Phillis Wheatley Research Paper

In comparison to Harriet Stowe, there was Phyllis Wheatley. She was a slave who was captured in Africa and then brought to the states by boat. Wheatley’s poems were unlike any other during her time because Wheatley had a sense of true

Phillis Wheatley was the the first African American writer to have her books published in the United States. Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral written by Wheatley was viewed as a model for the importance of education with religious aspects, as it was often seen throughout her poetry. Formulated mainly of neoclassical elegiac poetry, Poems on Various Subjects triggered several discussions concerning the length to which Wheatley can be deemed a minor poet or whether she wrote to express politics and moral trouble.

Phillis Wheatley overcame extreme obstacles, such as racism and sexism, to become one of the most acclaimed poets in the 18th Century. Her works are characterized by religious and moral backgrounds, which are due to the extensive education of religion she received. In this sense, her poems also fit into American Poetry. However, she differs in the way that she is a black woman whose writings tackle greater subjects while incorporating her moral standpoint. By developing her writing, she began speaking out against injustices that she faced and, consequently, gave way to authors such as Gwendolyn Brooks and Countee Cullen.

Phillis Wheatley was an American figure unlike any other at her time. In a time where slavery was the normal, Ms. Wheatley was a revolutionary figure. She was not revolutionary because she was one of the enslaved but because she was one of the enslaved that knew how to read and write, becoming a published author. Women at the time of Phillis Wheatley were oppressed into submission to social norms. It was almost unheard of for a woman to write poetry, much less to be published. So, for Phillis Wheatley not only to be a slave, but also to be a woman that wrote poetry, she was an extremely influential figure. She was not influential in just one area, but in two areas because she led the way to women being accepted as writers and planted a seed of abolition, although not directly intentional.

Phillis Wheatley drew attention in the 18thcentury for being a black slave, and a child prodigy who was able to write poems and songs. She was born in Gambia, Africa, and brought to Boston as a slave when she was a child, and became slave and companion to John Wheatley’s wife. As she grew older, John Wheatley’s wife viewed her as a feeble and brilliant girl who deserves to be educated and felt great affection toward her. Therefore, Susanna Wheatley’s daughters taught Phillis how to read and write, so she delivered her honest opinions through her writings (Baym and Levine 763). Then she became the first African American writer to publish a book of poetry while other slaves were forbidden to learn how to read and write. Her ability to write and read gave her freedom of expression and enabled her to become a free woman. Her literacy influenced her surroundings in numerous ways. She was acknowledged by many people for her great poetical talents (“Phillis Wheatley, the First” para 3). In the poem “On Being Brought from Africa to America,” Phillis Wheatley appeals to ethos and pathos, uses suitable diction and a metaphor to demonstrate that the discrimination of Africans is barbarous, and encourages people to not judge by physical characteristics, but consider innate qualities.

Phillis Wheatley is a black, African slave, female poet, and then Christian American (Acton/ American Literature). The life of Phillis is attractive, some painful and some pleasant (poetry foundation). At that time, black skin people cannot be educated while she was American Christian and educated. Wheatley was a model of all black skin people or those were persecuted (Acton/ American Literature). She is the owner of the first published poems book in the colonies at 1773 after brought her from Africa to America; by that Wheatley was the first slave and third American woman do that (Biography). Indeed, Phillis is not her real name, but it is the ship's name which carried her to Boston; she used it until she died. Wheatley did not only change

Abigail Adams and Mercy Otis Warren were two women who voiced their thoughts and opinions in the political aspects of the war and influenced those around them. In addition, Esther Reed gained support for the troops by being involved in politics. Abigail Adams and Mary Draper supplied American troops with ammunition by creating them. Meanwhile, the first African American published author, Phillis Wheatley, wrote poems about patriotism and liberty in support of the

Phillis Wheatley was a young African American girl, brought to America at the age of seven to be a slave. In her time maturing in the Wheatley household, young Phillis grew rapidly intellectually and spiritually. Her faith in God and His divine nature is what inspired Wheatley to write- a prominent subject in her poem “On Being Brought from Africa to America.” Another example of God being the backbone of her literary career is in her letter “To the University of Cambridge in New England.” Though Wheatley was a slave, she is known as one of the most prominent poets in the pre-nineteenth century America. Mr. Edgar Alan Poe,

Who would think that Phyllis Wheatley would become a famous poem writer? If someone could go back to the past and he or her asked who was one of the popular poem writer it would be probably Phyllis Wheatley. Phyllis’ life went from bad to good to really good. People in Boston like Phyllis’ poems. This biography talks about Phyllis Wheatley’s early life, adult life and her contribution to the Revolutionary War.

Even though, Phillis Wheatley was a slave, she became one of the most recognized poets of her time. She became educated unlike most slaves and even some poor white Americans. It was illegal at that time in some states to teach slaves how to read. Through her writings she made it possible that African-Americans could be viewed as imaginative and intelligent. In her poems and letters she discussed slavery. She points out that Africans should be treated humanely. She even reprimanded slavery. Wheatley writing these poems in a way meant that Africans were actually human beings and not property. If that was the case, then they must be emancipated from slavery.

Phillis Wheatley was the first African American female slave to be published and to have a book of poems published.

Wheatley's poem, "To His Excellency General Washington", was written in a time when a young, new America was fighting to be free from other nation's. Although America had previously won the war with the French, other nations sought to control this new land. She gives warning to the other nations that they will meet the same fate in the end. Wheatley speaks of the strong support she has for General Washington and the fight for freedom. She expresses that America has labored hard for freedom, and although everyone is concerned, they are ready to fight. She speaks of possible victory, but realizes the odds of winning are not good. She feels Washington has high moral standards and is the right man to lead in this fight. She continues to praise

Before examining and evacuating, “On Being Brought from Africa to America”, it is important to look at Phyllis Wheatley’s life. Wheatley was a female African-American poet, who was born around 1753 in Senegal/Gambia, a part of the Africa. It is stated that, she was

Phillis Wheatley is a Gambian born African American poet. She was bought off of the slave trade by the Wheatley family from Boston. Her love of writing was influenced by the reassurance of the Wheatley family who taught her how to read and write. The family encouraged her poetry and helped develop her literature skills. Phillis is known for becoming the first published African American poet. Many see her as the first writer to develop a genre of African American literature. Through an analysis of Wheatley’s work we can see how her influential work tends to carry themes from the point of view of American colonists. Her work also contains a general critique of slavery and descriptions of her attitudes towards the circumstances forced upon the enslaved.

Wheatley tended to write many religiously based poems. They all consisted of her true opinions. They ranged from speaking about dead reverends that she respected to her opinions about the lives of Atheist and Deist.