Anne Bradstreet was a 17th-century poet who became the first woman poet to be recognized as an accomplished New World Poet. She was one of the earliest writers to compose in the English language in the North American colonies. Born into a Puritan family in England, she had a privileged upbringing. Even though she received little formal education, she had access to a vast library as a young girl and became a voracious reader. She got married as a teenager and soon moved to North America with her family. She began writing and publishing poems while raising a large family. Owing to her family circumstances, she was well-versed in politics, history, and theology and wrote extensively on these topics. Her poems often reflected her observations of the world around her; religion and family were recurring themes in her works. She was prolific in her literary output and composed several epic poems. She was deeply influenced by the works of poet Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas. She was a free thinker and is considered to be an early feminist by some critics. She initially received criticism as writing was not considered a respectable occupation for women of her era. She eventually came to be recognized as a celebrated figure in American literature.