Analysis Of Phillis Wheatley

Phillis Wheatley was the first published African-American female poet, but it was in London that her work was published, not in the United States. The poems that appeared in the New England newspapers and eventually in Poems on Various Subjects: Religious and Moral were published in 1773. Wheatley was born in Africa and kidnapped into slavery at the age of seven and transported to North America aboard the slave ship, Phillis. She was held in captivity for two months and sailed through the middle passage to Boston (Caretts, 1). She was bought by a John and Susanna Wheatley on July 11, 1761; they choose her name from the slave ship, Phillis. Their daughter, Mary immediately adored Phillis and began to teach her Latin, Greek, Religion, English

The theme behind majority of Phillis’ poems was faith and freedom.

The poem, On Being Brought from Africa to America was intended to inform as well as to express strong feelings about slavery. The poem starts out by informing,”Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan Land,” indicating that it was divine intervention that brought her to the United States away from the Pagan land, Africa that does not endorse Christianity. “Taught my benighted soul to understand” is simply stating that her soul was in the dark, just like her skin with no understanding of faith until she was taught religion and realized the existence of God as her savior. She goes on to state that she was not seeking redemption because she did not know it existed. Line five starts out by stating that. “Some view our sable race with a scornful eye”; this is the emotional aspect because she uses sable as a precious item not something that is frown upon because of their color and not a diabolic die, evil or resembling the devil. The next line describes Christians as also being Negro’s, and if God sees them as equal, so should everyone else, condemning slavery. Black as Cain is probably making

Fill 'd with the praise of him who gives the light

And draws the sable curtains of the night,

Let placid slumbers sooth each weary mind

At morn to wake more heav 'nly, more refin 'd;

So shall the labours of the day begin

More pure, more guarded from the snares of sin.

Night 's leaden sceptre seals my drowsy eyes;

Then cease, my song, till fair Aurora rise

This poem can be considered both objective and subjective; it is explaining why the things that God created are considered valuable and should be treated as such. The explanation is described with great emotion. Phillis starts out by stating that as soon as the sun appears from the East, it is magical. During spring, it is a time to renew; birds renew their notes and the air is filled with music and happiness. When the sun rises, the dark is changed to light with all the beauties of the day, and when it is time for the sun to set, it changes to the most beautiful red in the West. Phillis is religious, so she describes God’s creation in line 10, “The living temples of our God below,” and how we must praise him for giving us light to see the wonders of the world. She goes on to describe how the sun goes down and then it becomes night, draws the sable curtains, sleep. She describes sleep to sable because it is precious; sleep renews the body for optimal performance, and while we slumber and sleep, our minds