The Works of Phillis Wheatley Essay -- Biography Biographies Essays

The Works of Phillis WheatleyBiographyPhillis Wheatley was born in West Africa around 1753. Some duration after her birth, she was brought to the States and purchased by John Wheatley in 1761. He turned Phillis over to his wife, Susanna, to work as a personal maid. After realizing Phillis intellect, the Wheatley family encouraged Phillis to study the Bible and read side and Latin literature, history and geography.Wheatleys first poem was published in a Rhode Island newspaper in 1767. Poems on Various Subjects consisted of thirty-eight poems written by Wheatley, and it could be found in London in 1773. Wheatley died on December 5, 1784.*Discussion of Wheatleys WorkThe poetry of Phillis Wheatley should be considered very controversial and powerful. The case of Wheatleys poetry contains the muscle needed to strike controversy and power, but it also must be understood within the context of history. Wheatley was a grim slave writing very methodic poetry in America during a time when Afr ican-Americans were considered to be less than animals. Reading and writing was not an option addicted to an overwhelming majority of slaves. Wheatley was able to do both with ease, and her white masters encouraged her to do so.The fact that Wheatleys poetry was read in her time is another impressive factor. She was black and a female, yet she received a decent amount of readership. In addition, she was respected for her art. However, the controversy and power existed not besides within the time period Wheatley lived in, but they also existed within the content of her poetry.On Being Brought from Africa to America praised the salvation that Wheatley received by coming to America and being exposed to Christianity. She also ... ... Wheatley stands as a pioneering figure of African-American poetry (Gates xi). Wheatley has provided tremendous inspiration for African-American literature. Zora Neale Hurston, Lorraine Hansberry and Toni Morrison are among the many writers that Wheatley has influenced, and she will expect to influence many more considering her works are still published and read worldwide.Works CitedGates, Henry Louis Jr. Foreword. The Collected Works of Phillis Wheatley. Ed. John C. Shields. refreshed York Oxford UP, 1988. xi.Gates, Henry Louis Jr., and Nellie Y. McKay, eds. The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. New York W.W. Norton, 1997. 164-167.Wheatley, Phillis. On Being Brought from Africa to America, Atheism and An Address to the Deist. The Collected Works of Phillis Wheatley. Ed. John C. Shields. New York Oxford UP, 1988. 18, 130, 131.