Figurative Language in "The Author to Her Book"

Anne Bradstreet personifies the author’s book as a child in order to express both the raw imperfections of the book and the personal obligation the author feels for it. Bradstreet uses an apostrophe starting at the beginning of the poem; the speaker addresses the book as “Thou ill-formed offspring of my feeble brain” (1). Although the author compares her book to a child, she does not speak to it as a mother would typically speak to her daughter. She calls the book “ill-formed,” noticing the imperfections that a mother tends to overlook. A child has not fully developed; she must be nurtured in order to grow into the independent adult that will take her place in the world. Flaws are not only tolerable but expected in a child; a child is not treated as nor judged as an adult. However, the general public does judge the book in such a way, highlighting its errors and criticizing it. In fact, the author is ashamed of her book, admitting that “At thy return my blushing was not small” (7). The behavior of a child reflects either favorably or poorly upon the parents because the child is their responsibility. The author clearly had not intended for her book to be published, and she does not appreciate how its reviews reflect upon her. Nonetheless, despite a mother’s displeasure with her child, she has an obligation to give her daughter a proper foundation and upbringing. The author tells her book, “I washed thy face, but more defects I saw, / And rubbing off a spot, still made a flaw” (13-14). Although she tries to improve her book, the author is never satisfied. She cannot perfect it as she would like to. Now that the book has been exposed to the world, there is no way to return it to the author’s care. The book is like the child of a poor mother that cannot take care of it and must release it to society in an unfinished state; it is not the child’s fault that she is unprepared. Since the book will undoubtedly continue to be judged, the author does not want it to be viewed as if it were fully prepared either. The author, though noticing the flaws of her book, wishes to protect it.