The female poet clearly recognizes the gender spilt among poets and their presumed capabilities. Bradstreet’s reference to Greek figures and mythical creatures illustrates her true feelings about women writing poetry among other men. She feels as though her work, like many other female poets, is “undervalued and scorned” by most men- she “could prove well, it won’t advance”. The first five stanzas have a feel and tone of pity and hostility that Bradstreet asserts women poets feel. The author claims that all of her good writings and thoughtful pieces of writing will not even been “read over” by Great Bartas, a poet she admired; for “Bartas can do what Bartas will” but she can only do what her skill proves acknowledgeable and praise-worthy by men. Bradstreet also elaborates on the fact that the society of hard working poet would never accept any piece of writing that wasn’t perfect-not “perfect beauty where [there is] a main defect”. However even when women “mend” all their mistakes, they still have no chance of creating art because “nature made it so irreparable”. Here the author hints at the idea of the role sexism plays in her society and the restraints it creates among women.

            Thus, after all of the complains and unsettling feelings about women not being equal with men, Bradstreet completely adverts the tone in the final three stanzas to one that empowers women and makes them out to be stronger against the suppression of men onto them. In these lines she accepts that “men have precedency and still excel”, almost as to give the men their credit so they know that women could care less about their status. In these final stanzas she conveys women as leaders and warriors, because despite the fact that men are always putting them sown they will stand strong and act more mature and responsible about the situation by simply asking for some “acknowledgement” but no reward.

320