Erkkila's insight into Wheatley's dualistic voice, which allowed her to blend various points of view, is validated both by a reading of her complete works and by the contemporary model of early transatlantic black literature, which enlarges the boundaries of reference for her achievement. Jefferson, a Founding Father and thinker of the new Republic, felt that blacks were too inferior to be citizens. That there was an audience for her work is beyond question; the white response to her poetry was mixed (Robinson 39-46), and certain black responses were dramatic (Huddleston; Jamison). Poetry for Students. The word Some also introduces a more critical tone on the part of the speaker, as does the word Remember, which becomes an admonition to those who call themselves "Christians" but do not act as such. Unlike Wheatley, her success continues to increase, and she is one of the richest people in America. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. Educated and enslaved in the household of prominent Boston commercialist John Wheatley, lionized in New England and England, with presses in both places publishing her poems, Once I redemption neither sought nor knew. The final word train not only refers to the retinue of the divinely chosen but also to how these chosen are trained, "Taught to understand." Read Wheatley's poems and letters and compare her concerns, in an essay, to those of other African American authors of any period. Some view our sable race with scornful eye. White people are given a lesson in basic Christian ethics. "On Being Brought from Africa to America" by Phillis Wheatley, is about how Africans were brought from Africa to America but still had faith in God to bring them through. Spelling and Grammar. Wheatley perhaps included the reference to Cain for dramatic effect, to lead into the Christian doctrine of forgiveness, emphasized in line 8. Endnotes. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. But the women are on the march. There is a good example of an allusion in the last lines when the poet refers to Cain. Clifton, Lucille 1936 Among her tests for aesthetic refinement, Wheatley doubtless had in mind her careful management of metrics and rhyme in "On Being Brought from Africa to America." . Line 4 goes on to further illustrate how ignorant Wheatley was before coming to America: she did not even know enough to seek the redemption of her soul. The speaker begins by declaring that it was a blessing, a free act of God's compassion that brought her out of Africa, a pagan land. 1, edited by Nina Baym, Norton, 1998, p. 825. She admits that people are scornful of her race and that she came from a pagan background. This is why she can never love tyranny. These documents are often anthologized along with the Declaration of Independence as proof, as Wheatley herself said to the Native American preacher Samson Occom, that freedom is an innate right. She also means the aesthetic refinement that likewise (evidently in her mind at least) may accompany spiritual refinement. Pagan According to "The American Crisis", God will aid the colonists and not aid the king of England because. Wheatley wrote in neoclassical couplets of iambic pentameter, following the example of the most popular English poet of the times, Alexander Pope. Poet How does Wheatley use of imagery contribute to her purpose in the poem She took the surname of this man, as was the tradition, but her first name came from the slave ship The Phillis, which brought her to America. In returning the reader circularly to the beginning of the poem, this word transforms its biblical authorization into a form of exemplary self-authorization. If it is not, one cannot enter eternal bliss in heaven. FRANK BIDART On the other hand, Gilbert Imlay, a writer and diplomat, disagreed with Jefferson, holding Wheatley's genius to be superior to Jefferson's. In "On Being Brought from Africa to America," the author, Phillis Wheatley uses diction and punctuation to develop a subtle ironic tone. Despite what might first come to someones mind who knows anything about slavery in the United States, she saw it as an act of kindness. The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers to this website may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. The poet quickly and ably turns into a moral teacher, explaining as to her backward American friends the meaning of their own religion. Proof consisted in their inability to understand mathematics or philosophy or to produce art. In just eight lines, Wheatley describes her attitude toward her condition of enslavementboth coming from Africa to America, and the culture that considers the fact that she is a Black woman so negatively. On Being Brought from Africa to America Summary & Analysis - LitCharts Recently, critics like James Levernier have tried to provide a more balanced view of Wheatley's achievement by studying her style within its historical context. She knew redemption through this transition and banished all sorrow from her life. Both black and white critics have wrestled with placing her properly in either American studies or African American studies. The speaker has learned of God, become enlightened, is aware of the life of Christ on Earth, and is now saved, having previously no knowledge or need of the redemption of the soul. She wrote them for people she knew and for prominent figures, such as for George Whitefield, the Methodist minister, the elegy that made her famous. An online version of Wheatley's poetry collection, including "On Being Brought from Africa to America.". All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. She wrote about her pride in her African heritage and religion. Although her intended audience is not black, she still refers to "our sable race." This view sees the slave girl as completely brainwashed by the colonial captors and made to confess her inferiority in order to be accepted. African American Protest Poetry - National Humanities Center This simple and consistent pattern makes sense for Wheatleys straightforward message. Reading Wheatley not just as an African American author but as a transatlantic black author, like Ignatius Sancho and Olaudah Equiano, the critics demonstrate that early African writers who wrote in English represent "a diasporic model of racial identity" moving between the cultures of Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Influenced by Next Generation of Blac, On "A Protestant Parliament and a Protestant State", On Both Sides of the Wall (Fun Beyde Zaytn Geto-Moyer), On Catholic Ireland in the Early Seventeenth Century, On Community Relations in Northern Ireland, On Funding the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, On His Having Arrived at the Age of Twenty-Three, On Home Rule and the Land Question at Cork. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998), p.98. With almost a third of her poetry written as elegies on the deaths of various people, Wheatley was probably influenced by the Puritan funeral elegy of colonial America, explains Gregory Rigsby in the College Language Association Journal. Carole A. The poem was a tribute to the eighteen-century frigate USS Constitution. The poem's meter is iambic pentameter, where each line contains ten syllables and every other syllable is stressed. The Quakers were among the first to champion the abolition of slavery. Open Document. If allowances have finally been made for her difficult position as a slave in Revolutionary Boston, black readers and critics still have not forgiven her the literary sin of writing to white patrons in neoclassical couplets. Write an essay and give evidence for your findings from the poems and letters and the history known about her life. In thusly alluding to Isaiah, Wheatley initially seems to defer to scriptural authority, then transforms this legitimation into a form of artistic self-empowerment, and finally appropriates this biblical authority through an interpreting ministerial voice. Her published book, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773), might have propelled her to greater prominence, but the Revolutionary War interrupted her momentum, and Wheatley, set free by her master, suddenly had to support herself. Thus, in order to participate fully in the meaning of the poem, the audience must reject the false authority of the "some," an authority now associated with racism and hypocrisy, and accept instead the authority that the speaker represents, an authority based on the tenets of Christianity. Phillis Wheatley Poems & Facts | What Was Phillis Wheatley Known For? The poem is known as a superb literary piece written about a ship or a frigate. A Short Analysis of Phillis Wheatley's 'On Being Brought from Africa to POETRY POSSIBILITES for BLACK HISTORY MONTH is a collection of poems about notable African Americans and the history of Blacks in America. Form two groups and hold a debate on the topic. Although she was an enslaved person, Phillis Wheatley Peters was one of the best-known poets in pre-19th century America. Christianity: The speaker of this poem talks about how it was God's "mercy" that brought her to America. Read more of Wheatley's poems and write a paper comparing her work to some of the poems of her eighteenth-century model. By Phillis Wheatley. Show all. 1 Phillis Wheatley, "On Being Brought from Africa to America," in Call and Response: The Riverside Anthology of the African American Literary Tradition, ed. She returned to America riding on that success and was set free by the Wheatleysa mixed blessing, since it meant she had to support herself. Her biblically authorized claim that the offspring of Cain "may be refin'd" to "join th' angelic train" transmutes into her self-authorized artistry, in which her desire to raise Cain about the prejudices against her race is refined into the ministerial "angelic train" (the biblical and artistic train of thought) of her poem. These lines can be read to say that ChristiansWheatley uses the term Christians to refer to the white raceshould remember that the black race is also a recipient of spiritual refinement; but these same lines can also be read to suggest that Christians should remember that in a spiritual sense both white and black people are the sin-darkened descendants of Cain. She places everyone on the same footing, in spite of any polite protestations related to racial origins. In fact, the discussions of religious and political freedom go hand in hand in the poem. This is a metaphor. by Phillis Wheatley. The Wheatleys noticed Phillis's keen intelligence and educated her alongside their own children. This poem is a real-life account of Wheatleys experiences. The poem was "On Being Brought from Africa to America," written by a 14-year-old Phillis in the late 18th century. In this essay, Gates explores the philosophical discussions of race in the eighteenth century, summarizing arguments of David Hume, John Locke, and Thomas Jefferson on the nature of "the Negro," and how they affected the reception of Wheatley's poetry. It is easy to see the calming influence she must have had on the people who sought her out for her soothing thoughts on the deaths of children, wives, ministers, and public figures, praising their virtues and their happy state in heaven. , "On Being Brought from Africa to America," in The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Vol. Phillis Wheatley was born in Africa in 1753 and enslaved in America. Later generations of slaves were born into captivity. 248-57. An allusion is an indirect reference to, including but not limited to, an idea, event, or person. In fact, blacks fought on both sides of the Revolutionary War, hoping to gain their freedom in the outcome. The speaker, a slave brought from Africa to America by whites magnifies the discrepancy between the whites' perception of blacks and the reality of the situation. On the other hand, by bringing up Cain, she confronts the popular European idea that the black race sprang from Cain, who murdered his brother Abel and was punished by having a mark put on him as an outcast. In this poem Wheatley gives her white readers argumentative and artistic proof; and she gives her black readers an example of how to appropriate biblical ground to self-empower their similar development of religious and cultural refinement. She also indicates, apropos her point about spiritual change, that the Christian sense of Original Sin applies equally to both races. It is not only "Negroes" who "may" get to join "th' angelic train" (7-8), but also those who truly deserve the label Christian as demonstrated by their behavior toward all of God's creatures. For example, "History is the long and tragic story . In fact, all three readings operate simultaneously to support Wheatley's argument. Currently, the nature of your relationship to Dreher is negative, contemptuous. Its like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. In this verse, however, Wheatley has adeptly managed biblical allusions to do more than serve as authorizations for her writing; as finally managed in her poem, these allusions also become sites where this license is transformed into an artistry that in effect becomes exemplarily self-authorized. The Impact of the Early Years Wheatley, however, applies the doctrine of salvation in an unusual way for most of her readers; she broadens it into a political or sociological discussion as well. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. Question 4 (2 points) Identify a type of figurative language in the following lines of Phillis Wheatley's On Being Brought from Africa to America. By tapping into the common humanity that lies at the heart of Christian doctrine, Wheatley poses a gentle but powerful challenge to racism in America. "On Being Brought from Africa to America" finally changes from a meditation to a sermon when Wheatley addresses an audience in her exhortation in the last two lines. Following fuller scholarly investigation into her complete works, however, many agree that this interpretation is oversimplified and does not do full justice to her awareness of injustice. The poem's rhyme scheme is AABBCCDD and is organized into four couplets, which are paired lines of rhymed verse. He deserted Phillis after their third child was born. It has been variously read as a direct address to Christians, Wheatley's declaration that both the supposed Christians in her audience and the Negroes are as "black as Cain," and her way of indicating that the terms Christians and Negroes are synonymous. She did light housework because of her frailty and often visited and conversed in the social circles of Boston, the pride of her masters. Washington was pleased and replied to her. In alluding to the two passages from Isaiah, she intimates certain racial implications that are hardly conventional interpretations of these passages. Wheatley's poetry was heavily influenced by the poets she had studied, such as Alexander Pope and Thomas Gray. 1-7. To the University of Cambridge, in New England. 1'Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land. ." The message of this poem is that all people, regardless of race, can be of Christian faith and saved. In the lines of this piece, Wheatley addresses all those who see her and other enslaved people as less because of their skin tone. Phillis Wheatley read quite a lot of classical literature, mostly in translation (such as Pope's translations of Homer), but she also read some Latin herself. An Analysis of "On Being Brought From Africa to America" by Phillis Shuffelton, Frank, "Thomas Jefferson: Race, Culture, and the Failure of Anthropological Method," in A Mixed Race: Ethnicity in Early America, edited by Frank Shuffelton, Oxford University Press, 1993, pp. She demonstrates in the course of her art that she is no barbarian from a "Pagan land" who raises Cain (in the double sense of transgressing God and humanity). They have become, within the parameters of the poem at least, what they once abhorredbenighted, ignorant, lost in moral darkness, unenlightenedbecause they are unable to accept the redemption of Africans. The two allusions to Isaiah in particular initially serve to authorize her poem; then, in their circular reflexivity apropos the poem itself, they metamorphose into a form of self-authorization. It is spoken by Queen Gertrude. She then talks about how "some" people view those with darker skin and African heritage, "Negros black as Cain," scornfully. Alliteration occurs with diabolic dye and there is an allusion to the old testament character Cain, son of Adam and Eve. Wheatley is saying that her being brought to America is divinely ordained and a blessing because now she knows that there is a savior and she needs to be redeemed. Conditions on board some of the slave ships are known to have been horrendous; many died from illness; many were drowned. The debate continues, and it has become more informed, as based on the complete collections of Wheatley's writings and on more scholarly investigations of her background. She wants them all to know that she was brought by mercy to America and to religion. On paper, these words seemingly have nothing in common. 422. On Being Brought from Africa to America - Poem Analysis Then, there's the matter of where things scattered to, and what we see when we find them. Levernier, James, "Style as Process in the Poetry of Phillis Wheatley," in Style, Vol. But, in addition, the word sets up the ideological enlightenment that Wheatley hopes will occur in the second stanza, when the speaker turns the tables on the audience.
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