Analysis Of The Poem Phillis Wheatley - 1037 Words

Chandler Helmers Mr. Campbell English 3 Honors 10/12/14 An Analysis on the work of Phillis Wheatley Phillis Wheatley is a Gambian born African American poet. She was bought off of the slave trade by the Wheatley family from Boston. Her love of writing was influenced by the reassurance of the Wheatley family who taught her how to read and write. The family encouraged her poetry and helped develop her literature skills. Phillis is known for becoming the first published African American poet. Many see her as the first writer to develop a genre of African American literature. Through an analysis of Wheatley’s work we can see how her influential work tends to carry themes from the point of view of American colonists. Her work also contains a general critique of slavery and descriptions of her attitudes towards the circumstances forced upon the enslaved. One of Wheatley’s better known pieces of poetry is â€Å"On being brought from Africa to America.† While it is a short poem a lot of information can be taken away from it. She begin the poem with establishing her experience with slavery as a beneficial thing to her life. She makes this clear by telling the reader that slavery brought her to Christianity, an important piece of her life. One reason the subject of Christianity is prevalent in the poem is because as an African American poet not many subjects were â€Å"safe† to write about without receiving criticism or even punishment. Christianity, however, was one of the more acceptedShow MoreRelatedLiterature Analysis Essay703 Words   |  3 PagesLiterature Analysis Noah Serna Western Governors University Humanities C100 January 15, 2016 Personal Observations of the Work The work of literature that I chose to do my initial observations on is a poem written by Phillis Wheatley, called â€Å"To S.M., a Young African Painter, on Seeing his Works.† This poem was written during the enlightenment period. I particularly chose this poem because I always had an interest in reading about AfricanRead MorePoetry Analysis : America By Phillis Wheatley1079 Words   |  5 PagesPoetry Analysis: America by Phillis Wheatley Born in Senegal around 1753, Phillis Wheatley became an important American poetic figure. At the age of 8, she was kidnapped and brought to Boston on a slave ship and upon her arrival to Boston, she was quickly sold to John Wheatley (Bio). Under her new family, Phillis adopted the master’s last name, taken under the wife’s wing, and showed her deep intelligence. Even though suffering from poor health, Phillis’s intelligence did not go unnoticed; she receivedRead More Wheatley’s Poem On Being Brought from Africa to America Essays1892 Words   |  8 PagesWheatley’s poem, â€Å"On Being Brought from Africa to America† is part of a set of works that Henry Louis Gates Jr. recognized as a historically significant literary contribution for black Americans and black women (Baym et al. 752). Addressed to the Christians who participated in the slave trade, the poem is meant to reveal the inconsistencies between their actions and the Christian Ideal . Whether perceived as a work of sincerity or a work of irony, the poem conveys the message that an individual’sRead MorePhyllis Wheatley : The Iconic Cornerstone Of Equality1126 Words   |  5 PagesProfessor Woo 2 March 2016 Phyllis Wheatley: The Iconic Cornerstone of Equality Phyllis Wheatley was one of the most iconic figures in the American Revolution on the side of the colonists because she was the first black female to be published in America. This was very important because it was a kickstart in generating authentic American culture and a lot of it. Phyllis Wheatley was born in Africa and brought over to be sold in the slave trade. She was purchased by John Wheatley and unlike other slave ownersRead More The Political, Feminist, and Religious view of Frances E.W. Harper, Phllis Wheatley, and Alice Dunbar-Nelson2661 Words   |  11 PagesThe Political, Feminist, and Religious view of Frances E.W. Harper, Phllis Wheatley, and Alice Dunbar-Nelson Phillis Wheatley, Alice Dunbar-Nelson, and Francis E. W. Harper were all groundbreaking and poignant authors whose works have remained influential throughout time. Feminism, politics, and religion are three aspects evident in their personal lives an d literature. Wheatley was considered a feminist icon because she was the first published African American female poet. However, her writingRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of The Slavery Period A Number Of African Slaves By Harriet Beecher Stowe1798 Words   |  8 PagesAgustin Gamez Instructor: Nancy R. Williams Course: American Literature Date: 10/14/2015 Literary Analysis Essay # 2 During the slavery period a number of African slaves wrote stories, and poems about their daily hardships that they had to withhold by being a slave and everything else that happen throughout their life’s. Not many Black writers had the resources or support from their owners to publish what they wrote or anyone to care about what they wrote, lucky slaves did reach success when theyRead MoreSearch Of Our Mother s Garden By Alice Walker1368 Words   |  6 Pagesblack poet, who notices the toll of this assault. He describes seeing these women, but observing that a part of them was missing and stolen from them because of the physical and sexual abuse they experienced. Walker also introduces a slave named Phillis Wheatley, another incredible black poet, who passes due to the toll of slavery that ultimately consumes her body. She also notes a quilt like no other made by an unidentified black woman from Alabama, hung up in the Smithsonian. Furthermore, the authorRead MoreComparative Analysis Of African Americ Annotated Bibliography878 Words   |  4 PagesComparative Analysis of African American: An Annotated Bibliography Angelou, Maya. â€Å"Africa†. The Norton Introduction to Literature 11th ed. New York: 2013 print Norton Mays, Kelly Wheatley, Phillis. â€Å"On Being Brought from Africa to America† The Norton Introduction to Literature. 11th ed. Ed. Spencer Richardson-Jones. New York: Norton, 2013 The main point of this poem is Maya Angelou talking about her homeland, Africa. The narrator starts to describe the land of Africa by using Angelou’s bodyRead More Alice Walker Essay662 Words   |  3 Pagesidentify their artistic ability, whether if it was through singing, writing or making quilts. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Throughout the essay, â€Å"In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens,†Alice Walker’s mentions her foremothers. Women like Jean Toomer, Phillis Wheatley and Zora Neale Hurtson, who were all either poets or writers. Mike Fike has also recognized this tactic of Walkers by stating, â€Å"Walker engages in a wholistic act of completion by seeking connections with literary foremothers†(Fike 3). Walker