Preview

Analytical Essay: An Analysis Of Phillis Wheatley's Poetry

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
581 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Analytical Essay: An Analysis Of Phillis Wheatley's Poetry
The famous quote from Walker’s Appeal was , “ The whites have had us under them for more than three centuries , murdering and threating us like brute”. The whites considered the African Americans as slaves , and thought of us as less of a human because of our skin color. There were many Africans who stood up to the slave owners , but very few would dare to again after they were brutality beaten by their owners . 1.) Phillis wheatley was the first African American to publish a book , and the first to achieve an international reputation as a writer . Wheatley poetry not only grasp the attention of blacks , but also white readers. Whealtey 's poetry was stunning news to whites who encountered Poem on Various Subjects , Religious and Moral by Phillis Wheatley , Negro Servant to Mr.John Wheatley of Boston . Before Wheatley , grew the attention of white readers the assumption amoung whites were that blacks were incapable of the of the highest form of education . For example ; the black were known of being capable to comprehend poetic expression and matematical . Wheatley poetry , proved that black were capable of everything that the whites predicted that was impossible . The slaves were not allowed to express their opinions to their slave owners , so they develop new theories to express their hardship as being a slave . Wheatley became a icon as a of native , " African genius ", proof postive of the capacity of the African American society . Even though their were some critics expressed she failed to live up to standard . Phillis Wheatley remain to be an postive infulence in America . 2.David walaker aqppeal published in 1829 , it shock the eyes of numerous of white readers in the north as well the south. During the period of David Walker publishing his appeal , you only notice black people spoke amoung in an negative way . White literature was only pretaining to whites , while black literature include a mixture of everything . African literture particulary upon

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Phillis Wheatley, African-American poetess, was born in Gambia, West Africa, (Now known as Senegal,) on May 8th, 1753. At age 8, she was kidnapped and enslaved. However, slave traders thought she was too young for the grueling slavery of the West Indies. She was then brought to Boston on a slave ship. She was bought by Susanna and John Wheatley and worked as a maid. She was very intelligent and was taken under Susanna's wing and, unlike most slaves, was taught to read and write. She received many classes including theology, English, Greek and Latin. At age 12, she could read many difficult passages of the Bible.…

    • 242 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I am sending this off Saturday night to allow more time for review and comment. I feel like I am on the beginning of a research journey and just starting to achieve some clarity in the path forward. regards all, Jack Is there a credible linkage between the works of Phillis Wheatley, the internationally know slave poet in British Colonial America? I believe that a case can be made that Wheatley's work, directly or indirectly, can to the attention of William Blake and influenced his abolitionist polemic.…

    • 1068 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Having travelled over a considerable portion of these Unites States, and having, in the course of my travels, taken the most accurate observations of things as they exist-the result of my observations has warranted the full and unshaken conviction, that we, (coloured people of these Unites States,) are the most degraded, wretched, and abject set of beings that ever lived since the world began; and I pray God that none like us ever may live again until time shall be no more.”, said by David Walker. Born a free African American man in North Carolina to a free mother and an enslaved father in 1785. In the document of David Walker, Preamble of Appeal to The Coloured Citizens of The World, it states that David writes a pamphlet about slavery and how the document spread all around the United States even with all the effort of…

    • 809 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    For some time, there has been debate over what is the ‘true spirit’ of this module, with particular emphasis on how a student should ultimately respond – personally or through ‘readings’. This study guide will dispel your uncertainty and support your classroom studies by guiding you towards a personal response which should be at the heart of anything you compose.…

    • 4662 Words
    • 19 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    As Gilroy wrote: "The history of the black Atlantic since then, continually crisscrossed by the movement of black people--not only as commodities--but engaged in various struggles towards emancipation, autonomy, and citizenship, is a means to re-examine the problems of nationality, location, identity, and historical memory." The poem by Phillis Wheatley greatly enlightens Gilroy’s thesis, being a strong figure in the fight for freedom and equality within the Black community, also emphasizing the idea that knowledge is power to those Black people who were unable to read and write, seeing the impact she made through her poems. England, unlike the United States, gave Black intellectuals the opportunity to publish their writings. The poem by Phillis Wheatley greatly enlightens Gilroy’s thesis, being a strong figure in the fight for freedom and equality within the…

    • 799 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Phillis Wheatley was an intelligent woman with one major downfall; she was a slave, however, Wheatley did not allow this characteristic to stop her from doing what she wanted to do. As a slave, Wheatley was more than fortunate to have been taught how to read and write. She decided to take these talents and turn it into something even more positive, so she began writing poetry and letters. Although Wheatley's work was exceptional, it was not published. It wasn't until the 1830s that "Wheatley's poetry was rediscovered by the New England abolitionists" (pg. 367). Through her work, Wheatley is described as a "bold and canny spokesperson for her faith and her politics" (pg. 367) and without her doubt, I think that her work should go noticed and credited for its…

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    African Americans, slave and free resisted slavery through the act of non-violent protest of abolitionists such as speeches and rallies to resist slavery when at times more extreme measures of resistance to slavery were taken in attempted to end slavery which would erupted in a violent confrontations struggle. As the slavery increased in the South; enforced by the system that the laws supported with the driving force empowered by the slave owners, slaves began to rebel repeatedly against the system where many would run away for a short period of time before capture and punished. Anti-slavery grew as both side of colored whether black or white abolitionists created movements and defied the laws to help slaves to escape from their masters. David Walker, born free as a son of a slave published a pamphlet, Walker’s Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World, where he wrote asking those of the world to search in history if any other race were ever treated differently as human beings compared to those of the blacks or Africans from the white Christians of America.…

    • 568 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    English Final Review

    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages

    6. Phyllis Wheatley’s poem “On Being Brought from Africa to America" explains that she feels slavery was a blessing to her because she became Christian. The second message of the poem protests people’s views of slaves by explaining what idea?…

    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Phillis Wheatley Essay

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages

    First of all, I think it is important to note that the two poems discussed in this journal are either addressed to or written concerning white, prominent, men who have had some hand in dealing with slavery in America. Although I don’t know the “William” she is referring to in the first poem, it seems, through her poem and his title, that he had a great deal of power and the ability to make some political change. Washington, on the other hand, is more of an obvious example, given that he was one of the Founding Fathers of America. He supported the Constitution which states that all men are created equal, even though he himself was a slave owner.…

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    narrative, Douglass accepts Christianity’s values, but he points blame to it as one of the means that keep African Americans enslaved. However, the same cannot be said about Wheatley’s view on the subject. She seems to embrace Christianity in its absolution in that she does not express even a hint of criticism towards it.…

    • 533 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Phillis Wheatley Essay

    • 785 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “The challenge isn’t to read white or read black; it is to read. If Phillis Wheatley stood for anything, it was the creed that culture was, could be, the equal possession of all humanity.” In this quote Henry Gates explains that people criticizing the work of Wheatley are missing the whole point of her work. The bias critics only see a black slave who should not be writing the way she is writing. Her critics overlook the beauty and the amount that her poems inspire people of all color. Throughout Phillis Wheatley’s works she expresses herself and in doing so she writes her way to freedom and becomes the first African American to publish a book of poems in English. Henry Gates is on point when saying that Phillis Wheatley believed in the equality of all people. Wheatley shows her desire for equality by her word choices, faith, and personality.…

    • 785 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Phillis Wheatley Analysis

    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Phillis Wheatley and Frederick Douglass both lived similar lives. They were both slaves, fighting for liberty and equality. Yet their experience was different. Wheatley was a woman who was brought into America as a slave and Douglass was born into slavery. He knew of no place to call home but the place where he was born, a place that he is not allowed to subsist as a free man. On the other hand, Wheatley came to reconciliation with it. In her poem “On Being Brought from Africa to America and Douglass’ essay “What to the slave is the Fourth of July” both use Christianity to connect with their audience, however, they go about this task in different ways.…

    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    David Walker

    • 915 Words
    • 4 Pages

    David Walker’s Appeal is a landmark work of American history which was written by an African American slave during the nineteenth century. David Walker’s Appeal arguably the most radical of all anti- slavery documents, caused a great stir when it was published in September of 1829 calling for slaves to revolt against their masters. The piece of work exposed white racism and gave inspiration to abolitionists in hopes that one day change would come. David Walker’s Appeal which consisted of four articles explored many factors which he believed contributed to the “wretchedness” of the blacks including slavery, religion, ignorance, and the colonizing plan.…

    • 915 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In September of 1829, Walker published his Appeal which was targeted to the slaves in the South. The slaves found his writing "inspiring and instilled a sense of pride and hope" (“David Walker”). The slave masters, however, were upset so they made laws that would not allow blacks to read and banned antislavery literature to be distributed. The southern slave owners offered a reward for the death of David Walker due to his writings. Walker knew that publishing and distributing this writing would put his own life at risk but he was willing to do it anyways in hopes that he would inspire many slaves to fight for freedom ("David…

    • 3588 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    American Idealism Analysis

    • 2001 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Privileged whites in America were still looking down at the blacks and young black poets writing reflects this. Langston Hughes “Let America Be America again”, tells us of the way the blacks wanted to be treated and how each were promised their America when the civil war ended along with slavery. In the poem the lines 31-35 speak of how black were still being treated, “I am the farmer, the bondsman to the soil, I am the worker sold to the machine. I am the Negro, servant to you all. I am the people, humble, hungry, mean-Hungry yet today despite the dream”. (Hughes) This speaks of how the black person felt everybody was still being treated and how each one were continually being treated specially during the Civil Rights Movement of the 60’s. Unfortunately, today blacks are not treated much better and still have to face prejudice. There is a parallel how the blacks were viewed as subservient, much as the soldiers were in Catch-22. Blacks and the soldiers were both told what to do and did not have the freedom to go wherever without fear of punishment. During slavery, plantation owners’ viewed the slaves as property. The slaves that ran away and were caught were whipped. The soldiers who went AWOL were court marshaled. The treatment of blacks still needs to improve and this will not be an…

    • 2001 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays