of wedlock; Maud goes to college and ends up “a thin brown mouse”. Repeated phrases in Bradstreet’s poem include “if ever” and “love”. “If ever two were one then surely we. / If ever man were loved by wife then thee” (1-2). “My Love is such that rivers cannot quench, / Nor ought but love from the give recompence” (9-10). With such recurrence, the poem is like a slow romantic song and the repeated words are its rhythm.Meter, the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables that govern a poem’s lines, largely creates poetic rhythm. This gives readers the “beat” of the poem and approximates the sound of spoken language. The meter of Bradstreet’s poem is iambic pentameter and it is evident throughout the poem. It contributes to the overall effect of the poem because all of the words about one, we, thee, are stressed or emphasized; thus reinforcing the theme of the poem. The meter of Brooks’ poem is anapestic dimeter, it contributes to the overall theme of the poem like the comparison of the sisters, every other stanza is alike. A way of varying meter is to introduce a pause in the rhythm often created by a caesura--a “cutting” within a line. Both Brooks and Bradstreet use caesuras to complete individual thought and to add to the beat of the poem.Although the end of a line may mark the end of a metrical unit, it does not always coincide with the end of a sentence. Poets may choose to indicate a pause at this point, or they ma continue, without a break, to the next line. Both Brooks and Bradstreet use end-stopped lines—lines that have distinct pauses at the end. “Thy love is such that I can in no way repay, / The heavens reward thee manifold I pray.” (8-9). “When Sadie said her last so long/ Her girls struck out from home.” (13-14). These lines give he poem a more sharp, abrupt effect like the lines in a...
