Through the argument that she and others of her race can be saved, Wheatley slyly establishes that blacks are equal to whites. Publication of Wheatley's poem, "An Elegiac Poem, on the Death of the Celebrated Divine George Whitefield," in 1770 made her a household name. 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. The Wheatleys had to flee Boston when the British occupied the city. In the first four lines, the tone is calm and grateful, with the speaker saying that her soul is "benighted" and mentioning "redemption" and the existence of a "Saviour." . For example, Saviour and sought in lines three and four as well as diabolic die in line six. The enslavement of Africans in the American colonies grew steadily from the early seventeenth century until by 1860 there were about four million slaves in the United States. //]]>. As her poem indicates, with the help of God, she has overcome, and she exhorts others that they may do the same. Provides readers with strategies for facilitating language learning and literacy learning. "On Being Brought from Africa to America" is part of a set of works that Henry Louis Gates Jr. recognized as a historically . Wheatley was freed from slavery when she returned home from London, which was near the end of her owners' lives. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998), p.98. (Thus, anyone hearing the poem read aloud would also have been aware of the implied connection.) Structure. To the University of Cambridge, in New England. If you have sable or dark-colored skin then you are seen with a scornful eye. A second biblical allusion occurs in the word train. She was thus part of the emerging dialogue of the new republic, and her poems to leading public figures in neoclassical couplets, the English version of the heroic meters of the ancient Greek poet Homer, were hailed as masterpieces. 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. She describes those Christian people with African heritage as being "refin'd" and that they will "join th' angelic train.". There are many themes explored in this poem. She belonged to a revolutionary family and their circle, and although she had English friends, when the Revolution began, she was on the side of the colonists, reflecting, of course, on the hope of future liberty for her fellow slaves as well. Although she was captured and violently brought across the ocean from the west shores of Africa in a slave boat, a frail and naked child of seven or eight, and nearly dead by the time she arrived in Boston, Wheatley actually hails God's kindness for his delivering her from a heathen land. Into this arena Phillis Wheatley appeared with her proposal to publish her book of poems, at the encouragement of her mistress, Susanna Wheatley. 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. That there's a God, that there's a Saviour too: Once I redemption neither sought nor knew. Today: Since the Vietnam War, military service represents one of the equalizing opportunities for blacks to gain education, status, and benefits. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1699 titles we cover. Nevertheless, that an eighteenth-century woman (who was not a Quaker) should take on this traditionally male role is one surprise of Wheatley's poem. Look at the poems and letters of Phillis Wheatley, and find evidence of her two voices, African and American. The Challenge "There are more things in heav'n and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."Hamlet. Wheatley makes use of several literary devices in On Being Brought from Africa to America. 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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. Plus, get practice tests, quizzes, and personalized coaching to help you Cain - son of Adam and Eve, who murdered his brother Abel through jealousy. She traveled to London in 1773 (with the Wheatley's son) in order to publish her book, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral. White people are given a lesson in basic Christian ethics. Taking Offense Religion, Art, and Visual Culture in Plural Configurations She is grateful for being made a slave, so she can receive the dubious benefits of the civilization into which she has been transplanted. Redemption and Salvation: The speaker states that had she not been taken from her homeland and brought to America, she would never have known that there was a God and that she needed saving. For example, "History is the long and tragic story . Saviour Negros The Impact of the Early Years She had been publishing poems and letters in American newspapers on both religious matters and current topics. In effect, both poems serve as litmus tests for true Christianity while purporting to affirm her redemption. Eleanor Smith, in her 1974 article in the Journal of Negro Education, pronounces Wheatley too white in her values to be of any use to black people. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. 61, 1974, pp. Pagan 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. The definition of pagan, as used in line 1, is thus challenged by Wheatley in a sense, as the poem celebrates that the term does not denote a permanent category if a pagan individual can be saved. In fact, blacks fought on both sides of the Revolutionary War, hoping to gain their freedom in the outcome. The line in which the reference appears also conflates Christians and Negroes, making the mark of Cain a reference to any who are unredeemed. This simple and consistent pattern makes sense for Wheatley's straightforward message. Conditions on board some of the slave ships are known to have been horrendous; many died from illness; many were drowned. Wheatley proudly offers herself as proof of that miracle. Baldwin, Emma. There was no precedent for it. It is organized into rhyming couplets and has two distinct sections. Phillis Wheatley 's poem "On Being Brought from Africa to America" appeared in her 1773 volume Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, the first full-length published work by an African American author. 27, 1992, pp. One may wonder, then, why she would be glad to be in such a country that rejects her people. Phillis lived for a time with the married Wheatley daughter in Providence, but then she married a free black man from Boston, John Peters, in 1778. Her strategy relies on images, references, and a narrative position that would have been strikingly familiar to her audience. 253 Words2 Pages. Create your account. The poem was "On Being Brought from Africa to America," written by a 14-year-old Phillis in the late 18th century. Christians In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. A sensation in her own day, Wheatley was all but forgotten until scrutinized under the lens of African American studies in the twentieth century. 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." Another thing that a reader will notice is the meter of this poem. ." While Wheatley included some traditional elements of the elegy, or praise for the dead, in "On Being Brought from Africa to America," she primarily combines sermon and meditation techniques in the poem. Speaking for God, the prophet at one point says, "Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction" (Isaiah 48:10). Poetic devices are thin on the ground in this short poem but note the thread of silent consonants brought/Taught/benighted/sought and the hard consonants scornful/diabolic/black/th'angelic which bring texture and contrast to the sound. Of course, Wheatley's poetry does document a black experience in America, namely, Wheatley's alone, in her unique and complex position as slave, Christian, American, African, and woman of letters. Barbara Evans. 1'Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land. 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? 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. Wheatley may also be using the rhetorical device of bringing up the opponent's worst criticism in order to defuse it. Some of her poems and letters are lost, but several of the unpublished poems survived and were later found. It is supposed that she was a native of Senegal or nearby, since the ship took slaves from the west coast of Africa. 172-93. POEM SUMMARY The justification was given that the participants in a republican government must possess the faculty of reason, and it was widely believed that Africans were not fully human or in possession of adequate reason. Arthur P. Davis, writing in Critical Essays on Phillis Wheatley, comments that far from avoiding her black identity, Wheatley uses that identity to advantage in her poems and letters through "racial underscoring," often referring to herself as an "Ethiop" or "Afric." The difficulties she may have encountered in America are nothing to her, compared to possibly having remained unsaved. In appealing to these two audiences, Wheatley's persona assumes a dogmatic ministerial voice. Although she was an enslaved person, Phillis Wheatley Peters was one of the best-known poets in pre-19th century America. All rights reserved. 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 returned to America riding on that success and was set free by the Wheatleysa mixed blessing, since it meant she had to support herself. In the poem, she gives thanks for having been brought to America, where she was raised to be a Christian. "On Being Brought from Africa to America" is really about the irony of Christian people who treat Black people as inferior. 4 Pages. Later generations of slaves were born into captivity. HubPages is a registered trademark of The Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. Following are the main themes. It is the racist posing as a Christian who has become diabolical. INTRODUCTION However, in the speaker's case, the reason for this failure was a simple lack of awareness. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. What difficulties did they face in considering the abolition of the institution in the formation of the new government? This is followed by an interview with drama professor, scholar and performer Sharrell Luckett, author of the books Black Acting Methods: Critical Approaches and African American Arts: Activism, Aesthetics, and Futurity. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. Once I redemption neither sought nor knew. . Phillis Wheatley Poems & Facts | What Was Phillis Wheatley Known For? William Robinson provides the diverse early. She was instructed in Evangelical Christianity from her arrival and was a devout practicing Christian. Today: African American women are regularly winners of the highest literary prizes; for instance, Toni Morrison won the 1993 Nobel Prize for Literature, and Suzan-Lori Parks won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Personification. Black people, who were enslaved and thought of as evil by some people, can be of Christian faith and go to Heaven. In addition to editing Literature: The Human Experience and its compact edition, he is the editor of a critical edition of Richard Wright's A Native Son . In the poem, she gives thanks for having been brought to America, where she was raised to be a Christian. She published her first poem in 1767, later becoming a household name. In 1773 her Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (which includes "On Being Brought from Africa. In fact, the Wheatleys introduced Phillis to their circle of Evangelical antislavery friends. Educated and enslaved in the household of . Its like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. This is an eight-line poem written in iambic pentameter. 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). 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. It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil Crushed, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. Poetry for Students. The very distinctions that the "some" have created now work against them. In "Letters to Birmingham," Martin Luther King uses figurative language and literary devices to show his distress and disappointment with a group of clergyman who do not support the peaceful protests for equality. 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). The result is that those who would cast black Christians as other have now been placed in a like position. This powerful statement introduces the idea that prejudice, bigotry, and racism toward black people are wrong and anti-Christian. Poet [CDATA[ 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. Slave, poet In this lesson, students will. HISTORY of the CHRISTIAN CHURCH 1 1 Schaff, Philip, History of the Christian Church, (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.) 1997. This simple and consistent pattern makes sense for Wheatleys straightforward message. While it is a short poem a lot of information can be taken away from it. 'On Being Brought from Africa to America' is a poem by Phillis Wheatley (c. 1753-84), who was the first African-American woman to publish a book of poetry: Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral appeared in 1773 when she was probably still in her early twenties. Refine any search. 'Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land,Taught my benighted soul to understandThat there's a God, that there's a Saviour too:Once I redemption neither sought nor knew.Some view our sable race with scornful eye,"Their colour is a diabolic die. The speaker of this poem says that her abduction from Africa and subsequent enslavement in America was an act of mercy, in that it allowed her to learn about Christianity and ultimately be saved. Most descriptions tell what the literary elements do to enhance the story. Here are 10 common figures of speech and some examples of the same figurative language in use: Simile. For example, her speaker claims that it was "mercy" that took her out of "my Pagan land" and into America where she was enslaved. Mr. George Whitefield . Being made a slave is one thing, but having white Christians call black a diabolic dye, suggesting that black people are black because they're evil, is something else entirely. Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). In "On Being Brought from Africa to America," Wheatley identifies herself first and foremost as a Christian, rather than as African or American, and asserts everyone's equality in God's sight. A discussionof Phillis Wheatley's controversial status within the African American community. Saying it feels like saying "disperse." At the same time, our ordinary response to hearing it is in the mind's eye; we see it - the scattering of one thing into many. Benjamin Franklin visited her. . Her religion has changed her life entirely and, clearly, she believes the same can happen for anyone else. The first four lines concentrate on the retrospective experience of the speaker - having gained knowledge of the new religion, Christianity, she can now say that she is a believer, a convert. It also contains a lot of figurative language describing . Surely, too, she must have had in mind the clever use of syntax in the penultimate line of her poem, as well as her argument, conducted by means of imagery and nuance, for the equality of both races in terms of their mutually "benighted soul." This very religious poem is similar to many others that have been written over the last four hundred years. Form two groups and hold a debate on the topic. Wheatley's mistress encouraged her writing and helped her publish her first pieces in newspapers and pamphlets. The first allusion occurs in the word refin'd. Learning Objectives. For example: land/understandCain/train. ." Show all. The brief poem Harlem introduces themes that run throughout Langston Hughess volume Montage of a Dream Deferred and throughout his, Langston Hughes 19021967 1, edited by Nina Baym, Norton, 1998, p. 825. In the final lines, Wheatley addresses any who think this way. Remember, Christians, Negros, black as Cain. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., claims in The Trials of Phillis Wheatley that Boston contained about a thousand African Americans out of a population of 15,520. Hitler made white noise relating to death through his radical ideas on the genocide of Jews in the Second World War. She ends the poem by saying that all people, regardless of race, are able to be saved and make it to Heaven. This objection is denied in lines 7 and 8. Starting deliberately from the position of the "other," Wheatley manages to alter the very terms of otherness, creating a new space for herself as both poet and African American Christian.