Phillis Wheatley

A young girl that would be known as Phillis Wheatley happened to be one of the most influential black poets in the 18th century. As it came, Phillis Wheatley, being a black woman with an educational upbringing endure great triumphs for her writings. She sought out to emphasize her view of slavery to freedom and rescue when finding Christianity. In all of Wheatley’s writings, there is one particular poem called, “On being brought from Africa to America”, that views into her journey to salvation…

owners wife and two children. Phillis Wheatley, born May 8, 1753 in Senegal, West Africa, was brought into slavery at eight years old. She was in bad shape when she was purchased, and so she was used for a servant for John Wheatley’s wife, Mrs. Susanna Wheatley. Susanna took Phillis in, almost as her own child, and she and her two children started teaching Phillis how to read. This triggered an interest in Phillis. She soon became very involved with literacy. Phillis loved learning by reading.…

Olaudah Equiano and Phillis Wheatly The middle passage is a demoniac journey that Africans experienced during the 1600’s, they were loaded onto a ship to be sent to the west indies. The historical authors and slaves Olaudah Equiano and Phillis Wheatly were both captured at a young age to be sold into slavery. Autobiographies from these young African’s Phillis Wheatly, “To the Right Honourable William Earl, of Partmonth” and Olaudah Equiano’s “The Life of Gustavus Vassa” are based on their…

In 1761, Wheatley was kidnapped from West Africa and enslaved. She was purchased by John Wheatley as a servant for his wife. Although Phillis was brought as a slave, the Wheatleys took a great interest in Phillis’s education. Phillis learned to read and write English, and she became familiar with Latin, Greek, the Bible, and other classics at an early age. Wheatley had a hard time publishing her poems because of the bad economy. Phillis published her first poem in a new england…

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…

During the time with the Wheatley family she was under, she expressed a keen talent for learning and published many of her poems in the local newspaper, gaining recognition as the first black female poet in the Americas. In her poem, she talks about moving from her “pagan” land to…

systematically subjugate entire races of people. In his Notes on the State of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson outlines his quasi-scientific conducted research on lack people. This document highlights the racially charged atmosphere of the time period. Phillis Wheatley counters these “scientific observations” of the inherent subordinate position of black people through her religiously motivated poetry. This time period highlights how racial inequality was justified and showed the determination and…

In his poem, he described the island as a living hell and branding was described as inhumane and unnatural. Phillis Wheatley is another significant poet. Phillis Wheatley was the first published African American female poet. She was born in Africa, but sold to slavery and transported to Boston. She was bought by John Wheatley to serve as a servant for his wife. They educated Phillis Wheatley and she began to write poetry, which was published. She received her freedom from slavery. Her experience…

stories. Displaying his use of imagery, Washington Irving, an American short story writer composes “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” to convey his views and ideas regarding Puritanical life. Another profound contributor to American literature is Phillis Wheatley, an African American woman who shares her personal experiences of traveling from Africa to America. She provides the attitudes towards slavery while also including the influences of religion in her writings. Both through descriptions of…

picture the circumstances and understand his reason for such a title. Seven year Equiano misery started the moment he boarded the ship filled with fear and air polluted by overcrowded slave's sweats (164). Phillis Wheatley was a young slave brought from Africa like Equiano. Interesting, Phillis learned how to read and write at an earlier age compared to Equiano, who had several masters, gain the privileged to learned because he was smart. During his journey from Africa to Barbados hostility…