Phillis Wheatly
Phillis Wheatly was a woman who wrote poems and got them publish. How is this extraordinary? Well for one, she was woman. Phillis was born during the Revolutionary Era. During that time women’s right were far from the priorities of colonial governments.
“In an age in which even few white women were given an education, Wheatly was taught to read and write, and in a short time began reading Latin writers.”
Today very few people still have some knowledge of the Latin, but during that era, someone who knew Latin was considered a very intelligent and well-off individual. By the author mentioning this he or she is emphasizing Phillis intelligence. Phillis went to Britain to get her poems published but she never saw the outcome since she had to returned home to her mistress. Shortly after her owners died, Phillis was wed, but died shortly after which was not uncommon during that era. Phillis wrote several poems throughout her short life. One of the themes always mention in her poems is freedom, as demonstrated to her letter directed to George Washington. George Washington, of course, the leader of the revolutionaries. The revolutionaries were fighting for freedom. Another theme that she also focuses on is God, which is reasonable since religion has always been important throughout history.
“The blissful news by messenger from Heaven,
How Jesus’ blood from your redemption flows.
See Him with hands outstretched upon the cross;
Immense compassion in His bosom glows;
He hears revilers, nor resents their scorn:
What matchless mercy in the Son of God!”
In this quote, Phillis is describing the moment when Jesus is put on the cross. She uses imagery when she uses phases such as “Jesus’ blood from your redemption flows” and “Him with hands outstretched upon the cross”. By writing about this, thinks that by somebody dying for others is a great act of courage in human kind. In other poems she also mentions God.
“ ’Twas mercy brought me from my pagan land,
Taught my benighted soul to understand
That there’s a God, that there’s a savior too:”
On Being brought from America to America, is a poem by Phillis describing her journey on the slave ship. Again she mentions God. She does this to install a somewhat faint light of hope. She feels that even though is black and a slave, when she dies she is going to go to heaven. This claim can be supported by this quote.
Remember Christians, Negroes, back as Cain,
May be refined and join the angelic train.
The angelic train represents heaven. By adding Christians and black she is referring that whether the race, there is a heaven for everybody to share. In her biography it is mention that Phillis’ masters were deeply religious and so was she. This may have had some profound effect on her writing style.