"Had I opportunity but to borrow some of the author’s wit:" Anne Bradstreet and the Sermons of John Woodbridge

Holmes, Lauren Pearl

Abstract

The extent of Anne Bradstreet’s influence on the sociopolitical culture of the late seventeenth century remains critically underresearched. Historically misrepresented as a mere housewife of limited poetical prowess, Bradstreet in fact won considerable acclaim for constructing didactic poetry which sought to enact sociopolitical change and defend the autonomy of the colonial government at a critical moment of its development. Having aided in defending the autonomy of the colony by transporting Bradstreet’s works from New England to London for publication in 1650, her brother-in-law, the minister John Woodbridge, remained a close member of Bradstreet’s literary and intellectual circle until her death in 1672; after her death, her political and theological thought maintained an enduring legacy on his sermon writing. The impact of Bradstreet as a literary and intellectual figure on Woodbridge is observable through the sermon notes of Edward Bromfield and John Richardson on Woodbridge’s sermons (GEMMS-MANUSCRIPT-001787 and GEMMS-MANUSCRIPT-001346). Held in the archives of the Massachusetts Historical Society and the Phillips Library of the Peabody Essex Museum, the sermon notes of Bromfield and Richardson may be read as documenting events in 1683 and 1693 in which Woodbridge utilised the thought and literary conventions of Bradstreet to advocate for the preservation of the colony’s political autonomy. Performed contemporaneously with the impending implementation of the Charter of Massachusetts Bay of 1691, the sermons of Woodbridge may be read through the sermon notes of Bromfield and Richardson as utilising scripture and rhetorical techniques analogous to those present in Bradstreet’s works; this paper will place the contents of these sermon notes into the context of Woodbridge appropriating Bradstreet’s authorial voice.

Citation

Holmes, L. P. (2024, October). "Had I opportunity but to borrow some of the author’s wit:" Anne Bradstreet and the Sermons of John Woodbridge. Paper presented at Preachers, Hearers, Readers, and Scribes: New Approaches to Early Modern Sermons in Manuscript, Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, MA

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Conference Name: Preachers, Hearers, Readers, and Scribes: New Approaches to Early Modern Sermons in Manuscript
• Conference Location: Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, MA
• Start Date: Oct 3, 2024
• End Date: Oct 5, 2024
• Deposit Date: Nov 15, 2024