Two of Wheatley’s more explicitly biblical poems are those of “Goliath of Gath” and “Isaiah lxiii. 1-8,” both of which are “verse paraphrases,” respectively, of the story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17 and the verses which the poem is named after (Scheick, “Subjection and Prophecy” 124). In writing on these verse paraphrases, William J. Sheick speculates that Wheatley might have identified with the biblical David, “as a servant of humble origin and as a lyricist from a distant land” and because of his “ruddy complexion” (“Subjection and Prophecy” 124). Furthermore, Wheatley may have seen David as “appealing as a poet of divine favor whose distinctive skin pigmentation made him, as it were, a minority figure among his people” (Scheick “Subjection …show more content…
Wheatley’s paraphrase has Isaiah’s prophecy contain the phrase “man’s release,” which “doubtless appealed to the poet as a slave as well as a Christian” (“Isaiah ixiii 13”; Scheick, “Subjection and Prophecy” 127). While Wheatley’s paraphrase is interesting enough in the context of her using biblical narrative to subvert ideas of race at the time, it is also interesting to note where the rest of the poem goes. As Sheick notes, “What follows in the remaining three stanzas is not based on verses 1-8 or, for that matter, on the subsequent verses in Isaiah 63” (“Subjugation and Prophecy” 127). This in itself is potentially powerful, since Wheatley is somewhat more overtly representing her own perception of the verses discussed, which offers herself some autonomy over the text. This “unexpected combat scene,” Sheick argues, essentially offers Wheatley’s view that “Christians who enslave are not aligned with God's chosen people but with those who defy divine providence” (“Subjugation and Prophecy” 128). Basically, Wheatley is calling out what she perceives to be the hypocrisy of white Christians, particularly in their justification of slavery through the Bible. Interestingly enough, this is not Wheatley’s only allusion to the book of Isaiah throughout her poetry. Perhaps Wheatley’s most well-known poem, “On being brought from AFRICA to AMERICA” is short but poignant in both its biblical allusion and
Wheatley explains in her works that there is a God that believes in you, no matter what race or religion. The idea of hope is so strongly engraved into Wheatley’s stories because hope is all she had to cling to while in Africa and then while being separated from her husband after arriving in America. A man named John Wheatley purchased Wheatley and gave her a much better life than she ever imagined. From her journey across the ocean upon her arrival to the United States of America, she expressed her love for writing as an illustration of God’s unfailing love to share with people. She became familiar with the true meaning of the bible and God’s providence. God’s providence is how he cares and watches over her during the life’s passage. In “To the University of Cambridge, in New England”, she is able to write to the college students about the main goals. Wheatley heavily emphasizes to them that they should not get so wrapped up in their schoolwork and studies that it hinders their personal relationship with God. By having a balance in schooling and daily walk with God, it will help the student’s life more efficiently than just doing one action. The author’s main point in her poetry
Although two different authors wrote these works of literature, A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson and From Africa to America, both stories possessed similar and different elements of writing. These tales were worthy of comparing because they had various things to review, contrast, and realize, such as the worship they had or didn’t have for God, their experiences, and their styles. Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano were remarkable writers whose works will always be a part of America’s history for the various styles and purposes they had to share with their readers.
Wheatley was born in West Africa around 1750, and was captured when she was 7. John Wheatley purchased Phillis for his wife, Susanna; together they taught Phillis how to read and write, and as early as 12, Phillis was writing poetry and her first poem had been published. Wheatley’s poems implicitly advocated for racial equality, while condemning slavery. Her work received some negative feedback from political figureheads, such as Thomas Jefferson. White America classified a human as having the ability to read, write, and reason; therefore, leaving no room for the uneducated Africans, seeing Africans as nonhuman. Jefferson claimed Wheatley’s work was not literature because the moment he admitted Wheatley’s work was indeed literature, he would have had to admit she was a human being. The way Phillis Wheatley handled the adversity she faced is admirable. Wheatley definitely impacted American history, and “owes her place in history to advocates of inequality” (Young 1999
Wheatley starts the poem in a very dark place when she mentions the word “benighted,” (Line 2) as if the darkness has disappeared from her life once she met mercy. Since the poem was written in the late 1700’s the reader can assume that she was in the darkness in her homeland Senegal because she as a slave. Once she was brought to America by mercy she is no longer in the dark. The word benighted is to be overtaken by darkness, so this means that the speaker was benighted when she lived in a place where they did not follow certain religious beliefs as the rest of the world. The speaker’s soul is in a dark place and when she was brought to America and found God, she was enlightened. Another example of how Wheatley references color and darkness is line six in the poem “Their colour is a diabolic die,” (Line 6) this is the only sentence in the poem that has quotation marks so the readers can assume that she quoted someone. This could also mean that she is referring to a phy...
Throughout the poem, “To the University of Cambridge, in New England”, Phyllis Wheatley suggest that she accepted the colonial idea of slavery, by first describing her captivity, even though this poem has a subversive double meaning that has sent an anti-slavery message. Wheatley’s choice of words indicates that her directed audience was educated at a sophisticated level because of the language chosen. Her audience was assumingly also familiar with the bible because of the religious references used. The bible was used as a reference because of its accessibility. Wheatley uses religious references to subversively warn her readers about slavery and its repercussions and to challenge her reader’s morals.
In paragraph 11, King declares, “freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed,” but he feels that negroes tend to “wait” for change to happen. He then juxtaposes how Asia and Africa are eager to gain political independence and we linger around wanting change, but we will not take direct action. King uses biblical allusion in paragraph 17 when he analogizes civil disobedience to the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to obey laws of higher morality. Biblical allusion is demonstrated in paragraph 20 when he compares the statement of his peaceful actions precipitating violence and should be condemned to Jesus being condemned because his never-ceasing devotion to his will precipitated the evil act of crucifixion. King challenges the use of unjust laws in paragraph 18 by commenting on how Hitler’s actions in Germany were considered legal which exemplifies historical allusion. Although there were different types of allusions administered, I felt that King magnified biblical allusion more because he, indeed, is a preacher and his audience was a group of
Scheik, William J. "Subjection and prophecy in Phillis Wheatley's verse paraphrases of scripture." College Literature 22.3 (1995); 122+. Academic OneFile. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
...uplets. She rhymed and wrote in iambic pentameter and the way she wrote her poem was all about the reason and form of style. Not like other female poets, she would not get all filled with emotion using fancy language; in fact she stayed cool and collected. Like a child coloring in a coloring book, Wheatley never colored outside of the lines. She wrote very formal, perhaps to show us how saved she really was. But through her formal words she always resembled god throughout herself, showing her faith in Christianity. In line 7 of her poem she addresses “Christians”, she uses her experience to persuade her readers both black and white that is will always be faith. In line 8 the “angelic train”, she uses a metaphor for heaven to show us that this is the place for believers. By using imagery, metaphor and symbols she shows the form of her writing to express her beliefs.
Wheatley, Phillis. Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral. New York: AMS Press, 1976. Rpt. of Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral. Philadelphia, 1786.
Here she is depicting her move of physically being conveyed from her homeland to America. The pagan land that Wheatley is talking about is Senegal, Africa. She was abducted when she was about 8 years old around 1753. This is a pivotal time in her life because life as she know it is about to change. She was separated from her family, and was disconnected from her culture. The pagan land is symbolic in this poem because it indicated the struggle and tragedy of being taken from her homeland and introduced to a new world. Wheatley, in addition to thousands of other slaves brought their culture such as their rituals and languages, trades, and ideas to America. Their way of life from their “pagan” land taught the how to survive in the most server conditions. Wheatley’s homeland didn’t only give her and taught her to survive, but it also molded her into the strong women she
“An Ante-bellum Sermon” by Paul Laurence Dunbar is an intriguing poem that I had the opportunity to analyze with my group, the Midday Missionaries. The mission of this sermon poem was to remind the slaves that they must stay strong to endure the hardships that they were going through because just like the Israelites, they would one day be freed. With antiquated diction that creates the tone of the piece, and two Black Arts patterns, the mission of this poem is easily identified. As part of the group, I was charged with locating these essentials parts of the poem and the “fresh truth,” in order to help the Midday Missionaries with the analysis of this piece.
She did branch out of her comfort zone when she wrote On Being Brought from Africa to America. While the beginning of the poem was focused on being a Christian believing in God, it ended with "Some view our sable race with scornful eye, 'Their colour is a diabolic die.' Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain, may be refin'd, and join th' angelic train" (764). It is this verse that shows the true unhappiness centered on the issues with race in America. Wheatley has a true belief in God even with the unanswered questions why the treatment of whites and blacks was so different. This could have caused her to lose faith in him, but it was the acceptance of her race and God that pushed her
The poetry of Phillis Wheatley is crafted in such a manner that she is able to create a specific aim for each poem, and achieve that aim by manipulating her position as the speaker. As a slave, she was cautious to cross any lines with her proclamations, but was able to get her point across by humbling her own position. In religious or elegiac matters, however, she seemed to consider herself to be an authority. Two of her poems, the panegyric “To MAECENAS” and the elegy “On the Death of a young Lady of Five Years of Age,” display Wheatley’s general consistency in form, but also her intelligence, versatility, and ability to adapt her position in order to achieve her goals.
Mason, Jr., Julian D. The Poems of Phillis Wheatley. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1989.
The clash between racial reality and idea is what is artistically shown in “on being brought from Africa to America”. Wheatley is a subtle rebel. At the beginning of her poem she shows thanks for being enslaved because it brought happiness to her life in finding Christianity, but as time goes by we start to see the true tone of Wheatley, which clearly show in the last two lines of the poem, now Wheatley begins to take a big position of power as if she already has the attention of the reader. Wheatley continues by saying that Africans may not be perfect but the Christians who enslave human beings aren’t