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Phillis Wheatley. The First African American Poet. Early Life. Kidnapped from Senegal, Africa at age 8 (1753) Sold to John Wheatley as a servant for his wife Susanna Phillis suffered from poor health, but was a very quick learner
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Phillis Wheatley The First African American Poet
Early Life • Kidnapped from Senegal, Africa at age 8 (1753) • Sold to John Wheatley as a servant for his wife Susanna • Phillissuffered from poor health, but was a very quick learner • Susanna did not train her as a slave but let her go to school and study many things • Wheatley received lessons in theology, English, Latin and Greek, ancient history, mythology and literature. • Wheatley was considered apart of the family
Published Poet • Phillis wrote her first published poem at age , published by a local newspaper • At age 20 she published her first and only book of poems; Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral • Susanna Wheatley, her slave owner, financed the publication • Ultimately becoming the first African American to publish a book, the first slave to publish a book and the third women to publish a book in the United States ( 17 men wrote in the preface verifying her authorship of the poems)
Later Life • 1778 married John Peters in Boston • 3 children whom all died in infancy • Struggled to maintain enthusiasm through the Revolutionary War • Wrote a second book but could not find anyone to publish it • Phillis was a fan of George Washington and wrote a few poems in honor of him
Writing Style • Poems focused on moral and religious subjects • Poems dedicated to famous personalities and poetry focused on the theme of Christian salvation • Didn’t have common theme about racial equality • Her poems would often incorporate things she had studied in my bible
A Hymn In The Evening • Soon as the sun forsook the eastern mainThe pealing thunder shook the heav'nly plain;Majestic grandeur! From the zephyr's wing,Exhales the incense of the blooming spring.Soft purl the streams, the birds renew their notes,And through the air their mingled music floats.Through all the heav'ns what beauteous dies are spread!But the west glories in the deepest red:So may our breasts with ev'ry virtue glow,The living temples of our God below!Fill'd with the praise of him who gives the light,And draws the sable curtains of the night,Let placid slumbers sooth each weary mind,At morn to wake more heav'nly, more refin'd;So shall the labours of the day beginMore pure, more guarded from the snares of sin.Night's leaden sceptre seals my drowsy eyes,Then cease, my song, till fair Aurora rise. • Phillis Wheatley
Literary Technique • Imagery: “And draws the sable curtains of the night" When I was reading the poem myself I actually pictured how you can look outside and see sun and a couple minutes later it is dark. It also makes me think of how when a play ends the curtains close quickly blocking the audience from the actors.
Continued… • Symbolism: “So may our breast with ev’ry virtue glow, The living temples of our God below!” While I was reading this particular sentence had me stumped me at first. With further reading and analyzing I started to see what Phillis may have been trying to say. I thought about how people say things about our “natural glow” for instance pregnant people have a glow. The following sentence “living temples” represents the churches because a temple is a place of worship and living can represent people. If the second sentence represented people than the first one may be referring to people as well. Which made me believe that the “breast” actually are like the lungs or chest of people who are breathing which are humans.
