Look again at Upon My Son Samuel his Going for England, Novem 6, 1657 by Ann Bradstreet, in which the speaker conveys her feelings towards her child, and at one other poem from the anthology in which the speaker conveys his or he

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Look again at “Upon My Son Samuel his Going for England, Novem 6, 1657” by Ann Bradstreet, in which the speaker conveys her feelings towards her child, and at one other poem from the anthology in which the speaker conveys his or her parental feelings.

With close reference to the way each writer has used language to convey those feelings, compare and contrast what each poem has to say about parental feelings and explain which poem you regard as most successful.

The poems “Upon My Son Samuel his Going for England, Novem. 6, 1657” and “A Parental Ode to My Son, Aged Three Years and Five Months” both convey the speaker’s parental feelings towards their child, but they do so in very different ways. Ann Bradstreet had herself completed the journey from England to America and knew of the dangers on such a voyage, therefore her fear and terror can be felt throughout the poem. Thomas Hood on the other hand has a much more lighthearted approach as he uses bathos to create a humorous picture of parenthood.

The speakers in both poems are the poet as well as the parent, but differ in the fact that one is the mother and the other the father, thus the parental concerns are expressed in very different ways. In “Upon My Son Samuel…” the speaker expresses her worries very directly and sees herself as being primarily responsible for her child. Therefore she does all she can to protect him, and in this case she pleads God to “Protect him there, and bring him back”. Bradstreet’s terror and humility is clearly presented and this creates pathos for her. In “A Parental Ode to My Son…” Hood, like many fathers as the time, though alarmed by his son’s antics, expects the mother to take care of him. This can be seen from the line “(Why Jane, He’ll set his pinafore a-fire!)”. Although the son is putting himself in danger, Hood does nothing more than warn the mother to take action. However the speaker in both is clearly care about their child’s welfare and the never-ending stress of parenthood is portrayed from the maternal and paternal point of view.

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The tone is completely contrasting in these poems. “Upon My Son Samuel…” keeps a somber and pleading tone as the speaker is praying to God to save her son. It’s beseeching and presents a desperate mother who is standing strong due to her complete faith in God. From the lines “…if thou shalt spare me a space, That I again may see his face” we can also see that she although she feels resigned and helpless, she is still hopeful for her son’s return. “A Parental Ode…” has a whimsical tone and but can also be interpreted in different ways. ...

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