Sound & Sense Chapter 5

Anne Bradstreet's The Author to Her Book, shares the feelings of an author towards a book she has written. Throughout the poem the speaker uses personification to compare her book to a child. The metaphor begins at the beginning of the poem when the speaker refers to her book as her "offspring" (1) and discusses what happens to her book "after birth" (2). Rearing children takes an incredible amount of time and work, and the speaker is expressing the effort she put into the production of her book. Since the speaker obviously spent a substantial amount of time on her book, it would make sense that she is attached to her creation, similarly to how a mother would be attached to her child.

The metaphors continue as the speaker begins to discuss the flaws of her book. She expresses her dissatisfaction with her time-consuming project and explains, "I cast thee by as one unfit for light,/Thy visage was so irksome in my sight;/Yet being mine own, at length affection would/Thy blemishes amend if so I could" (9-12). Although the speaker is frustrated by the imperfections of her book, she still cares for what she has written. The speaker's statements can be compared to a rebellious teenager. Although the teenager embarrasses his parents by his foolish actions or appearance, his parents will still love him because he is their child. A rebellious teenager's parents would try to fix the imperfections in their child but would be unsuccessful due to the teenager's unexplained need to resist authority. The speaker explains her book's inability to change with "They blemishes amend if so I could," referencing the stubborn nature of her book. Although the author wishes to alter her book in the quest for perfection, she is unable to get a favorable result.

At the end of the poem the speaker says, "And for they Mother, she alas is poor,/Which caused her thus to send thee out of door" (23-24). The speaker's statement references a time in a child's life where it is time to leave their parents and live an independent life. Often times a child does not feel ready to leave, but parents decide that it is time. The speaker has spent an incredible amount of time and effort on her book and believes that it is time to publish. She unable to further improve her book and feels that it is time to release her book out into the world.