Melecia Brice
Mr. Barry Hall
American Lit. 1: Fri. 9-11:45am
25 March 2011
Phillis Wheatley an Ex-African Phillis Wheatley born in Gambia, Africa in 1753 was the first early African American slave poet. “A kidnapped African slave child, aged about seven years old” (Lauter 1297), she was brought to Boston where she was sold to John and Susanna Wheatley. Phillis Wheatley’s first name was not given to her at birth she acquired her name by the ship that carried her to America in which it was name “The Phillis”. Susanna Wheatley chose the young African slave, because of her “humble and modest demeanor and the interesting features of the little stranger” (Odell 9). Phillis soon after being adopted into the Wheatley family “experienced special, much-indulged comfort” (Lauter 1297). Phillis was treated quite differently from the other slaves that she lived with; it was if they accepted her as one of their own children.
Phillis Wheatley was a very intelligent child and Mrs. Wheatley noticed this about her when they brought her home, for she “was frequently seen endeavoring to make letters upon the wall with a piece of chalk or charcoal” (Odell 10). Due to Phillis’s inquisitive and precocious nature, Mrs. Wheatley decided to take it upon herself to educate the young child, in teaching her how to read and write. Being “tutored by family members, she quickly learned English, Latin and the Bible” (Lauter 1297). Mrs. Wheatley was very amazed by the rapid progress young Phillis was making in grasping the material being taught to her. She was in Mrs. Wheatley good graces with her good-natured disposition and good mannered behavior. “As to her writing, her curiosity let her to it; and this she learnt in so short of a time, that in the year 1765, she wrote a letter to the Reverend Samson Occom, the Indian Minister” (Shields 6), “and she sent a poem to Reverend Joseph Sewall of Boston’s Old South Church” (Lauter 1297).
Due to the wealthy status of the Wheatley’s in the 18th century, it made it quite possible for young Phillis Wheatley to emerge as an aspiring poet. If it weren’t for the Wheatley’s financial support in Phillis writings, it would have been impossible for her to get her start in literary works. In the Delta Research and Education Foundation’s Center it states that, “Susanna Wheatley promoted the publication of Phillis' earliest poems in the local newspapers”, it also goes on to say that, “Phillis Wheatley published her first poem on December 21, 1765 in the Newport Mercury” and that “her first book of poetry was published in London in 1773”. Phillis wrote a poetic elegy for the popular evangelist George Whitefield in 1770. “Phillis Wheatley’s elegy brought her both international fame when it was published in London as well as Boston” (Carretta 14, 15). In October 18, 1773 the Wheatley’s gave Phillis her freedom from being a slave.
Phillis’s “poems and letters show that she became familiar with works by Alexander Pope (her principal poetic model for the use of heroic couplets), and John Milton (her most admired modern poet)” (Carretta 14). Her knowledge of these poets gave her the aspiration she needed to choose poetry, for in poetry she can write about anything she wanted and at the same time she can develop her literary skills. Phillis Wheatley wasn’t quite gaining the support of Bostonians when it came to her literary works. For the most part they disregarded it because it was written by an ex-African slave. “Wheatley’s poems ably and imaginatively suit the neoclassical poetic norms of her day, yet she was not accepted by whites of her generation” (Lauter 1298). Bostonians couldn’t accept the fact that Phillis wrote these poems because she was a Negro, and they thought she couldn’t possibly have so much talent due her skin color.
Phillis didn’t allow the self-righteousness of this so called Christians to deter her from what she truly loves to do which it to write poetry. If these slave owners who were supposed to be Christians took their religion seriously, they would have viewed Phillis as their equal as it states in the Bible, we should love our neighbors as ourselves, because God created us equally. In one of Phillis’ poem entitled “On Being Brought from Africa to America”, it states:
Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land,
Taught my benighted soul to understand
That there’s a God, that there’s a Saviour too:
In this poem she is clearly stating that she was removed from her “Pagan Land” which is Africa, to be relocated in a place where there was much criticism and racial segregation. She was taught the ways of Christian belief and she implies that through God’s mercy she was able to overcome. She believed that God would not turn his back on her and that he would comfort through the trials she faced in the society in which she lived. Phillis Wheatley is a great African American poet, and is recognized for that today, but back then in the 18th century she wasn’t received so graciously and it was a struggle for her to reach further in her literary works. She manages to stay strong and allowed her Christian faith to carry her through her time of rejection by whites of her generation. She still pursued her dreams and tried to get “thirty-three poems and thirteen letters” printed (Lauter 1298). “In the Boston Magazine for September, 1784, there would be printed a final solicitation for subscribers to this third volume, but there would be no such book in print by the time Phillis Wheatley died three months later on December 5” (Lauter 1298).

Work Cited
Lauter, Paul, Richard Yarborough, John Alberti, and Mary Pat. The Heath Anthology of American Literature: Beginnings to 1800. Wadsworth Pub Co, 2008. Print.
Odell, Margaretta Matilda. "Memoir." Memoir and Poems of Phillis Wheatley. Boston: Geo. W. Light, 1834. 20 Sep. 2003. <http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/wheatley/wheatley.html>.
"Phillis: A Scholarly Journal Published by The Delta Foundation ." Delta Research and Educational Foundation. (2009) <http://www.deltafoundation.net/research-center/phillis-a-scholarly-journal-published-by-the-delta-foundation/phillis-a-scholarly-journal>
Wheatley, Phillis, and Vincent Carretta. Complete writings. Penguin Classics, 2001. Print.
Wheatley, Phillis, and John C. Shields. The collected works of Phillis Wheatley. Oxford University Press, USA, 1988. Print.