‘On Being Brought From Africa to America’
By: Phillis Wheatley
Born 1753, Gambia
Died on December 5th, 1784, Boston Mass.
Born in Africa in 1753, Phillis Wheatley a future African American poet was kidnapped from her home in Gambia and shipped to New England in 1761. She was procured by Boston businessman, Sir John Wheatley, to care for his sickly wife Susanna in her frail age. Susanna liked the newfound Wheatley and educated her as if she was a part of the family, name and all. Phillis was assigned light, menial tasks around the house while she was being taught to read and write and was encouraged to study literature. As a result, after many years she had achieved an extremely high level of education unheard of even to many of the much higher
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Historical experts believe to point to the year 1765 in which she started to produce her own publishable works of poetry, that she gained international attention for in 1770 when her works were first published in the newspaper throughout New England. Now in 1773, ‘On Being Brought From Africa to America’, was found in the first full volume published work by an African American, let alone a woman, ‘Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral’, which examines the theme of adventurism and of spiritual awakening sprouting from being thrust into American society and being shown mercy and understanding through educational well-being. As such she was then a part of the flowering dialogue of the emerging American Republic, using her poems as the English version of ancient heroic Greek neoclassical works. However instead of using her voice as a protest to the slave trade like in ‘On Being Brought From Africa to America’, she surprisingly reveals her menial acceptance of her slave attributes and understanding of the immoral practices it holds. Without a doubt Phillis Wheatley will be known as a classic masterful poet of the time, and has been and will be praised for her astounding
A little background on the author of “Liberty and Peace” Mrs. Phillis Wheatley she was brought to the America in the 1700’s from west Africa for slavery. However, she was only seven years old and end up in Boston instead of the south other slaves. It was there where her literary talents were discovered by her slave masters the Wheatley’s. She was taught to read and write like the other children within the Wheatley’s household. Her first published poem was at the age of thirteen told the story of rescue at sea and was published without any problems. However even though she was literate she was still far away from her homeland. She expressed her feels through her later poems, which many were not published because of her being an African
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.
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.
To further analyze a more spoiled African American of the time, Phillis Wheatley did address the issues of her race as much as Sojourner Truth did. Wheatley mainly wrote “to Whites, for Whites and generally in the Euro-American tradition at that time” (Jamison 408). Her content focused on Christianity, morality, virtue, and other non-African-American-related topics. Her poetry has an underlying attitude of a white, not an African American. She shares the same views and attitude as a Caucasian, therefore she is part of African American literature because she was born into it, but she did not share the particular views and struggles of the African American population. She was heavily praised, because it was not expected from an African such as herself, although her upbringing should be considered. Some white men admired her work, because it was more than
Phillis Wheatley overcame extreme obstacles, such as racism and sexism, to become one of the most acclaimed poets in the 18th Century. Her works are characterized by religious and moral backgrounds, which are due to the extensive education of religion she received. In this sense, her poems also fit into American Poetry. However, she differs in the way that she is a black woman whose writings tackle greater subjects while incorporating her moral standpoint. By developing her writing, she began speaking out against injustices that she faced and, consequently, gave way to authors such as Gwendolyn Brooks and Countee Cullen.
In the article, The World of Phillis Wheatley, James Rawley’s main thesis is to show that Phillis Wheatley's work was mainly influenced by the religion. Rawley shows evidence for this claim by bringing up the person Wheatley held the tightest bond with was Suzanne Whitley, with Rawley describing her as "This remarkable woman was active in religious, humanitarian enterprises, and conducted a wide correspondence with philanthropic persons in England” (668). The relationship between the two women provided the main reason why Wheatley’s work became known to the public. “It was Susanna who planned for the publication of the Poems, and in England enabled the poet to meet distinguished personages, and ultimately secured the slave's freedom.”
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.
During the eighteenth century, owning a slave was seen as socially acceptable, needless to say treating a slave as though it was part of the family instead of property was not socially acceptable. A slave was there to work not to get a good education. This was not the case for Phillis Wheatley. Phillis at the age of eight was kidnapped from her home in Senegal and brought over to Boston on the slave ship, “The Phillis” in 1761. Hence why she was named after the ship. Many historians are still weary about her background. Although many claim that she was in Senegal its very uncertain. The slave ship did collect her from the banks of the Gambia river. Her portraits displays her facial features. These facial features all being slender, thin lips and a small nose. These facial features can be attributed to the Fulani who resided by the Gambia river at the time. Her age was determined to be eight by observing her front teeth. The Slave ship that brought her over collected many children that were frail from West Africa. Phillis being one of the...
Phillis Wheatley was born in Gambia, West Africa around 1753 (Andrews et al. 770). She was forced into slavery when she was about seven or eight years old and purchased by John Wheatley in July of 1761 (770) for his wife Susanna Wheatley, who named her Phillis after the vessel that transported the young slave (Samuels et al. 543). The Wheatley’s, with their two children, Nathaniel and Mary (Brawley 12), taught Phillis to read and write in English and also tutored her in Latin (Samuels et al. 543). Wheatley studied the Bible, the Latin classical works of Virgil and Ovid, astronomy, geography, and history (Brawley 13). Much of her poetry consists of elegies (poetry written as a reflection on someone’s life) and many of her works are...
In “On Being Brought From Africa To America” Phillis Wheatley speaks directly from her experience of coming to America, and how she became very religious on her arrival, so she uses her religious beliefs to explain how lucky she was to be in America and how she made a lot of achievements. Phillis Wheatley was a young black female poet, who started discovering her love for writing when she came to America, although it was illegal to educate black people she found a way to teach herself to read and write, even though a lot of people of her race were told that they weren’t good enough to deserve to be Christians and also to enjoy the advantage of being a citizen in America, Wheatley overcame these immense obstacles and she was so grateful for the chance to be a part of the Christian word and also to hear the word of Christianity, she was also very happy that she was brought to America where she has the opportunity to read and write. “Phillis” wasn’t her real name but her master named her that because the slave ship she boarded to come to America was named Phillis.
There are several points of comparison between the two writers. First, both wrote collections of poetry. Wheatley is considered the mother of the African-American literary tradition. She became the first African American to publish a book and the second woman in the United States to publish a collection of poetry. Her writing abilities sent a wave of shock through the white Americans of her day and many found it unbelieva...
Harriet Jacobs was raised as though she was not a slave; however, when she turned 6 years old her mother died and she realized the truth about her heritage. Nevertheless, her life was not that bad because her mistress was very kind to her. However, that was until her mistress passed away and gave Jacobs to her niece, whose father is a controlling manipulative man. Phillis Wheatley, on the other hand, was brought to Massachusetts from Senegal in 1761, on a slave ship at the age of 8. To much her advantage, Wheatley was bought by John Wheatley who, with the help from his wife, educated Phillis to the point she became fluent in latin and greek. She soon started writing poetry and at the age of 12 published her first poem. Wheatley and Jacobs, with the use of imagery, wrote their writings to educate those who they thought did not have enough information on slave life and religion.
Phillis became a Christian, she was very religious, and it showed in her poetry (“The Poetry of Phillis Wheatley”). Meaning that she was happy because she found a way of redemption, she found God. She faced many challenges in her life, because of the color of her skin. According to "The Poetry of Phillis Wheatley," many Americans couldn’t believe her work, they belittle it, even if the work was great, because she was black. But through her poetry, and for her to publish her poetry book, speaks for how things were changing throughout history, little by
While it is remarkable for Wheatley to come out of her devastating childhood with a strong relationship in God and a thankful heart, it is important to recognize Wheatley’s unique slavery experience. Wheatley’s owners gave her the opportunity to learn to read, write, and pursue poetry, all aspects of learning typically prohibited to slaves (Carretta). Perhaps this knowledge helped Wheatley find the good in God’s influence over her life because of the opportunities granted to her in America. If she had faced harsher treatment, her praise of divine providence might not shine as bright throughout her