...Phillis Wheatley, a slave from Gambia, was the first black poet in America to publish numerous books and poems during the late 1700s. She was not treated as a slave as much as other slaves coming from Africa because her owners, the Wheatleys, took an immense interest in her being educated, (Andrew Spacey, Owlcation.com). Writings from the Latin, Greek and the Bible helped her learn to read and write. Her poems that would make her popular were influenced by famous poets- John Milton, Thomas Gray and Alexander Pope, (Jennifer Benka, Poets.Org). After releasing various poems, getting acknowledged by George Washington, and being nationally acclaimed all over the Colonies/ England, her poem, “On Being Brought From Africa to America,” brought mixed feelings on the attitude...
Words: 1059 - Pages: 5
...The African American Literature can be understood as being devided in four distinct stages. Firtly, the non-fictional slave narratives of the 18 and 19th centuries. Secondly, the emergence of longer fictional texts such as novels in the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. Thridly, the cultural boom of African American art and literature around the 1920s. Finally, a more radical movement starting in the 1960s. Before dissecting these stages in more details, it is mandatory to mention Phillis Wheatley. Even though she was a slave herself, the literature she produced differered greatly from the slave narratives. She wrote poetry in the lyrical form, very influenced by John Milton’s and Alexander Pope’s poetry and the Greek and Latin classics. Nevertheless, her apparent submission to the white literary tradition, as well as religion is questionable. In the first part of her poem On Being Brought from Africa to America, Wheatley seems to be grateful for the kindness whites have shown her and for presenting her Christianity. Still, towards the end, thanking whites for having brought her to America sneaks in the question of race and the acknowledgement of racism in America. Considering...
Words: 775 - Pages: 4
...African slave that was brought to America in the mid to late 1700’s. Her new slave owners in Boston had an immensely unique relationship with her. They taught Wheatley how to read and write which eventually led her to become an influential poet. She has created many poems in her life regarding her outlook on slavery. In one particular poem, “On Being Brought from Africa to America”, Wheatley shows her positive and uplifting stance on slavery. CARRETTA, VINCENT. "Phillis Wheatley: Researching A Life." Historical Journal Of Massachusetts 43.2 (2015): 64-89. America: History and Life with Full Text. Web. 22 Mar. 2016. Vincent Carretta created an article to detail the life of Phillis Wheatley which ultimately assists readers in understanding why she was so uplifting in her poetry. He begins with a brief introduction on her early life and background. Shortly after discussing Wheatley’s early life, Carretta brings in a new perspective on her stating, “The literary quality and the political significance of her writings have been challenged since the eighteenth century” (Corretta 66). The statement he presents shows an interesting view when dealing with a poet who is so significant in literature. He later speaks of Wheatley’s husband and other trips she had taken away from Africa. The situations Carretta informs readers on brings insight on Wheatley’s life and how/why she became the type of woman she did. Frazier, Tom. "On Being Brought From Africa To America." Masterplots II: Poetry...
Words: 835 - Pages: 4
...RESEARCH PAPER Phillis Wheatley's work presents an excellent example of the triumph of optimism over experience. Who is Phillis Wheatley? That is what I asked myself upon learning of a reading assignment. We were assigned to read Phillis Wheatley’s poem “On being brought from Africa to America”. Prior to reading the poem I decided to research the life of Phillis Wheatley. I did this so that I could have a better understanding of what I was about to read. This is why I imagine one of her poems was chosen for reading in our Stories of Immigration course. In the next few sentences I will share with you some of Wheatley’s experience in America. You will discover some of the hardships Wheatley faced. I ask that as you read and think of the experiences that are being described, place yourself in Wheatley’s shoes. What would you do? How would you feel? Would you choose to live a life of optimism or pessimism? Phillis Wheatley was kidnapped at a young age; stripped from the arms of her mother, taken away from the only land that she knew. We all have heard of the dreadful voyage from the west coast of Africa to the eastern American coastlines. Upon landing, Phillis took an immensely negative experience and was able to find something good out of the ordeal. I am not so sure that I would have been able to do or see the sun shine through the rain as Phillis was able to. I am close to my parents and Lord knows how much I love and need my mom. Imagine the thought of no longer...
Words: 1353 - Pages: 6
...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...
Words: 1072 - Pages: 5
...Phillis Wheatley was an African-American born in 1753 in the country of Senegal. At a very young age around 8 years old, she was kidnapped then bought by John Wheatley as a gift to serve Susanna Wheatley. Phillis’ intellectual ability was something not to go unnoticed, soon she was amazingly given educational lessons in subjects such as English, Greek, and even History. She was not taught to serve and slave but rather taught to be a part of the Wheatley family. She put together her very first poem at only twelve years old and continued to create writing poems, soon getting to travel to promote her literature and treat her illnesses. Wheatley led a very different life that other African Americans at the time she was with the Wheatley’s. Her...
Words: 355 - Pages: 2
...gifted in poetry and English writing when it was not okay for slaves to learn how to read and write. In 1971, when Phillis was about eight years old, when she was captured and taken away from her parents, soon after that she was bought as a slave. “The child was a victim of the largest involuntary human migration in history. She had been kidnapped from her family in Africa and forced to spend up to two months crossing the Atlantic. She now faced land again at last (Carretta, 2011)”. “Phillis reached Boston in 1761 at the peak of the annual season for selling imported slaves (Robert). There has been a great deal of confusion about when and by whom the future Phillis Wheatley was first sold in Boston. “The advertisement for the human cargo that included the future Phillis Wheatley first appeared in the Boston Gazette on 13 July 1761, repeating almost verbatim the advertisement from the year before...
Words: 1360 - Pages: 6
...Wheatly “On being Brought from Africa to America” In the work “On Being Brought from Africa to America” Wheatley tells of how her being brought to America from Africa brought her salvation. Wheatley uses literary devices to unify all Christians and encourage other of African descent to convert, as well as unify all Christians. While normally the speaker and the poet are considered different than one another in “ On being Brought from Africa to America” it can be assumed that the poet and the speaker are the same people. Firstly, the speaker doesn’t seem to be simplistic like most slaves of that time and historically Wheatley was a very educated slave. Also, the topic of Christianity was not common for slaves in America because slaves were...
Words: 437 - Pages: 2
...itself, through generations and throughout time the writings have had a very important role. for some folks writing is also solely how to establish communication, as newspapers and magazines. For some others, it's an inner pleasure to share feelings and concepts, like in journals and theories. However, for others it is an instrument for additional definite purposes, like awareness regarding movements or a personal catharsis – Sylvia Plath’s poetry, for example. Therefore, the power of words helped mankind to change the globe. Bearing in mind this concept that literature may renew and reinforce a belief or an idea, the theme of the analysis supposed in this work comparing Phillis Wheatley’s poem “On Being Brought From Africa To America” to Langston Hughes’ “I, Too, Sing America” is somewhat known and reassure aspects that are still a part of society nowadays: be it prejudice, racism or oppression. In order to grasp how their poems differ it's necessary to understand some details about their lives, that has strong...
Words: 2408 - Pages: 10
...March 14, 2014 Intro to Poetry 116w The Role of Race in Determining the Canonicity of Phillis Wheatley’s Works Over the years, the types of literary works considered to be part of the cannon have varied greatly but the criterion for selecting a canonical work seems to have stayed the same. According to American literary critic Northrop Frye, the canonicity of a work represents the admission of the work unto a “unified scheme” that is also “in accord with a permanent structure of ideas” (Hilton, 140). While poet Phillis Wheatley certainly focused upon the “permanent structure of ideas” that is most significant in our society- religion, freedom, integrity- she was fairly unsuccessful at achieving a canonical status for most if not all of her works. Wheatley’s achievements were undoubtedly impressive, yet much attention was paid to her race rather than her talent. While a canonical work by definition creates a powerful literary legacy, after her initial fame Phillis Wheatley was “no longer a revelation, unable to successfully commodify herself again, she died penniless and forgotten” (Flanzbaum, 79). Much of the controversy surrounding Wheatley’s work was brought on by accusations made by critics that she held a misguided racial identity, in which she identifies more with her white, privileged readers than her black peers. Even decades later, many critics of Wheatley’s work are still unable to see past skin color to see her work for what it truly is. It cannot be said for certain...
Words: 2651 - Pages: 11
...no longer any more limitations. She points out a painter several times which I am not sure who she is referring to yet. I am assuming it is an African painter at that time. The one aspect of the work that really sparked my interest was when Wheatley said, “But when these shades of time are chas’d away, and darkness ends in everlasting day” (To S.M., A Young Painter, n.d., para. 2),which I think she implies that when this era of slavery and racism passes the darkness (harsh times) will end and there will be daylight or good times. Analysis of the Work Phillis Wheatley was a writer who greatly differed from other writers in American literature mostly because of her word choice she chose in her writing. She was originally born in Africa and brought to England where she was sold and raised into slavery during the enlightenment period. She was brought to America as a slave and the owners that bought her took great interest in her education. She learned to read and write and became familiar with the Bible, Greek, and British literature during the...
Words: 702 - Pages: 3
...The Middle Passage was a dark stage of history in which Africans were sent on vessels to America as part of the slave trade. Two particular slaves used these dreadful times to their advantage. Putting their experiences into writing, Phillis Wheatley and Olaudah Equiano wrote tremendously successful literary pieces that shaped the abolition movement. In both Equiano’s narrative and Wheatley’s book of poems, they reflect the similar experience of slavery, which greatly shapes the purpose and style of the author’s pieces. Much like Equiano, Phillis Wheatley was born in an African village. The only good memory recalled of her life in Africa was of her mother performing daily rituals to the rising sun in the mornings. She had the advantage of being purchased by Christian missionaries who were very kind to her. Her owners taught her to read and write, which led her to be the first African American woman to be published as a poet. It also caused her writing to be much more classical with a discreet sense of emotion. She used many allusions and...
Words: 620 - Pages: 3
...modest demeanor” (Odell 9). Mrs. Wheatley initially hopes to train Phillis to replace the aging house slaves and to be her companion, since Mrs. Wheatley's daughter, Mary, would soon be old enough to leave home (Richmond 15). The turning point for Phillis Wheatley was that she was fortunate enough to be educated. This was an amazing blessing to her because it was uncommon for free women in this...
Words: 1455 - Pages: 6
...She Is Charlie The orange sun that kisses my caramel skin….. That cooool summer breeze that leaves my thick cocoa milky Oh yes cocoa butter sent lingering under your nose as I walk pass… Can you imagine the thought of these rich chocolate lips so soft and smooth as you indulge yourself in my mango sweet kisses… so sweet yet tangy with a hint of sour green apple? Can you imagine? Sirens jingle Alarm clock screams & you come to see that it was nothing but a fantasy Can you imagine me? ... Charlie B Nikki Giovanni Nikki Giovanni is a Poet, Writer, Activist, and Professor who Crowned by critics as the “Princess of Black Poetry” during the early 70s. She started her writing career in the in the 1960s when began her studies at Fisk University in Nashville Tennessee, The civil rights and black power movements inspired her early poetry that was collected in Black Feeling, Black Talk (1967), Black Judgment (1968), and Re: Creation (1970). Giovanni's writing has been heavily inspired by both African American activists and artists. “All eyez on U” Is a poem dedicated to the late great Tupac Amaru Shakur that illustrates the generational repetition of eliminating a race that is trying to empower and educate a nation. Giovanni believed that the 'superior race' created ways to eliminate education and reassured ignorance remained in the black community to increase chaos, self-destruction, and to silence those capable of great intellect. The speaker states...
Words: 1525 - Pages: 7
...Assignment One: Cortés’s letters are an essential source for understanding the early Spanish presence in Mexico. He wrote five letters from New Spain to the king, in which he recounted, in a simple but detailed style, Spain’s progressive entry into new lands. The second letter describes the province of Culua, with its great cities, especially “Tenustitlan” built on Lake Texcoco. Cortés speaks with great admiration about the Aztec king, about how his people serve him, and about their rites and ceremonies. The letter relates the most noteworthy events concerning the entry into New Spain: the surrender of the chief of Cempoala, the procession towards the capital, the alliance with the Tlaxcaltecas, early contacts with the ambassadors of Moctezuma, and the meeting with the Aztec chief in Tenochtitlán. Assignment Two:...
Words: 1240 - Pages: 5
