Comparing Phillis Wheatley And Benjamin Franklin

Samuel Adams said to Phillis Wheatley, “You have a great gift . . . a very great gift, and it must be used.” Phillis Wheatley and Benjamin Franklin both had very great gifts, and their accomplishments using their unique gifts even greater. Phillis Wheatley’s gift was that of poetry, and her poems flowed and expressed how she felt about many different things. Her most famous poem is called “To the King’s Most Excellent Majesty.” It describes the colonies feelings about the Stamp Tax being repealed and the celebration of the colonists the day they heard the news. Benjamin Franklin’s gift was of perseverance, hard work, and imaginative ideas. This created two imaginary people, who most thought were real. Their names were Silence Dogood and Richard

Saunders. Benjamin Franklin was also a man of inventions. He came up with the one arm desk chair, bifocal glasses, the Franklin stove, the lightning rod, and the glass harmonica. These two great historical figures have many accomplishments, and they all are memorable.
Phillis Wheatley was a shy, timid girl and very intelligent. She learned English quickly and was taught Latin, Greek, and Roman. Phillis was the first African-American to publish a book of poetry. She included her most famous poem in the book, “To the King’s Most Excellent Majesty.” This poem was written by Phillis during the night of celebration for the repeal of the Stamp Tax. The entire day and the night before was nonstop celebration, and overnight Phillis wrote a poem about the happiness of the colonists, as if she were actually writing to the King of England. This poem was found by her second family who took her in as a slave. The poem was show to Samuel Adams, and after he and others questioned her, Samuel told Phillis, “You have a great gift . . . a very great gift, and it must be used.” What he meant was that Phillis’s poetric ability was very high, and that she should use her ability to tell the world what she thought through poetry. Phillis’s poem affected how Americans saw that African-Americans were not intelligent and that they didn’t have the same qualities as they did. When Phillis published her book of poetry, she demonstrated her abilities and the many languages she knew. She told Americans of slavery through slaves’ eyes, and the world through the eyes of a servant.