On the other hand, Gilbert Imlay, a writer and diplomat, disagreed with Jefferson, holding Wheatley's genius to be superior to Jefferson's. Free Black History Month Poem Teaching Resources | TPT She was intended to be a personal servant to the wife of John Wheatley. Poetry for Students. This poem also uses imperative language, which is language used to command or to tell another character or the reader what to do. An online version of Wheatley's poetry collection, including "On Being Brought from Africa to America.". , ed., Critical Essays on Phillis Wheatley, G. K. Hall, 1982, pp. This failed due to doubt that a slave could write poetry. 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." All rights reserved. In this, she asserts her religion as her priority in life; but, as many commentators have pointed out, it does not necessarily follow that she condones slavery, for there is evidence that she did not, in such poems as the one to Dartmouth and in the letter to Samson Occom. In short, both races share a common heritage of Cain-like barbaric and criminal blackness, a "benighted soul," to which the poet refers in the second line of her poem. Write an essay and give evidence for your findings from the poems and letters and the history known about her life. Phillis Wheatley was abducted from her home in Africa at the age of 7 (in 1753) and taken by ship to America, where . Learning Objectives. From the start, critics have had difficulty disentangling the racial and literary issues. The Lord's attendant train is the retinue of the chosen referred to in the preceding allusion to Isaiah in Wheatley's poem. Wheatley was a member of the Old South Congregational Church of Boston. Lines 1 to 4 here represent such a typical meditation, rejoicing in being saved from a life of sin. The Cabinet Dictionary - The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia These were pre-Revolutionary days, and Wheatley imbibed the excitement of the era, recording the Boston Massacre in a 1770 poem. White people are given a lesson in basic Christian ethics. Illustrated Works The inclusion of the white prejudice in the poem is very effective, for it creates two effects. In the lines of this piece, Wheatley addresses all those who see her and other enslaved people as less because of their skin tone. Additional information about Wheatley's life, upbringing, and education, including resources for further research. We respond to all comments too, giving you the answers you need. Most descriptions tell what the literary elements do to enhance the story. An error occurred trying to load this video. Chosen by Him, the speaker is again thrust into the role of preacher, one with a mission to save others. Being Brought from Africa to America - The Best of Phillis Wheatley The power of the poem of heroic couplets is that it builds upon its effect, with each couplet completing a thought, creating the building blocks of a streamlined argument. While she had Loyalist friends and British patrons, Wheatley sympathized with the rebels, not only because her owners were of that persuasion, but also because many slaves believed that they would gain their freedom with the cause of the Revolution. Her praise of these people and what they stood for was printed in the newspapers, making her voice part of the public forum in America. It is no accident that what follows in the final lines is a warning about the rewards for the redeemed after death when they "join th' angelic train" (8). Poetry for Students. too: , "On Being Brought from Africa to America," in The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Vol. She did not know that she was in a sinful state. English is the single most important language in the world, being the official or de facto . The book includes a portrait of Wheatley and a preface where 17 notable Boston citizens verified that the work was indeed written by a Black woman. In the final lines, Wheatley addresses any who think this way. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1699 titles we cover. The darker races are looked down upon. Read about the poet, see her poem's summary and analysis, and study its meaning and themes. In returning the reader circularly to the beginning of the poem, this word transforms its biblical authorization into a form of exemplary self-authorization. The narrator saying that "[He's] the darker brother" (Line 2). Won Pulitzer Prize This phrase can be read as Wheatley's effort to have her privileged white audience understand for just a moment what it is like to be singled out as "diabolic." Q. A Narrative of the Captivity by Mary Rowlandson | Summary, Analysis & Themes, 12th Grade English Curriculum Resource & Lesson Plans, ICAS English - Papers I & J: Test Prep & Practice, Common Core ELA - Literature Grades 9-10: Standards, College English Literature: Help and Review, Create an account to start this course today. That Wheatley sometimes applied biblical language and allusions to undercut colonial assumptions about race has been documented (O'Neale), and that she had a special fondness for the Old Testament prophecies of Isaiah is intimated by her verse paraphrase entitled "Isaiah LXIII. Alliteration is a common and useful device that helps to increase the rhythm of the poem. This condition ironically coexisted with strong antislavery sentiment among the Christian Evangelical and Whig populations of the city, such as the Wheatleys, who themselves were slaveholders. the English people have a tremendous hatred for God. On Being Brought From Africa To America Summary - Bartleby She wrote and published verses to George Washington, the general of the Revolutionary army, saying that he was sure to win with virtue on his side. WikiProject Linguistics may be able to help recruit an expert. Clifton, Lucille 1936 The very distinctions that the "some" have created now work against them. Too young to be sold in the West Indies or the southern colonies, she was . for the Use of Schools. Secondly, it describes the deepest Christian indictment of her race: blacks are too sinful to be saved or to be bothered with. She is both in America and actively seeking redemption because God himself has willed it. Postmodernism, bell hooks & Systems of Oppression, Introduction to Gerard Manley Hopkins: Devout Catholicism and Sprung Rhythm, Leslie Marmon Silko | Biography, Poems, & Books, My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass | Summary & Analysis, George Eliot's Silly Novels by Lady Novelists: Summary & Analysis, The Author to Her Book by Anne Bradstreet | Summary & Analysis, Ruined by Lynn Nottage | Play, Characters, and Analysis, Neuromancer by William Gibson | Summary, Characters & Analysis, The Circular Ruins by Jorge Luis Borges | Summary & Analysis. In this poem, Wheatley posits that all people, from all races, can be saved by Christianity. No one is excluded from the Savior's tender mercynot the worst people whites can think ofnot Cain, not blacks. The first allusion occurs in the word refin'd. 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. For additional information on Clif, Harlem 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. The material has been carefully compared Her slave masters encouraged her to read and write. . She was bought by Susanna Wheatley, the wife of a Boston merchant, and given a name composed from the name of the slave ship, "Phillis," and her master's last name. The last two lines refer to the equality inherent in Christian doctrine in regard to salvation, for Christ accepted everyone. Phillis Wheatley is all about change. It also uses figurative language, which makes meaning by asking the reader to understand something because of its relation to some other thing, action, or image. Shuffelton also surmises why Native American cultural production was prized while black cultural objects were not. Why, then, does she seem to destroy her argument and admit that the African race is black like Cain, the first murderer in the Bible? INTRODUCTION al. . Robinson, William H., Phillis Wheatley and Her Writings, Garland, 1984, pp. This is why she can never love tyranny. Judging from a full reading of her poems, it does not seem likely that she herself ever accepted such a charge against her race. How do her concerns differ or converge with other black authors? Speaking of one of his visions, the prophet observes, "I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple" (Isaiah 6:1). To a Gentleman and Lady on the Death of the Lady's Brother and Sister, and a Child of the Name Avis, Aged One Year. Major Themes in "On Being Brought from Africa to America": Mercy, racism and divinity are the major themes of this poem. Most of the slaves were held on the southern plantations, but blacks were house servants in the North, and most wealthy families were expected to have them. She ends the poem by saying that all people, regardless of race, are able to be saved and make it to Heaven. To the University of Cambridge, in New England, Instant downloads of all 1699 LitChart PDFs In appealing to these two audiences, Wheatley's persona assumes a dogmatic ministerial voice. Nevertheless, Wheatley was a legitimate woman of learning and letters who consciously participated in the public discussion of the day, in a voice representing the living truth of what America claimed it stood forwhether or not the slave-owning citizens were prepared to accept it. Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. Some were deists, like Benjamin Franklin, who believed in God but not a divine savior. It is important to pay attention to the rhyming end words, as often this can elucidate the meaning of the poem. This could explain why "On Being Brought from Africa to America," also written in neoclassical rhyming couplets but concerning a personal topic, is now her most popular. An allusion is an indirect reference to, including but not limited to, an idea, event, or person. IN perusing the following Dictionary , the reader will find some terms, which probably he will judge too simple in their nature to justify their insertion . Her benighted, or troubled soul was saved in the process. "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. It is not mere doctrine or profession that saves. Another instance of figurative language is in line 2, where the speaker talks about her soul being "benighted." Just as the American founders looked to classical democracy for models of government, American poets attempted to copy the themes and spirit of the classical authors of Greece and Rome. The "authentic" Christian is the one who "gets" the puns and double entendres and ironies, the one who is able to participate fully in Wheatley's rhetorical performance. It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil Crushed, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. Africans were brought over on slave ships, as was Wheatley, having been kidnapped or sold by other Africans, and were used for field labor or as household workers. The first two children died in infancy, and the third died along with Wheatley herself in December 1784 in poverty in a Boston boardinghouse. Form two groups and hold a debate on the topic. The result is that those who would cast black Christians as other have now been placed in a like position. According to Robinson, the Gentleman's Magazine of London and the London Monthly Review disagreed on the quality of the poems but agreed on the ingeniousness of the author, pointing out the shame that she was a slave in a freedom-loving city like Boston. Could the United States be a land of freedom and condone slavery? Unlike Wheatley, her success continues to increase, and she is one of the richest people in America. However, the date of retrieval is often important. The European colonization of the Americas inspired a desire for cheap labor for the development of the land. Indeed, the idea of anyone, black or white, being in a state of ignorance if not knowing Christ is prominent in her poems and letters. On this note, the speaker segues into the second stanza, having laid out her ("Christian") position and established the source of her rhetorical authority. In this poem Wheatley finds various ways to defeat assertions alleging distinctions between the black and the white races (O'Neale). The irony that the author, Phillis Wheatley, was highlighting is that Christian people, who are expected to be good and loving, were treating people with African heritage as lesser human beings. . Both black and white critics have wrestled with placing her properly in either American studies or African American studies. Her poems thus typically move dramatically in the same direction, from an extreme point of sadness (here, the darkness of the lost soul and the outcast, Cain) to the certainty of the saved joining the angelic host (regardless of the color of their skin). Such a person did not fit any known stereotype or category. The speaker takes the high moral ground and is not bitter or resentful - rather the voice is calm and grateful. From the zephyr's wing, Exhales the incense of the blooming spring. Some view our sable race with scornful eye. Summary Of On Being Brought From Africa To America By Sheick In the following essay on "On Being Brought from Africa to America," she focuses on Phillis Wheatley's self-styled personaand its relation to American history, as well as to popular perceptions of the poet herself. This appreciative attitude is a humble acknowledgment of the virtues of a Christian country like America. "On Being Brought from Africa to America" is a poem written by Phillis Wheatley, published in her 1773 poetry collection "Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral." "On Being Brought from Africa to America Wheatley on being brought from africa to america. Being Brought From This view sees the slave girl as completely brainwashed by the colonial captors and made to confess her inferiority in order to be accepted. One of Wheatley's better known pieces of poetry is "On being brought from Africa to America.". Proof consisted in their inability to understand mathematics or philosophy or to produce art. This latter point refutes the notion, held by many of Wheatley's contemporaries, that Cain, marked by God, is the progenitor of the black race only. The image of night is used here primarily in a Christian sense to convey ignorance or sin, but it might also suggest skin color, as some readers feel. Some of the best include: Sign up to unveil the best kept secrets in poetry, Home Phillis Wheatley On Being Brought from Africa to America. This word functions not only as a biblical allusion, but also as an echo of the opening two lines of the poem: "'Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land, / Taught my benighted soul to understand." Even Washington was reluctant to use black soldiers, as William H. Robinson points out in Phillis Wheatley and Her Writings. Gates documents the history of the critique of her poetry, noting that African Americans in the nineteenth century, following the trends of Frederick Douglass and the numerous slave narratives, created a different trajectory for black literature, separate from the white tradition that Wheatley emulated; even before the twentieth century, then, she was being scorned by other black writers for not mirroring black experience in her poems. On Being Brought from Africa to America - Poem Analysis 1-8" (Mason 75-76). The last two lines of the poem make use of imperative language, which is language that gives a command or tells the reader what to do. Wheatley's English publisher, Archibald Bell, for instance, advertised that Wheatley was "one of the greatest instances of pure, unassisted Genius, that the world ever produced." Phillis Wheatley was brought through the transatlantic slave trade and brought to America as a child. 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. Recent critics looking at the whole body of her work have favorably established the literary quality of her poems and her unique historical achievement. Endnotes. In this book was the poem that is now taught in schools and colleges all over the world, a fitting tribute to the first-ever black female poet in America. , The reception became such because the poem does not explicitly challenge slavery and almost seems to subtly approve of it, in that it brought about the poet's Christianity. Although she was an enslaved person, Phillis Wheatley Peters was one of the best-known poets in pre-19th century America. For My People, All People: Cicely Tyson, Angela Bassett, Viola Davis 49, 52. Taking Offense Religion, Art, and Visual Culture in Plural Configurations 27, 1992, pp. It also contains a lot of figurative language describing . The Puritan attitude toward slaves was somewhat liberal, as slaves were considered part of the family and were often educated so that they could be converted to Christianity. "Their colour is a diabolic die.". Western notions of race were still evolving. FRANK BIDART Shields, John C., "Phillis Wheatley and the Sublime," in Critical Essays on Phillis Wheatley, edited by William H. Robinson, G. K. Hall, 1982, pp. More on Wheatley's work from PBS, including illustrations of her poems and a portraitof the poet herself. Later rebellions in the South were often fostered by black Christian ministers, a tradition that was epitomized by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s civil rights movement. 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. The idea that the speaker was brought to America by some force beyond her power to fight it (a sentiment reiterated from "To the University of Cambridge") once more puts her in an authoritative position. 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. Question 4 (2 points) Identify a type of figurative language in the Many readers today are offended by this line as making Africans sound too dull or brainwashed by religion to realize the severity of their plight in America. Cain murdered his brother and was marked for the rest of time. She was taught theology, English, Latin, Greek, mythology, literature, geography, and astronomy. Full text. In addition, Wheatley's language consistently emphasizes the worth of black Christians. PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. PDF downloads of all 1699 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. This simple and consistent pattern makes sense for Wheatley's straightforward message. "On Being Brought from Africa to America PDF Popular Rap Songs With Figurative Language / Cgeprginia A second biblical allusion occurs in the word train. This, she thinks, means that anyone, no matter their skin tone or where theyre from, can find God and salvation. May be refin'd, and join th' angelic train. 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. answer not listed. ." As the first African American woman to publish a book of poetry, Wheatley uses this poem to argue that all people, regardless of race, are capable of finding salvation through Christianity. Wheatley's growing fame led Susanna Wheatley to advertise for a subscription to publish a whole book of her poems. She makes this clear by . This comparison would seem to reinforce the stereotype of evil that she seems anxious to erase. Open Document. 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. Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral . On Being Brought from Africa to America Summary & Analysis - LitCharts "May be refined" can be read either as synonymous for can or as a warning: No one, neither Christians nor Negroes, should take salvation for granted. A sensation in her own day, Wheatley was all but forgotten until scrutinized under the lens of African American studies in the twentieth century. The transatlantic slave trade lasted from the early 16th century to the late 19th century and involved the forced relocation and enslavement of approximately 12.5 million African people. Wheatley wrote in neoclassical couplets of iambic pentameter, following the example of the most popular English poet of the times, Alexander Pope. In alluding to the two passages from Isaiah, she intimates certain racial implications that are hardly conventional interpretations of these passages.