Major Themes in "On Being Brought from Africa to America": Mercy, racism and divinity are the major themes of this poem. both answers. Iambic pentameter is traditional in English poetry, and Wheatley's mostly white and educated audience would be very familiar with it. The poem consists of: Phillis Wheatley was abducted from her home in Africa at the age of 7 (in 1753) and taken by ship to America, where she ended up as the property of one John Wheatley, of Boston. Many of her elegies meditate on the soul in heaven, as she does briefly here in line 8. Then, there's the matter of where things scattered to, and what we see when we find them. Cain - son of Adam and Eve, who murdered his brother Abel through jealousy. Recent critics looking at the whole body of her work have favorably established the literary quality of her poems and her unique historical achievement. Scribd is the world's largest social reading and publishing site. Jefferson, a Founding Father and thinker of the new Republic, felt that blacks were too inferior to be citizens. 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. At a Glance Her slave masters encouraged her to read and write. The very distinctions that the "some" have created now work against them. She also indicates, apropos her point about spiritual change, that the Christian sense of Original Sin applies equally to both races. 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. "On Being Brought from Africa to America" is part of a set of works that Henry Louis Gates Jr. recognized as a historically . AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY This position called for a strategy by which she cleverly empowered herself with moral authority through irony, the critic claims in a Style article. This view sees the slave girl as completely brainwashed by the colonial captors and made to confess her inferiority in order to be accepted. The prosperous Wheatley family of Boston had several slaves, but the poet was treated from the beginning as a companion to the family and above the other servants. May be refin'd, and join th' angelic train. Wheatley is saying that her soul was not enlightened and she did not know about Christianity and the need for redemption. Hers is a seemingly conservative statement that becomes highly ambiguous upon analysis, transgressive rather than compliant. She was so celebrated and famous in her day that she was entertained in London by nobility and moved among intellectuals with respect. It is not mere doctrine or profession that saves. Suddenly, the audience is given an opportunity to view racism from a new perspective, and to either accept or reject this new ideological position. This strategy is also evident in her use of the word benighted to describe the state of her soul (2). 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. Refine any search. Today: African Americans are educated and hold political office, even becoming serious contenders for the office of president of the United States. Some view our sable race with scornful eye. In context, it seems she felt that slavery was immoral and that God would deliver her race in time. The use of th and refind rather than the and refined in this line is an example of syncope. Some view our sable race with scornful eye. Wheatley's first name, Phillis, comes from the name of the ship . She describes those Christian people with African heritage as being "refin'd" and that they will "join th' angelic train.". 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 elegy usually has several parts, such as praising the dead, picturing them in heaven, and consoling the mourner with religious meditations. Here Wheatley seems to agree with the point of view of her captors that Africa is pagan and ignorant of truth and that she was better off leaving there (though in a poem to the Earl of Dartmouth she laments that she was abducted from her sorrowing parents). This has been a typical reading, especially since the advent of African American criticism and postcolonial criticism. Calling herself such a lost soul here indicates her understanding of what she was before being saved by her religion. 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. Do you think that the judgment in the 1970s by black educators that Wheatley does not teach values that are good for African American students has merit today? Mr. George Whitefield . They can join th angelic train. In the case of her readers, such failure is more likely the result of the erroneous belief that they have been saved already. Wheatley does not reflect on this complicity except to see Africa as a land, however beautiful and Eden-like, devoid of the truth. To instruct her readers to remember indicates that the poet is at this point (apparently) only deferring to a prior authority available to her outside her own poem, an authority in fact licensing her poem. On this note, the speaker segues into the second stanza, having laid out her ("Christian") position and established the source of her rhetorical authority. Neoclassical was a term applied to eighteenth-century literature of the Enlightenment, or Age of Reason, in Europe. 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. 15 chapters | 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. May be refin'd, and join th' angelic train. The brief poem Harlem introduces themes that run throughout Langston Hughess volume Montage of a Dream Deferred and throughout his, Langston Hughes 19021967 , Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. Her religion has changed her life entirely and, clearly, she believes the same can happen for anyone else. Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral This poem has an interesting shift in tone. It is used within both prose and verse writing. Benjamin Rush, a prominent abolitionist, holds that Wheatley's "singular genius and accomplishments are such as not only do honor to her sex, but to human nature." Albeit grammatically correct, this comma creates a trace of syntactic ambiguity that quietly instates both Christians and Negroes as the mutual offspring of Cain who are subject to refinement by divine grace. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Soon as the sun forsook the eastern main. Those who have contended that Wheatley had no thoughts on slavery have been corrected by such poems as the one to the Earl of Dartmouth, the British secretary of state for North America. 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. So many in the world do not know God or Christ. As Wheatley pertinently wrote in "On Imagination" (1773), which similarly mingles religious and aesthetic refinements, she aimed to embody "blooming graces" in the "triumph of [her] song" (Mason 78). By the time Wheatley had been in America for 16 months, she was reading the Bible, classics in Greek and Latin, and British literature. 92-93, 97, 101, 115. Poet and World Traveler She had been publishing poems and letters in American newspapers on both religious matters and current topics. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., in The Trials of Phillis Wheatley: America's First Black Poet and Her Encounters with the Founding Fathers (2003), contends that Wheatley's reputation as a whitewashed black poet rests almost entirely on interpretations of "On Being Brought from Africa to America," which he calls "the most reviled poem in African-American literature." She wrote about her pride in her African heritage and religion. 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. The soul, which is not a physical object, cannot be overwhelmed by darkness or night. The speaker uses metaphors, when reading in a superficial manner, causes the reader to think the speaker is self-deprecating. On being brought from AFRICA to AMERICA The capitalization of AFRICA and AMERICA follows a norm of written language as codified in Joshua Bradley's 1815 text A Brief, Practical System of Punctuation To Which are added Rules Respecting the Uses of Capitals , Etc. This idea sums up a gratitude whites might have expected, or demanded, from a Christian slave. ", In the last two lines, Wheatley reminds her audience that all people, regardless of race, can be Christian and be saved. By Phillis Wheatley. 12th Grade English: Homework Help Resource, Works by African American Writers: Homework Help, Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison: Summary & Characters, Psychological Research & Experimental Design, All Teacher Certification Test Prep Courses, "On Being Brought from Africa to America" by Phillis Wheatley, "On Being Brought from Africa to America" Summary, "On Being Brought from Africa to America" Analysis, British Prose for 12th Grade: Homework Help, British Poetry for 12th Grade: Homework Help, British Plays for 12th Grade: Homework Help, The Harlem Renaissance: Novels and Poetry from the Jazz Age, W.E.B. In 1773 her Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (which includes "On Being Brought from Africa. Today: Since the Vietnam War, military service represents one of the equalizing opportunities for blacks to gain education, status, and benefits. The poet glorifies the warship in this poem that battled the war of 1812. Carole A. 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. Line 5 boldly brings out the fact of racial prejudice in America. God punished him with the fugitive and vagabond and yieldless crop curse. She separates herself from the audience of white readers as a black person, calling attention to the difference. A single stanza of eight lines, with full rhyme and classic iambic pentameter beat, it basically says that black people can become Christian believers and in this respect are just the same as everyone else. Whilst showing restraint and dignity, the speaker's message gets through plain and clear - black people are not evil and before God, all are welcome, none turned away. Slave, poet English is the single most important language in the world, being the official or de facto . The speaker makes a claim, an observation, implying that black people are seen as no better than animals - a sable - to be treated as merchandise and nothing more. 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. Specifically, Wheatley deftly manages two biblical allusions in her last line, both to Isaiah. In the poem, she gives thanks for having been brought to America, where she was raised to be a Christian. INTRODUCTION "On Being Brought from Africa to America by Phillis Wheatley". Write an essay and give evidence for your findings from the poems and letters and the history known about her life. Alliteration is a common and useful device that helps to increase the rhythm of the poem. By writing the poem in couplets, Wheatley helps the reader assimilate one idea at a time. In alluding to the two passages from Isaiah, she intimates certain racial implications that are hardly conventional interpretations of these passages. Wheatley's revision of this myth possibly emerges in part as a result of her indicative use of italics, which equates Christians, Negros, and Cain (Levernier, "Wheatley's"); it is even more likely that this revisionary sense emerges as a result of the positioning of the comma after the word Negros. In fact, the discussions of religious and political freedom go hand in hand in the poem. 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. 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. to America") was published by Archibald Bell of London. Just as she included a typical racial sneer, she includes the myth of blacks springing from Cain. 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. An online version of Wheatley's poetry collection, including "On Being Brought from Africa to America.". Walker, Alice, "In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Honoring the Creativity of the Black Woman," in Jackson State Review, Vol. Susanna Wheatley, her mistress, became a second mother to her, and Wheatley adopted her mistress's religion as her own, thus winning praise in the Boston of her day as being both an intelligent and spiritual being. 135-40. 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. Pagan is defined as "a person holding religious beliefs other than those of the main world religions." "On Being Brought from Africa to America" is a statement of pride and comfort in who she is, though she gives the credit to God for the blessing. "On Being Brought from Africa to America being Brought from Africa to America." In the poem "Wheatley chose to use the meditation as the form for her contemplation of her enslavement." (Frazier) In the poem "On being Brought from Africa to America." Phillis Wheatley uses different poetic devices like figurative language, form, and irony to express the hypocrisy of American racism. Remember, Christians, Negros, black as Cain. Baker offers readings of such authors as Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison, and Ntozake Shange as examples of his theoretical framework, explaining that African American women's literature is concerned with a search for spiritual identity. The early reviews, often written by people who had met her, refer to her as a genius. She has master's degrees in French and in creative writing. the colonies have tried every means possible to avoid war. (including. First, the reader can imagine how it feels to hear a comment like that. The way the content is organized. Phillis was known as a prodigy, devouring the literary classics and the poetry of the day. A discussionof Phillis Wheatley's controversial status within the African American community. The first four lines of the poem could be interpreted as a justification for enslaving Africans, or as a condoning of such a practice, since the enslaved would at least then have a chance at true religion. In this sense, white and black people are utterly equal before God, whose authority transcends the paltry earthly authorities who have argued for the inequality of the two races. While it is a short poem a lot of information can be taken away from it. This poem also uses imperative language, which is language used to command or to tell another character or the reader what to do. Adding insult to injury, Wheatley co-opts the rhetoric of this groupthose who say of blacks that "Their colour is a diabolic die" (6)using their own words against them. 1-8." 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. Poem Solutions Limited International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct,London, EC1A 2BN, United Kingdom, Discover and learn about the greatest poetry ever straight to your inbox, Discover and learn about the greatest poetry, straight to your inbox. Anne Bradstreet Poems, Biography & Facts | Who is Anne Bradstreet? Wheatley continues her stratagem by reminding the audience of more universal truths than those uttered by the "some." 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. "On Being Brought from Africa to America Remember: This is just a sample from a fellow student. Levernier considers Wheatley predominantly in view of her unique position as a black poet in Revolutionary white America. In effect, the reader is invited to return to the start of the poem and judge whether, on the basis of the work itself, the poet has proven her point about the equality of the two races in the matter of cultural well as spiritual refinement. Could the United States be a land of freedom and condone slavery? Had the speaker stayed in Africa, she would have never encountered Christianity. 372-73. land. Despite the hardships endured and the terrible injustices suffered there is a dignified approach to the situation. In appealing to these two audiences, Wheatley's persona assumes a dogmatic ministerial voice. No wonder, then, that thinkers as great as Jefferson professed to be puzzled by Wheatley's poetry. This creates a rhythm very similar to a heartbeat. In the following essay, Scheick argues that in "On Being Brought from Africa to America," Wheatleyrelies on biblical allusions to erase the difference between the races. They are walking upward to the sunlit plains where the thinking people rule. Her being saved was not truly the whites' doing, for they were but instruments, and she admonishes them in the second quatrain for being too cocky. Wheatley makes use of several literary devices in On Being Brought from Africa to America. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998), p.98. She was baptized a Christian and began publishing her own poetry in her early teens. 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. 2 Wheatley, "On the Death of General Wooster," in Call and Response, p. 103.. 3 Horton, "The Slave's Complaint," in Call and Response, pp. Have a specific question about this poem? One may wonder, then, why she would be glad to be in such a country that rejects her people. Patricia Liggins Hill, et. 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. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. 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 the full definition & explanation with examples). Of course, her life was very different. 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. A strong reminder in line 7 is aimed at those who see themselves as God-fearing - Christians - and is a thinly veiled manifesto, somewhat ironic, declaring that all people are equal in the eyes of God, capable of joining the angelic host. The narrator saying that "[He's] the darker brother" (Line 2). al. Another instance of figurative language is in line 2, where the speaker talks about her soul being "benighted." Davis, Arthur P., "The Personal Elements in the Poetry of Phillis Wheatley," in Critical Essays on Phillis Wheatley, edited by William H. Robinson, G. K. Hall, 1982, p. 95. The eighteen judges signed a document, which Phillis took to London with her, accompanied by the Wheatley son, Nathaniel, as proof of who she was. Such authors as Wheatley can now be understood better by postcolonial critics, who see the same hybrid or double references in every displaced black author who had to find or make a new identity. 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.