The opening line 'Thou ill-formed offspring of my feeble brain' is attributed to which author?

The opening line 'Thou ill-formed offspring of my feeble brain' is attributed to which author?

• A. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• B. Anne Bradstreet
• C. James Russell Lowell
• D. Herman Melville

Answer: (B)

That opening line captures the voice of an early American poet who speaks with humility about her own writing. Anne Bradstreet, a 17th‑century Puritan poet from Massachusetts, wrote The Author to Her Book, where she addresses her manuscript as if it were a child she has birthed. Calling it an “ill-formed offspring of my feeble brain” shows her self‑critical, modest stance toward her work and her sense that publication puts it under scrutiny. This characteristic tone and the act of writing directly to one’s own manuscript point to Bradstreet as the author behind the line. The other authors listed come from later periods or different genres, so their works don’t align with this line’s origin.

That opening line captures the voice of an early American poet who speaks with humility about her own writing. Anne Bradstreet, a 17th‑century Puritan poet from Massachusetts, wrote The Author to Her Book, where she addresses her manuscript as if it were a child she has birthed. Calling it an “ill-formed offspring of my feeble brain” shows her self‑critical, modest stance toward her work and her sense that publication puts it under scrutiny. This characteristic tone and the act of writing directly to one’s own manuscript point to Bradstreet as the author behind the line. The other authors listed come from later periods or different genres, so their works don’t align with this line’s origin.