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Difficulty: EasyFigurative Language Devices

Read the following lines from Anne Bradstreet's poem "The Author to Her Book" (1678) carefully:

Thou ill-formed offspring of my feeble brain,
Who after birth didst by my side remain,
Till snatched from thence by friends, less wise than true,
Who thee abroad exposed to public view,
Made thee in rags to wander, where errors were not lessened,
And thy blemishes amended,
At least not in my sight, for I was ashamed
Of thy deformed looks when first I named.

Which of the following best describes how the conceit functions in these lines?

  1. It compares the book to an imperfect child to highlight the speaker's deep personal attachment to and anxiety about her published writing.Answer
  2. B
    It details the physical hardships and lack of proper clothing experienced by a real child sent abroad by family friends.
  3. C
    It establishes a formal conceit using apostrophe to address an object, showing that the poem contains elements of personification.
  4. D
    It provides historical evidence of Anne Bradstreet's literal anger at her real-life friends for kidnapping her infant.
  5. E
    It creates a purely hostile and unyielding tone to demonstrate that the speaker completely rejects and hates her work.

Answer

It compares the book to an imperfect child to highlight the speaker's deep personal attachment to and anxiety about her published writing.
The correct answer correctly identifies that the speaker uses the conceit of an 'ill-formed offspring' to describe her book, conveying her complex feelings of parental affection, protective anxiety, and self-consciousness regarding her published work. Comparing the book's flaws to physical blemishes and rags highlights her personal connection to her creative output.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the primary comparison established in the first line of the passage.
The speaker addresses her book as an 'ill-formed offspring,' establishing a parent-child conceit.
Recognizing the core figurative comparison is the necessary starting point for analysis.
2
Examine how the details of the child's treatment ('exposed to public view', 'in rags to wander', 'blemishes') function figuratively.
These details represent the publication of an unpolished manuscript, conveying the speaker's vulnerability and self-consciousness.
This step connects the details of the conceit to the thematic focus on authorship.
3
Evaluate the options to find the one that explains this function rather than just labeling the device or taking it literally.
The option stating that the comparison to an imperfect child highlights personal attachment and anxiety matches this function.
This option correctly explains the emotional and thematic purpose of the conceit.

Key Concept

Analysing how a conceit functions to develop tone and meaning in poetry
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Figurative Language Devices

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