By Siti Zulaikha Shawaludin
Anne Bradstreet is recognised as one of the most important figures in the history of American Literature. As a Puritan wife and mother, Anne knew that sharing her views and opinions with others was considered as a sin but she clearly valued knowledge and intellect, and was a free thinker. Her poetry, filled with the love she had for God, her husband, children and intense devotion to being a good Christian, wife and mother. In Anne Bradstreet meditation poem, she says, “If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.” By this little statement, Anne Bradstreet explained that we need to experience some adversity which means poverty or difficulty to enjoy a wealthy or well off life later on.
Anne Bradstreet used a parallelism in her meditation. She reflects it on her own life experience. Anne Bradstreet says, “If we did not sometimes taste adversity; prosperity would not be so welcome.” What she meant is, if you don’t or haven’t experience a difficulty in life, you wouldn’t have that much of pleasure being grown up and the sweetness of going through hardness. Just like us going to school to get education. We have to take quizzes, tests and some important examination to complete our university’s requirement. We have to go through all of that, we have to study and do assignments and other school work. But after we graduate from school we can do something out of our achievement. All these hard works and difficulties will pay off later on in our life.
Besides comparing winter to spring, Anne Bradstreet also compares it to life experience. The more meaningful life experience you have, the more you learn what life is all about. I remember when I was still a kid, about six years old, my grandmother passed away. My mom took me to the funeral and I asked her what happened to grandma “why is she sleeping?’ and my mom said “grandma will be sleeping for a long time, honey. Now give her a goodnight kiss.” So I did, and after that when I grew up a little bit I finally realised what exactly my mom meant at that time.
Throughout my life, I have experienced a few lost of the people I love until I am getting used to it and can pretty adapt and handle it well. To be losing the people you love is very bitter and painful to swallow but you learn something out of it. I knew all of us are going to die somehow and nothing really last forever. So, it is better to enjoy and be thankful of whatever you have while it lasts.
There are no victories without hardships. This old saying can also reflect what Anne Bradstreet said. For example, when we are having the time taste of adversity. In life, there would be moments where we have to encounter as challenges as part or parcel in life. But it is totally normal as we must go through the hardships first to get the beauty of something. Just like the saying, ‘every cloud has a silver lining’.
Generally, in life, we need to experience some difficulty in any way or adversity in other word, to enjoy a well off and successful, prosperity life. Anne Bradstreet’s meditation really made a deep point it applies to our life. She used a parallelism in her meditation. We can’t enjoy the sweetness in life without the taste of bitterness.***