Phillis Wheatley and "On Being Brought from Africa"
This paper examines the life and work of Phillis Wheatley, the first significant Black American writer and poet, who was brought to Boston as an enslaved child and went on to publish a landmark collection of poems in 1773. The paper traces her biography — from her purchase by the Wheatley family, her education and early writing career, her emancipation, and her difficult later years — before turning to a close reading of her poem "On Being Brought from Africa to America." It analyzes the poem's religious themes, its dual commentary on slavery and Christian hypocrisy, and the critical debates surrounding Wheatley's racial identity and literary legacy.
- Introduction to Phillis Wheatley: Brief introduction to Wheatley as a poet
- Biography and Literary Career: Wheatley's life from slavery to publication
- Critical Reception of Wheatley's Work: Critics debate authenticity and racial identity
- Overview of 'On Being Brought from Africa to America': Context and summary of the famous poem
- Close Reading of the Poem: Stanza-by-stanza analysis of religion and race
- Legacy and Lasting Controversy: Wheatley's enduring significance in American literature
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What makes this paper effective
- Balances biographical context with close textual analysis, giving readers the background needed to appreciate the poem's layered meanings.
- Uses well-chosen primary and secondary quotations — from contemporaries like Thomas Wooldridge to modern critics like Marsha Watson — to support interpretive claims.
- Highlights the tension between Wheatley's personal contentment and the systemic injustice surrounding her, adding nuance to the reading of her poem.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates contextual literary analysis: it situates the poem within Wheatley's lived experience and the broader social conditions of 18th-century colonial Boston, then performs a stanza-by-stanza reading informed by multiple critical perspectives. This technique shows how a poem's meaning cannot be separated from the circumstances of its author.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a biographical account of Wheatley's life, drawing on primary sources and contemporary witness accounts. It then surveys critical responses to her work before turning to the poem itself. The poem analysis proceeds in two movements — first the religious themes of the opening quatrain, then the racial challenge of the closing stanza — before a brief concluding assessment of her literary legacy.
Introduction to Phillis Wheatley
Phillis Wheatley stands as one of the most historically significant figures in American literary history. Brought to America as an enslaved child, she overcame extraordinary obstacles to become the first Black American to publish a book of poetry. Her work, rooted in religious faith and shaped by the contradictions of colonial Boston, continues to generate critical debate and scholarly interest centuries after her death.
Works Cited
Isani, Mukhtar Ali. "Early Versions of Some Works of Phillis Wheatley." Early American Literature XIV.2 (1979): 149–155.
Lipking, Lawrence. "Phillis Wheatley: On Being Brought from Africa to America." Norton Topics Online. W.W. Norton & Company, 1998.
Mason, Julian D., ed. The Poems of Phillis Wheatley. Revised ed. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1989.
Scheick, William J. "Subjection and Prophecy in Phillis Wheatley's Verse Paraphrases of Scripture." College Literature, Vol. 22, 10–01–1995, pp. 122–130.
Silverman, Kenneth. "Our New Letters by Phillis Wheatley." Early American Literature VIII.3 (1974): 257–271.
Trescott, Jacqueline. "Henry Louis Gates, A Wheatley Reader; Scholar Cites Lesson of Slavery-Era Poet." The Washington Post. 26 March 2002, p. C08.
Watson, Marsha. "A Classic Case: Phillis Wheatley and Her Poetry." Early American Literature 31.2 (1996): 103–132.
Wheatley, Phillis. Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral: A Machine-readable Transcription. New York: The New York Public Library, 1997.
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