Some Girl
5555 Some Road
Austin, Texas 55555
March 29, 2001
Anne Bradstreet
1200 Some Road
Some City, Massachusetts 12345
Dear Anne Bradstreet,
I am sending this letter in regards to your piece, The Prologue. After reading it, I concluded that you can never read anything at face value. By this I mean that I had to dig a little deeper to truly understand the meanings of your words. You masked your ideas of women and the arts through your writing because it might have been deemed inappropriate by Puritan society in your times. You believe art is not only important to men, but also equally valuable to women. Through your text, I learned that women need to be recognized in the arts and deserve just as much respect as men.
I was puzzled at first when I read The Prologue. I had no idea what it really meant. It seemed like a bunch of words that didn't make too much sense together. However, after careful following of the text and not mindlessly reading it, I started to comprehend it more. You talk about the “Great Bartas” and compare his work to yours. I had no idea who the "Great Bartas" was and what he had to do with your poem. Research and discussion helped me to realize his role and meaning. You are saying his work may be great, but you do not care and have your own style you are happy with. In Stanza 5, you are “obnoxious” to those (I assume you mean men) who claim your “hand a needle better fits”. I would feel the same way. Even today this holds true. People still stereotype women as homebodies to cook and sew. We have active lives in society also. Art is important to you, as I noted in lines 23-24, when you remark, "Art can do much…a weak or wounded brain admits no cure." You indirectly and directly criticize males in Puritan society in your poem. In lines 40-42, you even admit that "men can do best, and women know it well", but you ask for them to "grant some small acknowledgement".
Your text specifically educated me that women in your era were invisible in the arts. You don’t come right out and say this in your poem though. It lies within the lines of figurative language and you make the reader work to find the meanings of your words. In this way, you mask your feelings by using ambiguous words. The Prologue seems justifiable even by today's standards. Women like you have paved the way for women in my generation. The feminist movement, equal rights in the workplace, etc., all have been important in the past several years. You masked your opinions to keep from being accused of improper material by Puritan society. I'm glad that now we have freedom of speech and don't have to worry about masking our opinions. Women not only need attention and recognition in your times, but I think this still holds true today.
Again, I immensely enjoyed your piece. You make some good points on the treatment of women in arts and I wholeheartedly agree with everything you say. I discovered art is important to you. Your composition taught me that I have to look beyond the words on the paper to get the full insight of your meaning - or any meaning of any author for that matter. Sometimes, I just read words robotically and think I understand it completely. However, now I know that nothing can be taken at face value and you have to look beyond it and think critically to find the truth.
