The first allusion occurs in the word refin'd. Explore "On Being Brought from Africa to America" by Phillis Wheatley. An error occurred trying to load this video. She is not ashamed of her origins; only of her past ignorance of Christ. It is supremely ironic and tragic that she died in poverty and neglect in the city of Boston; yet she left as her legacy the proof of what she asserts in her poems, that she was a free spirit who could speak with authority and equality, regardless of origins or social constraints. Boston, Massachusetts answer choices. Create your account. Scribd is the world's largest social reading and publishing site. There were public debates on slavery, as well as on other liberal ideas, and Wheatley was no doubt present at many of these discussions, as references to them show up in her poems and letters, addressed to such notable revolutionaries as George Washington, the Countess of Huntingdon, the Earl of Dartmouth, English antislavery advocates, the Reverend Samuel Cooper, and James Bowdoin. Also supplied are tailor-made skill lessons, activities, and poetry writing prompts; the . CRITICISM Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. By Phillis Wheatley. Her religion has changed her life entirely and, clearly, she believes the same can happen for anyone else. In the meanwhile, until you change your minds, enjoy the firefight! Lastly, the speaker reminds her audience, mostly consisting of white people, that Black people can be Christian people, too. PDF downloads of all 1699 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. Remember, Christians, Negros, black as Cain. The speaker takes the high moral ground and is not bitter or resentful - rather the voice is calm and grateful. Plus, get practice tests, quizzes, and personalized coaching to help you Levernier, James, "Style as Process in the Poetry of Phillis Wheatley," in Style, Vol. [CDATA[ This strategy is also evident in her use of the word benighted to describe the state of her soul (2). 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. It is used within both prose and verse writing. The multiple meanings of the line "Remember, Christians, Negroes black as Cain" (7), with its ambiguous punctuation and double entendres, have become a critical commonplace in analyses of the poem. Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. Read Wheatley's poems and letters and compare her concerns, in an essay, to those of other African American authors of any period. 253 Words2 Pages. 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. In fact, the whole thrust of the poem is to prove the paradox that in being enslaved, she was set free in a spiritual sense. She had not been able to publish her second volume of poems, and it is thought that Peters sold the manuscript for cash. The poem uses the principles of Protestant meditation, which include contemplating various Christian themes like one's own death or salvation. No one is excluded from the Savior's tender mercynot the worst people whites can think ofnot Cain, not blacks. 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. 8May be refin'd, and join th' angelic train. 1, 2002, pp. Cain is a biblical character that kills his brother, an example of the evil of humanity. 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. We sense it in two ways. 15 chapters | She asks that they remember that anyone, no matter their skin color, can be said by God. On paper, these words seemingly have nothing in common. Despite the hardships endured and the terrible injustices suffered there is a dignified approach to the situation. Refine any search. She returned to America riding on that success and was set free by the Wheatleysa mixed blessing, since it meant she had to support herself. , "On Being Brought from Africa to America," in The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Vol. The use of th and refind rather than the and refined in this line is an example of syncope. In lieu of an open declaration connecting the Savior of all men and the African American population, one which might cause an adverse reaction in the yet-to-be-persuaded, Wheatley relies on indirection and the principle of association. In thusly alluding to Isaiah, Wheatley initially seems to defer to scriptural authority, then transforms this legitimation into a form of artistic self-empowerment, and finally appropriates this biblical authority through an interpreting ministerial voice. There are poems in which she idealizes the African climate as Eden, and she constantly identifies herself in her poems as the Afric muse. "On Being Brought from Africa to America by Phillis Wheatley". ." Wheatley's verse generally reveals this conscious concern with poetic grace, particularly in terms of certain eighteenth-century models (Davis; Scruggs). //