Poems are pieces of writing that convey meanings through nature and rhetorical devices. Phillis Wheatley uses nature as well as light and dark imagery, reason and love to show the meaning in her poem “Thoughts on the Works of Providence”. Her audience is forced to think about the meanings of the poem through the imagery she uses. Wheatley efficiently uses rhetorical strategies to get her message across about God’s providence, which is how God provides for us. The reader must adequately absorb the imagery in order to understand what the poem is about. Without the use of rhetorical devices and her choices of imagery, Phillis Wheatley would not be able to effectively tell about God’s providence in “Thoughts of the Works of Providence”.
One of the most important topics in “Thoughts of the Works of Providence” is nature. Wheatley uses the sun to describe God. She does this …show more content…
In “Thoughts of the Works of Providence”, Wheatley says “Creation smiles in various beauty gay, While day to night, and night succeeds to day: That Wisdom, Which attends Jehovah’s ways, Shines most conspicuous in the solar rays.” (Line 25). This quote is using night and day to describe God’s wisdom. She is saying that he was very wise for creating the world the way he did. Wheatley uses a metaphor when she says “Without them, destitute of heat and light, This world would be the reign of endless night.” (Line 33). Here, Wheatley is uses “endless night” to describe everlasting evil. She is trying to say that if we did not have God, our lives would be filled with pure evil. This can persuade people to start to look towards God because no one wants their life to be evil, they want it to be very joyful. In the poem, Wheatley is saying that even though God is the light of the world, there will always be some darkness because everyone sins. However, it is up to us if we want to live a life full of light and happiness or of darkness and
One of the most important topics in “Thoughts of the Works of Providence” is nature. Wheatley uses the sun to describe God. She does this …show more content…
In “Thoughts of the Works of Providence”, Wheatley says “Creation smiles in various beauty gay, While day to night, and night succeeds to day: That Wisdom, Which attends Jehovah’s ways, Shines most conspicuous in the solar rays.” (Line 25). This quote is using night and day to describe God’s wisdom. She is saying that he was very wise for creating the world the way he did. Wheatley uses a metaphor when she says “Without them, destitute of heat and light, This world would be the reign of endless night.” (Line 33). Here, Wheatley is uses “endless night” to describe everlasting evil. She is trying to say that if we did not have God, our lives would be filled with pure evil. This can persuade people to start to look towards God because no one wants their life to be evil, they want it to be very joyful. In the poem, Wheatley is saying that even though God is the light of the world, there will always be some darkness because everyone sins. However, it is up to us if we want to live a life full of light and happiness or of darkness and