If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were loved by wife, then thee;
If ever wife was happy in a man,
In the first line we see the bond that Anne feels she shares with her husband, the togetherness that they share. Here we face a paradox, physically that is impossible, but spiritually they complete each other's life so that in marriage, they are one. We also see throughout these lines that she gives her marriage as an example "If ever two were one", "if ever man were loved by wife", "if ever wife was happy in a man".
Compare with me ye women if you can.
In this verse the poet seems boastful of her relationship; she calls out to women in a bragging manner. She sees her love as rare, personal. Something that very few other couples share.
To Anne Bradstreet, her husband is exactly what he should be; the love of her life. Over and over she expresses her devotion to him with a repetition pf images; an example of such images is evident in the following:
I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold.
Or all the riches that the east doth hold.
My love is such that rivers cannot quench,
In here she states that the love to her husband is much more precious than gold and all the riches of the east. She would also accept nothing in return for the love that she and her husband share and that no power would be able to destroy it, her love to her husband is indestructible and eternal.
Nor ought but love from thee recompense
Thy love is such I can no way repay,
The heavens reward thee manifold I pray.
In lines 7 and 8 we see a small fault in the poem. The rhyming pattern throughout the entire poem is exact rhyme, but in the mentioned lines it is a forced rhyme (quench, recompense).
In the 9th line, she says that his love for her cannot be repaid. This can be seen as a symbol of how great her love is; there is no way to purchase true love. Here she seems very grateful and devoted to her husband; his love for her is so great that she can't repay it.
When the poet speaks of the heavens reward in line 10, it is probably a symbol of God. She prays that God will reward her husband many times for his love to her.
Then while we live, in love let's so persevere,
That when we live no more, we may live ever.
Here she hopes that the love they share will continue to exist for as long as they live. And finally, in the last line we also encounter a paradox "That when we live no more, we may live ever" Anne insists that their love is eternal and will continue to exist after death, even though it is physically impossible for the dead to live.
In this poem we saw the amount of love that Anne holds for her husband, and her view of how love should be; eternal, faithful and to be devoted to your partner. The theme of love shows very strongly in this message to her husband. In conclusion, we can see how Anne expressed her love to her husband in imagery, symbolism, and many other poetic devices which showed us one thing; Anne Bradstreet had a love for her husband that could not be matched by anything on this world.