She has been enlightened as to God's redemptive plan.

Another way to prevent getting this page in the future is to use Privacy Pass. Phillis Wheatley uses several literary elements to convey her complex but succinct message to the reader, and understanding those … 'Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land, Taught my benighted soul to understand.

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Wheatly, being the first African American to publish a book, is able to extend her experiences and thoughts to the present day. Following the poem (from Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, 1773), are some observations about its treatment of the theme of enslavement: In looking at Wheatley's attitude toward enslavement in her poetry, it's also important to note that most of Wheatley's poems do not refer to her "condition of servitude" at all. The narrator, who was once a slave, was brought to America, where she became a Christian. May God bless you Phillis. But at the same time, it emphasizes that she is known by these people, an accomplishment in itself, which many of her readers could not share. "On Being Brought" mixes themes of slavery, Christianity, and salvation, and although it's unusual for Wheatley to write about being a slave taken from Africa to America, this poem strategically addresses ideas of liberty, religion, and racial equality. On Being Brought from Africa to America. In line six, she is using hyperbole in that her race "is a diabolic die." All this was in the late 1700s. By entering your email address you agree to receive emails from Shmoop and verify that you are over the age of 13. She may either be addressing her last sentence to Christians—or she may be including Christians in those who "may be refined" and find salvation. She speaks to the White establishment, not to fellow enslaved people nor, really, for them. Some, including Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush, wrote their positive assessments of her poetry.

She is a former faculty member of the Humanist Institute. After publishing her book Poems on Various Subjects, Religious, and Moral, Wheatley achieved some success in both England and America, where her owner eventually freed her from enslavement. The poem, "On Being Brought from Africa to America" by Wheatly is very brief yet full of meaning. At about that same time, the Quaker leader John Woolman is boycotting dyes in order to protest enslavement. Again, this irony shows the Africans being described as evil merely because of their skin color. In line one, "Pagan land" is a metaphor for Africa, mentioned somewhat ironically—she calls Africa pagan, yet it is the Christians who enslave her. Librivox RocksHere are some free recordings of the poems in Wheatley's first book. Written as a lyric, Wheatley describes her experience as a slave in a positive tone, as though being a slave was her salvation because it brought her to the Christian faith. The overall message of 'On Being Brought from Africa to America' is to point out the hypocrisy of Christians who treat Blacks as inferior. A shift occurs at the middle of the poem. She is caught in a pose of contemplation (perhaps listening for her muses.) Why Was Africa Called the Dark Continent? In line seven, she uses a metaphor in describing the train as angelic...this would be a reference to a heavenly train that takes a person to eternal bliss... Start your 48-hour free trial and unlock all the summaries, Q&A, and analyses you need to get better grades now. ( Log Out / 

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