Phillis Wheatley
Introduction and Biography
In 1753, Phillis Wheatley was born in West Africa, Gambia. At age eight, she was abducted and taken to Boston, Massachusetts on a slave ship, and was purchased by John Wheatly, who took her as his wife’s servant (Carretta 1). She thus adopted her master's last name “Wheatley” as was the custom. The Whitley’s educated her, and she mastered Greek, English, and Latin (Carretta 40). Later, she learned to write highly commended poetry. She possessed some intelligence and had a talent which accredited her privileges atypical of other ordinary slaves. She reveled a great interest in the Bible not only for spiritual literacy but also in anticipation that justice might prevail (Carretta 51).
In 1767,
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at only thirteen she published her first poem, and later in 1773; she published her first book of verses, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral. (Carretta 50) Through the publication, Phillis entered the books of records as the first U.S slave and the first African American to print poems in a book and more importantly, the third woman to do so in America (Lamore 111). Notably, Wheatley faced many predicaments in her lifetime. She was ailing from asthma, a condition that was also very challenging (Carretta 145). She got married to John Peters, an African American, in 1778; they were blessed with three children who unfortunately did not survive. The marriage was faced with struggles due to poverty which led her to lead a life as a maid, living in horrifying conditions. Despite the challenging situations she went through, she continued to write poems. She was however weakened by the Revolutionary War that discouraged her from writing. She contacted several publishers seeking assistance in publishing her second volume but did not succeed (Carretta 181). Unfortunately, Phillis passed away in 1784, December 5th due to complications during childbirth (Carretta 189). One of Wheatley’s great literary works is the poem “On Being Brought from Africa to America” which she wrote addressing Christians who practiced slave trade and mainly focused on revealing the inconsistent their actions were compared to their Christian Ideal. On Being Brought from Africa to America Henry Louis Gates Jr.
recognizes Phills’ poem “On Being Brought from Africa to America” as an excellent literary representation for black Americans rights and particularly black women, through pondering her personal predicaments. Rich of literary and poetic devices such as metaphors, symbolism and themes, the poem leaves the reader with a lucid picture of how it feels being a slave (Lamore113). It reveals the way of living of the slaves of Wheatley’s era, a time during which black people were thought not to be human enough to conform to Christianity, leave alone enjoying the citizenship rights of an American citizen (Mani 74). Wheatly serves as a good example of people who are oppressed in the society, one who adopted whatever she thought was the best for her and utilized her talents in letting others know that they have rights to conform to any religion despite their …show more content…
race. The title of the poem “On Being Brought from Africa to America” is symbolic of the fact that she was kidnapped from her natal home (Carretta 1). She tries to reveal how, against her will, she was forcefully taken away from home, away from the people she knew and loved, at a very tender age of eight. She was forced to get used to another life, a life that she was not used to, a life in which she would be controlled on what to do and what not to do. She reveals the feelings that slaves are filled with; those of loneliness and bitterness. The use of the phrase “mercy brought me” (Wheatley 435 line 3) was intended to relate slave trade to mercy. Remarkably, she accepts the fact that she is a slave. However, she tries to drive home the point that Africans have rights just like any other human being and are not born to be enslaved. The poem’s opening line “Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land” (Wheatley 435 line 1) was intended to show that the Bible does not constrict anyone from joining Christianity. Conspicuously, by the time she wrote the poem, she had already transformed to Christianity. She was, therefore, referring to Africa as a pagan land since Christianity had not crossed into African borders. Throughout the poem, she explains the transits of beliefs. She also explains that it is due to her trip to America that she realized the treatment Africans receive when they are far from their home. In the second line, “Taught my benighted soul to understand,” (Wheatley 435 line 2) she uses the word “Benighted,” symbolizing the state of darkens.
The word also symbolises her skin color reflecting her life status as a slave. She feels that she lived a life full of darkness in her native land where she knew not of any God. It was until she traveled abroad and got to learn about Christianity and what it requires that she transformed from a world full of darkness to a world of light.
The theme of racism is explicated in "Some view our sable race with scornful eye." (Wheatley 435 line 5) Here she wanted to let the readers to know that not everyone was a racist, the rest of the poem asserting that she is also not in the group (Mani 76). This line was incorporated to stress the importance of every human race, black or white. Additionary, the use of “the diabolic die,” (Wheatley 435 line 4) a side of a triangle trade that places slaves at the bottom, is also a symbol of how the black slaves were treated with contempt.
The poetess reveals her prowess in implementing different stylistic devices. The rhythm of the poem is corectly structured to fit five beats in each line. Consonance and alliteration are also brought out clearly (Lamore 117). Line seven may also be interpreted as a warning to Christians who value themselves more than others. Those who deem themselves to be more God-fearing and could be ironic of their real-life circumstances.
Conclusion The 1865 Congress that enacted the 13th amendment rule that all slaves should be fled and that slavery is illegal was an anticipated move by most slaves living in that epoch. Thanks to the law, many were released from bondage and became free personnel’s. Little did they know that the outside of their initial slavery could also be an inside of more bondage. A loophole was quickly implemented whereby; the Negros got arrested due to petty offenses. Moreover, they would be imprisoned due to mistakes that are punishable by fines. This measure was put in place to ensure that they still had control over blacks. Phillis thus fought against slavery and racism which she saw as denial of human rights, which should be equally applicable to everyone, irrespective of their race, skin color or religion
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
Readers unfamiliar with Phillis Wheatley may wonder of her background and who she was in particular to be able to gain rights to be mentioned in early American literature. Wheatley was born in 1753 and was captured by Africans, and sold to an American family known as the Wheatley’s. She quickly became a member of the Wheatley family, living in the home, and being tutored on reading and writing.
Phillis Wheatley was born in Senegal, West Africa in 1753. She was kidnapped in 1761 at age eight and bought by John Wheatley so she could serve his wife Susan. Due to the fact that Phillis was extremely intelligent and a fast learner Susan did not train her to be her servant. Phillis was taught English, Latin, and Greek, and other subjects including the Bible. She slowly became a part of the Wheatley family. Thanks to the lessons that Phillips received she started writing poems, one of the poems she is known for is “Being Brought from Africa to America.” In this poem Phillis Wheatley uses some poetic devices such as similes, metaphors, hyperboles to illustrate color and darkness, multiple meanings of words, and the relationship between skin tone and salvation.
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.
While Wheatley was literate, her upbringing comfortable, her connections advantageous, the reason of her sole joy in being brought to America because of finding Christ, her “good nigger” persona, her freedom simply given to her, and her masters encouragement of her learning, Sojourner Truth’s life was the opposite. Truth was brave, strong, outspoken and, all in all, had to work much harder to become a memorable figure and a true influencer for her race. She dedicated a large portion of her life to the fulfillment and equality of women and African Americans, while Phillis Wheatley spent her life being a pleasant acquaintance who loved her faith and emphasized it. Although there is nothing wrong in this, Phillis Wheatley could have made herself more familiar with the problems of her own race and helped them, but she did not, and this lack of improvement for her people at the time is shown through the evidence of the absence of her name in the African American equality
Jordan writes approvingly about Phillis Wheatley publishing her first poem, “To the University of Cambridge” (164), where she utilizes certain terms that accept the kindness of the Wheatley’s and the wealth of white men’s literature, yet she puts herself forward as the one who made her the poet she became. Immediately after, Jordan writes with disdain as Phillis writes a poem that indicates that prior to being taken from Africa, she had been oppressed by the darkness surrounding her, as well as, daring to redefine herself as an angel of the Lord. Making a strong point, Jordan states that if Phillis were to write about the true pain and grief she had suffered as an taken African child, then there may have been more to know about who Phillis was. However, Jordan follows through to say that there wouldn’t have been anyone to publish a work of poetry such as that. Yet “Phillis Miracle” managed to incorporate personal truths about her experience in some of her
Phillis Wheatley marks the beginning of the African-American literary tradition. Although she is the first African-American to become a published author, it is Wheatley’s work that proves her originality as it reflects a specific time in American history, her status as a slave, and a young woman of Christian faith (Harris). Each of these inherently contribute to her fresh African-American perspective. Wheatley is ingenious in the way she subtly ties in the roots of slavery and racism in a way that whites did not feel guarded. Not only does her work allow those with a conscious to at least somewhat consider the African-American point of view, but it invites criticism by those who care not to see African-Americans as intelligent equal beings that deserve respect. Some of the African-American community also criticizes that Wheatley did not speak enough about the injustices of slavery and prejudices of her time (Scheick). These critics are simply unable to see the Wheatley’s intent as her writing breeds originality and attention to a young and well-educated African-American woman whose words could stifle her freedoms if put any other way. In evaluating Wheatley’s On Being Brought from Africa to America, An Hymn to the Evening, and To the University of Cambridge, in New-England it is clear to see that she could only be imitative in style perhaps, but nuances of her heritage is what places her “writing at the heart of any definition of an African-American canon” (Harris).
As time passed, Phillis was considered more like a part of the family than a slave. Phillis received an extensive education, which was comparable to that of a wealthy white man (Mason 4). Mary, the Wheatley's daughter, was an aspiring teacher and taught the Arabic-speaking girl English and ...
Phillis Wheatley was an African-born slave in the last quarter of the eighteenth-century in New England. She was born in West Africa and brought to America on the slave ship Phillis. She was, however, much more than chattel-she was a poet. Phillis was the first African American to have a book published. In a time when women were not expected to be able to read or write, and when teaching an African American to be literate was frowned upon, Phillis Wheatley became educated in Latin and English literature. The education of Phillis Wheatley was, for the most part, for the intent of training "a servant and would-be companion for domestic utility," in which they undoubtedly succeeded. However, they "got an intellectual adornment" who, with her knowledge of the poems of Alexander Pope, the "Puritanical whiteness of her thoughts," and ability to write poems, soon became a celebrity among Boston?s social elite (Richmond 18,19).
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.
C. Peter Riply at el.: African American Voices on Race, Slavery, and Emnancipation. The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill & London, 1993, pp15-37.
DuBois presents the question “[h]ow does it feel to be a problem?”, introducing the attitude towards African-Americans upon their emancipation (DuBois 3). The idea of freedom for slaves meant equality, but “the freedman has not yet found in freedom his promised land […] the shadow of a deep disappointment rests upon the Negro people” (6). The challenge faced during this time was how to deal with the now freed slaves who once had no rights. DuBois states that African-Americans merely wish “to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American, without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without having the doors of Opportunity closed roughly i...
Although this poem has lots of themes, I think “redemption” is the main theme because she is focusing on the freedom of other slaves. She uses the word “redemption” just to show how much she values religion and God. It’s like she wanted to become a prophet, someone that would use the message of God to redeem the slaves. She says “Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain, May be refined, and join the angelic train” (Wheatly 405). She was trying to say her main point in this quote by using her religious knowledge, she is trying to say that slaves can also be redeemed, she referred to the black people as Cain because the whites saw them as “evil” and Cain in the bible was marked evil by God for killing his brother out of jealousy. Because she doesn’t want them to look at the blacks that way, she then tells the white people that blacks can also be redeemed, polished, saved... and they can also join the angelic train and not stay marked
12 Million Black Voices by Richard Wright is a photo and text book which poetically tells the tale of African Americans from the time they were taken from Africa to the time things started to improve for them in a 149 page reflection. Using interchanging series of texts and photographs, Richard Wright encompasses the voices of 12 Million African-Americans, and tells of their sufferings, their fears, the phases through which they have gone and their hopes. In this book, most of the photos used were from the FSA: Farm Security Administration and a few others not from them. They were selected to complement and show the points of the text. The African-Americans in the photos were depicted with dignity. In their eyes, even though clearly victims, exists strengths and hopes for the future. The photos indicated that they could and did create their own culture both in the past and present. From the same photos plus the texts, it could be gathered that they have done things to improve their lives of their own despite the many odds against them. The photographs showed their lives, their suffering, and their journey for better lives, their happy moments, and the places that were of importance to them. Despite the importance of the photographs they were not as effective as the text in showing the African-American lives and how the things happening in them had affected them, more specifically their complex feelings. 12 Million Black Voices by Richard Wright represents the voice of African-Americans from their point of view of their long journey from Africa to America, and from there through their search for equality, the scars and prints of where they come from, their children born during these struggles, their journeys, their loss, and plight...
Over the course of the century chronicling the helm of slavery, the emancipation, and the push for civil, equal, and human rights, black literary scholars have pressed to have their voice heard in the midst a country that would dare classify a black as a second class citizen. Often, literary modes of communication were employed to accomplish just that. Black scholars used the often little education they received to produce a body of works that would seek to beckon the cause of freedom and help blacks tarry through the cruelties, inadequacies, and inconveniences of their oppressed condition. To capture the black experience in America was one of the sole aims of black literature. However, we as scholars of these bodies of works today are often unsure as to whether or not we can indeed coin the phrase “Black Literature” or, in this case, “Black poetry”. Is there such a thing? If so, how do we define the term, and what body of writing can we use to determine the validity of the definition. Such is the aim of this essay because we can indeed call a poem “Black”. We can define “Black poetry” as a body of writing written by an African-American in the United States that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of an experience or set of experiences inextricably linked to black people, characterizes a furious call or pursuit of freedom, and attempts to capture the black condition in a language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm. An examination of several works of poetry by various Black scholars should suffice to prove that the definition does hold and that “Black Poetry” is a term that we can use.