From Poetry Foundation online
Several years ago in a biography of preacher and evangelist Jonathan Edwards, I read the name of “slave poet” Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784). Wheatley wrote an elegy (poem on the occasion of one’s death) for George Whitefield, one of Jonathan Edwards’ dear friends. Whitefield and Edwards were pillars of the Great Awakening that swept the world from England to the United States in the 1700’s and Wheatley had been greatly affected by the move of God in her own life. In fact, much of her strong Christian faith shows up in her poems, which I soon found out when I went looking.
What’s astonishing to me is the language and voice of Wheatley’s work. She was brought to America from Senegal/Gambia at the age of 7 and purchased by a family in Boston to purportedly “accompany the family’s children and share in domestic work.” As a result, she inadvertently was taught to read and write, receiving a stellar classical education alongside the children, something unheard for a slave. She read widely the literature and early works of Virgil and Ovid, John Milton and Shakespeare, and the style of her writing reflects this classical immersion.
The more I read the more surprised I was, assuming that all African slaves in the 1700’s were illtreated and illiterate. Thanks to my Sophomore English teacher, Dr. Kehl, I learned to love the language and style of Shakespeare’s writing (though I often needed assistance in deciphering his meaning.) When I first became a Christian I enjoyed the King James Version of the Bible for just that reason. Reading Wheatley’s poetry was like reading Shakespeare and I was drawn in.
Thanks to her owners and their wide circles in Boston society Wheatley’s work was known and shared widely in Boston and across the Atlantic. Her first published poem was printed when she was only 13 and she went on to write many, many more. Mary Wheatley, Phillis’ benefactress, saw to it that bookseller Archibald Bell begin to circulate Phillis’ work, and the debut edition of Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral was published in 1773. Poems on Various Subjects was the first volume of poetry by an American Negro published in modern times. Its readers included notables like Benjamin Franklin, among others and was well received and widely supported.
Although she wrote and published many further poems, after she received her freedom in 1774, Phillis’ life turned rather grave. When Mary Wheatley died only 3 months later, Phillis was left nearly alone. Mary’s children were each married and their father passed away, leaving Wheatley without a home. She survived the lean years after the Revolutionary War and against all of her relations wishes, married a ‘no count man,’ who plunged them both into poverty. In spite of harsh and trying circumstances Wheatley continued to write poetry until the end. She passed away at the age of 31 in December, 1784, but not before leaving a rich legacy of remarkable poems.
Here are two of my favorites:
A Hymn to the Evening
Soon as the sun forsook the eastern main
The 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 begin
More pure, more guarded from the snares of sin.
Night’s leaden sceptre seals my drowsy eyes,
Then cease, my song, till fair Aurora rise.
On Being Brought from Africa to America
‘Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land,
Taught my benighted soul to understand
That there’s a God, that there’s a Saviour too:
Once I redemption neither sought nor knew.
Some view our sable race with scornful eye,
“Their colour is a diabolic die.”
Remember, Christians, Negros, black as Cain,
May be refin’d, and join th’ angelic train.
Oh my! That woman could spin words into gold! Thank you, Jody, for introducing Phyllis Wheatley to us. How sad (for us) she died so young, or there would be more poems to stretch our thinking.
Jody,
Thank you so much for this post on Phyllis Wheatley, her life and her poetry. This morning it has inspired me to put pen to paper (perhaps there will be something to share later). Also, I plan to recommend “A Hymn to the Evening” to Megan W. at Tweetspeak Poetry.com for a future poem to memorize together.
Gratefully,
Katie
Oh, Katie, I’m so glad you found some inspiration from this. I bet Megan would be intrigued with memorizing Wheatley’s poem. It is lovely isn’t it?
Thanks for reading.
Jody