by those through only a woman, and women themselves. The arguments made that prevented women from taking the throne ultimately supported the Roman Law and priestly character of kingship. England was one of the countries that did not practice the Salic Law.

Source: http://www.britannica.com/topic/Salic-Law-of-Succession

Here, Bradstreet is entertaining the thought, "do women have worth or not?" She uses this to argue that women had worth while Queen Elizabeth was alive, because the power she had proved that any woman could prove her own governance. She questions whether women lost their worth once Queen Elizabeth died. Though, she believes, in time, women will gain it back because Elizabeth will right their wrongs from the grave.

image credit: http://www.greekmythology.com/Olympians/Apollo/apollo.html

Apollo. The god of the light or sun. His daily task was to move the sun across the sky.

I looked this up because I was unaware of Apollo's other name. Though, I decided to keep it because of how visual this poem is by Bradstreet. I liked the idea of showing Apollo push the sun across the sky. This is definitely my favorite poem of Bradstreet's. This poem has a deep connection (sort of a conversation) to God. I began to wonder how deep of a connection Bradstreet had to this poem, what it really meant to her.

I think it is important to note how visual Bradstreet's writing is in this poem, especially this stanza. Through her writing, she explains the creation of Earth and humanity by God, but in this stanza, she describes how life on Earth differs. While nature goes through a continuous process of dying and coming back to life, seeming eternal through the seasons, humans only get one cycle. While nature gets to come back full of more life, humans wither until they are gone.

Bradstreet uses this to poem to describe the realization people have when they discover no one can have an eternal life on Earth. Everyone will eventually die when their time catches up to them. Even kings cannot escape the end of their time.

I thought this was an amazing poem by Bradstreet and was surprised it was not included in our anthology. I think it is a noteworthy piece because of how she notes that no one is eternal on Earth, and those who aren't recorded will be completely forgotten.

Bradstreet uses this poem to illustrate herself as a mother bird. She reflects on her eight children who she raised, but have now all flown away. I like this poem because it can withstand the test of time. Bradstreet longs for her children to fly back home, although they all have lives of their own. I believe many parents in present day can relate to Bradstreet. In the end, while she still misses her children, she writes, "I happy am, if well with you." Like most parents, she values her children's happiness, and seeing them happy is enough to live through the pain of missing them.

While this was annotated in our anthology, I decided to look up more definitions of the word. The results I found gave me a stronger view as to how Bradstreet viewed the Queen. The anthology defines the word as "a woman who possesses great stature, strength, and courage."

The definition that I believe enhances Bradstreet's view of Queen Elizabeth is, "a man-like, vigorous, and heroic woman; a female warrior; an amazon."

I believe this adds to how much Bradstreet respected the Queen.

http://www.oed.com.pitt.idm.oclc.org/view/Entry/223704?redirectedFrom=virago#eid

While Bradstreet notes in her touching poem to her husband that she hopes they will live together even after death, her wishes did not fully remain true. Bradstreet died in 1672, while her husband went on to marry Ann Gardner-Bradstreet in 1676 until his death in 1697.

To find out more on their family tree, click here:http://www.geni.com/people/Gov-Simon-Bradstreet/6000000002927771337

Among the ~18 million Native Americans, about 80-90% of were wiped out by disease. The Natives were generally healthier than the colonists, eating healthier and larger diets, along with less disease in the first place. Diseases such as the bubonic plague, chicken pox, pneumonic plague, cholera, diphtheria, influenza, measles, scarlet fever, smallpox, typhus, tuberculosis, and whooping cough were brought to America from the Europeans. This wipe of Native groups eventually led the Natives thinking that the colonists were sent from the heavens, but as punishment.

For more information on the diseases, click this link: http://nativeamericannetroots.net/diary/325

When I read this passage in the anthology, this line stuck out to me. While the Natives had their own culture, Hariot notes that after his sermons, the Natives would embrace the bible. I figured that this could perhaps be an example of the Natives at first thinking colonists to be people from the heavens. In the beginning, they did not realize the cultural reform being pushed upon them. This could have been a reason as to why the colonists were so confident in thinking they could adjust every Native's tradition.

In this, Hariot is explaining that while the Native's religion is far from his own and "untrue," it will be easier for them to conform already having belief in something, as opposed to having none at all. I think it is interesting to highlight, because many colonists belittle the Native beliefs, instead of understanding the difficulty as if their roles were reversed.

I was somewhat confused with this word, mainly because of its spelling. I found that it is simply tropic, relating to geography. This is party borrowed from French and Latin.

Full definition: Each of the two points on the celestial sphere at which the sun reaches its greatest distance north or south of the celestial equator and begins to move back towards it again; a solstitial point; (also) the time of year when the sun is at such a point, a solstice. In extended use also: either of the two equinoctial points or equinoxes.