What is a letter from Phillis Wheatley about?

Writing to her friend Obour, Wheatley relates, as the narrator of the poem, her experiences during her 1773 trip to England where she traveled with her master’s son, Nathaniel, to seek support and funding to publish Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773).

In what year did Wheatley arrive in America?

1761
Born around 1753 in Gambia, Africa, Wheatley was captured by slave traders and brought to America in 1761. Upon arrival, she was sold to the Wheatley family in Boston, Massachusetts. Her first name Phillis was derived from the ship that brought her to America, “the Phillis.”

Why did Phillis Wheatley wrote to George Washington?

She wrote numerous poems about the Revolution and liberty. She wrote poems about the Stamp Act and the Boston Massacre. In 1775, following Washington’s appointment to act as the Commanding General of the Continental Army, Wheatley wrote a poem about him, entitled His Excellency George Washington.

When was on being brought from Africa to America written?

1773
“On Being Brought From Africa to America” is a poem by Phillis Wheatley, published in her 1773 book Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral.

Which poem was written first a letter from Phillis Wheatley or on being brought from Africa to America?

While Wheatley was recrossing the Atlantic to reach Mrs. Wheatley, who, at the summer’s end, had become seriously ill, Bell was circulating the first edition of Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773), the first volume of poetry by an African American published in modern times.

When was a letter from Phillis Wheatley written?

March 21, 1774
Boston March 21, 1774.

Did Wheatley have a US family?

In 1778, Wheatley married a free African American from Boston, John Peters, with whom she had three children, all of whom died in infancy. Their marriage proved to be a struggle, with the couple battling constant poverty.

What does the poem on being brought from Africa to America mean?

‘On Being Brought from Africa to America’ is a short but powerful poem that illustrates the complexity of Phillis Wheatley’s life as an educated but enslaved African American woman. Her careful use of rhyme, meter, and irony help her point out the injustices she experiences.

What does Wheatley say brought her out of Africa?

In the first lines of ‘On Being Brought from Africa to America,’ Wheatley states that it was “mercy” that brought her to America from her “Pagan land,” Africa. Despite what might first come to someone’s mind who knows anything about slavery in the United States, she saw it as an act of kindness.

How did Phillis Wheatley feel about George Washington?

Although often forgotten today, her poetry won the admiration of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin.

What poem did George Washington write to Wheatley?

During the Revolutionary War, Wheatley composed a poem for George Washington in which she wrote: One century scarce perform’d its destined round/ When Gallic powers Columbia’s fury found; And so may you, whoever dares disgrace/ The land of freedom’s heaven-defended race!”

What does the poem On Being Brought from Africa to America mean?

What are Wheatley’s most famous works?

Though Wheatley generally avoided the topic of slavery in her poetry, her best-known work, “On Being Brought from Africa to America” (written 1768), contains a mild rebuke toward some white readers: “Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain / May be refined, and join th’ angelic train.” Other notable poems include …

What does Wheatley mean by Pagan land?

Wheatley casts her origins in Africa as non-Christian (‘Pagan’ is a capacious term which was historically used to refer to anyone or anything not strictly part of the Christian church), and – perhaps controversially to modern readers – she states that it was ‘mercy’ or kindness that brought her from Africa to America.