What are the poetic elements in Anne Bradstreet's "To My Dear and Loving Husband"? List three and give an example of eachIf ever two were one, then...

Bradstreet's poem features numerous poetic elements. First, it is structured in rhyming couplets, pairs of lines that rhyme. The twelve lines of the poem consist of six couplets. Here is an example of the first couplet:

If ever two were one, then surely we.

If ever man were loved by wife, then thee.

The following two lines form a second couplet, and this pattern is repeated throughout the poem.

The poem also employs both perfect rhyme (exact rhyme) and off rhyme, also known as slant rhyme. In the lines above, we/thee rhyme perfectly to the ear. In another couplet, however the rhyme is a slant rhyme:

My love is such that rivers cannot quench,

Nor ought but love from thee, give recompense.

In this couplet, "quench" and "recompense" almost rhyme, but they do not rhyme perfectly to the ear. It should be noted, also, that the rhymes in the poem are end rhymes--the rhyming words appear at the ends of the lines.

Another interesting poetic element is the employment of hyperbole. In saying that her love is so great that rivers themselves cannot "quench" it, Bradstreet is emphasizing the depth and degree of her love through overstatement. Connotative meaning is also found in this hyperbole. Water is an element that quenches thirst and puts out fire; thus, the hyperbole suggests that Bradstreet's love is very passionate.