In her anthology The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up In America (1650), Anne Bradstreet focuses on her most dominant concerns, family, and the woman's role as wife and mother . Based on biblical authority, wifehood and motherhood are not only roles but also sacred and spiritual values ​​deeply rooted in society. As a Puritan woman, Bradstreet supports these family values. Believing in the sanctity of marriage, she displays an unswerving devotion to her husband and, in her poems, makes many marital and marital references. As a mother, her dedication and love for her offspring is unmistakable as she infuses images of the mother into her poems. Anne Bradstreet's poetry reveals the precious values ​​of wifehood and motherhood while adhering to the standards and principles regarding family typical of the Puritan woman. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Bradstreet's poems express the most sacred and inviolable unity in the marital relationship. These principles, supported by the Bible, are reflected in Bradstreet's poems, "Before the Birth of One of Her Children," "To My Dear and Loving Husband," and "A Letter to Her Husband." According to author Amanda Porterfield, “Puritan ministers […] placed religious significance on relationships between husbands and wives. Through this religious interpretation of the relationship between husbands and wives, the Puritans established marriage as the fundamental unit of the social order” (4). The Bible, the Puritans' scriptural authority, states that "a man shall cleave to his wife, and they shall be one flesh" (King James Version Bible, Gen. 2:24). Emphasizing the unity and bond of spouses, Christ says that "the two will be one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh" (Mk 10:8). Furthermore, in conjunction with the theme of marital unity, the apostle Paul states that husband and wife "will be one flesh" (Eph 5:31). Likewise, Bradstreet, in her poems, emphasizes the unity and bond of love between her and her husband. In the poem “Before the Birth of One of His Sons,” Bradstreet refers to “that knot […] that made us one” (L. 11). The inextricable bond that unites the man and the woman in the marital relationship unites them in such a way that both parties are fused as one, not only in body but also in mind and spirit. Bradstreet celebrates this union between her and her husband in “To My Dear and Loving Husband,” as she writes, “for if ever two were one, then we” (L.1). “A Letter to the Husband” echoes marital unity since even though the husband and wife are geographically distant from each other, they are still “all but one” (L. 26). Bradstreet indicates here not only a spiritual but also a carnal unity. Bradstreet draws on the model of marital unity, Adam and Eve, to celebrate the passionate union between her and her husband. In the Garden of Eden, when Adam is introduced to his wife Eve, he proclaims her to be “flesh of [his] flesh and bone of [his] bones” (Genesis 2:23). Likewise, Bradstreet exults in the marital union and calls himself “flesh of [his] flesh and bone of [his] bones” (L. 25). The ideal union between man and wife is consummated in the act of sexual intercourse and lasts in a faithful and monogamous marriage. The incorporation of biblical doctrines on marriage into his works solidifies the principles of pure love, unity and chastity. A natural act of marriage is procreation, so Bradstreet goes on to celebrate motherhood. Bradstreet's poetry is pregnant with images of the mother that include conception, pregnancy, and child-rearing. According to the article, Negotiating Theology and Gynecology, "The power of motherhood as a metaphor becomes evident in the writings ofBradstreet […] in the discussion of Bradstreet as a poet, the metaphor of the mother has a special force because it merges the occupations of mother and poet” (Lutes 310). She loves her children, and affectionately calls them her “little children” (Before birth), “true living images of their father's face” (A Letter LX), “fruits […] that (she) has brought ” (A Letter) and “beautiful flowers” ​​(In memory of my dear nephew). It should be noted that during his lifetime Bradstreet had eight children. For the most part, she rejoices in her children, however, the joys of motherhood come with its attendant sorrows. Unfortunately, in her life and poetry, there is an undercurrent of tragedy as mortality is high among expectant mothers during pregnancy and childbirth. Death among pregnant mothers is so common that Bradstreet, when pregnant, prepares for death by writing a farewell poem to her husband titled "Before the Birth of One of Her Children." Another catastrophe of motherhood is the bitter experience of the death of a child. In Bradstreet's time, infant mortality was also common, and she is not exempt from this harsh reality. Evidence of this tragic circumstance is the dedication of two poems to her deceased children and grandchildren: "In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Elizabeth Bradstreet, Who Deceed Aug 1665, Being a Year and a half Old" and "On My Dear Grandchild Simon Bradstreet , who died on November 16, 1669, being only one month and one day old. These endearing titles convey Bradstreet's feelings of maternal love for her children and grandchildren and add strength to the threats of motherhood he image of the maternal figure continues to recur in his poems. Bradstreet infuses his poetry with maternal images and references. In "The Prologue To Her Book", Bradstreet alludes to Calliope, the most important of the nine Greek muses of poetry , Calliope was a wife and mother just like Bradstreet is certainly appropriate because Bradstreet herself, as a wife and mother, is endowed with the poetic gift for “poetry made Calliope's daughter” (L.33). Then Bradstreet creates images of a pregnant muse, Calliope, bringing poetry to life and reinforcing the theme of motherhood. In “The Author of His Book,” Bradstreet compares his criticized and poorly printed poems to a bastard and orphaned “ill-formed offspring” (L.1). The conception and publication of her poems are compared to a "birth" (L. 2) and provide concrete images of motherhood, childbirth and rearing. As the mother anxiously and scrupulously adjusts her dirty and unkempt child, so Bradstreet attempts to edit his poorly printed poems. Wash the face, rub the stains, dress and iron the joints of the uneven feet (L. 10-20). Here, the child's feet refers to the foot of the poem's iambic pentameter. So one can clearly see the references and images of motherhood in Bradstreet's poems. In Bradstreet's society, the ideals of wife and mother are incorporated into the biblical model of wifehood and motherhood as defined in Prov. 31.10 – 29: Who can find a virtuous woman? because its price is far above rubies. The husband's heart trusts in her with certainty [...] eat the bread of laziness. Her children stand up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her. This passage provides details about the quintessential virtuous woman and effectively summarizes the stellar qualities of a virtuous Christian woman in the private sphere. She diligently attends to the needs of the home, maintaining her honor and integrity as a consummate wife, mother, and homemaker. Undoubtedly in Bradstreet's society these are the traits. 1998. 517 – 42.