Phillis Wheatley

Spencer Lambert
ENGL 48A
Journal for Phillis Wheatley
November 4, 2009

'Twas mercy brought me from my pagan land,
Taught my benighted soul to understand

Internet Quotation: "Some critics have been disturbed that her poetry is not more attuned to modern political and racial awareness, that she seems to have adopted a "white voice" and abandoned her own race." - Ann Woodlief

Summary: The first quotation is from "On Being Brought from Africa to America," a tiny eight line poem written in heroic couplets that, to me at least, seems to welcome slavery as a gift from God. Wheatley claims that the "mercy" of her enslavement brought her to America, introduced her to God, and ultimately saved her. This view of slavery as good is in stark contrast to the slave narratives we have read in class, and I explore that below.

The second quotation is from a biography written by Ann Woodlief, whom I've previously quoted in my journals. I chose it because it corroborates my view, outlined in the journal proper, that these poems don't read like the typical black writings of the period. They are distinctly whitewashed, with Wheatley claiming "mercy" (read: her slavery) saved her from Africa, among other things. This quotation is here mostly to say that I'm not entirely crazy; there are other people out there who have said the same thing I have here.

My Ideas: The first eight line poem stopped me dead. Wheatley, unlike many black slaves, appears to view her slavery, her escape from Africa, as "mercy" in "On Being Brought from Africa to America." She was saved from her old "pagan land" through the Christian teachings of her white captors. Then, she goes on to say that blacks can be refined and "join the angelic train."

What exactly does she mean by refined? It comes off as incredibly pro-white, which I find astounding. Wheatley led a rather privileged life as a slave, taught to read and write by her so-called "enlightened Boston Christian" owners (which seems to me a contradiction of massive proportions). This poem, to get to the point, supports slavery as far as I can tell. Because of slavery, she has been educated, brought to the Lord, and saved from her homeland. I wonder if her stance would have been different in South Carolina, with sun and slavemaster whip on her back.



By channeling the "angelic train," there is a strong connotation of white purity that Wheatley aspires to. Angels are not usually represented as black, but sparklingly white. How can a black slave really want that, to forsake who she is? Her introduction to Christ is all fine and good, but can't one be both black and a Christian? Why does she need cast off her black identity and aspire to some angelic whiteness that would finally merit acceptance in the white Christian community? They've enslaved you, sister!

But I suppose it is good poetry if in a matter of eight lines I can get so worked up. I'm glad to see Wheatley's education paid off.

The other poems are also pleasant and beautiful, though none quite so contrary to my expectations. There is a good amount of her telling people around her to do their best, trust in God, etc. etc., which is nice of her to do, though a little boring, if I may be frank. I must say that whole periods of poetry have mostly been ruined by my own religious, or rather non-religious beliefs. But that's really neither here nor there.

The final poem in our reading, written to George Washington, is interesting in that I don't know exactly what to make of it. The poem calls for an American victory of independence over Britain in the Revolutionary War, complete with a "crown, a mansion, and a throne that shine" for Washington. She even calls him "excellency." Doesn't that sound like Britain? Her language implies that America is moving from one monarch to another. Progress doesn't seem to be the order of the day for Wheatley. I read the poem a few times thinking it might be satirical, with all of the regal imagery and lofty calls to heaven and divinity putting a grand spin on the revolution that won't change a thing. Maybe she feels that nothing will really change for slaves with Washington, and so she is therefore writing this scathing satirical poem. But that can't be it. After all, it was a tribute to Washington, and he praised her work and invited her to meet with him. I almost wish it were satire; it would have given me a great laugh to think about this intelligent black woman ridiculing Washington right in front of him. But alas, not everyone is so radical.