The Poetry of Phillis Wheatley (Identities and Issues in Literature)
At a glance:
- Author: Phillis Wheatley
- First Published: 1773
- Genres: Poetry
- Subjects: African Americans, Religion, God, Eighteenth century, Death or dying, Imagination, Bible, biblical imagery, or biblical symbolism, Widows or widowers, Clergy, Patriotism
The Work
Phillis Wheatley’s Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, which appeared in London in 1773, is the first book published by an African American. The poet was born in Gambia, Africa, transported to Boston when she was eight aboard the slave ship Phillis, and purchased by a wealthy tailor named John Wheatley. The publication of her poetry in what had been a foreign language to her came a scant twelve years later. The poetry is firmly rooted in the neoclassical literary conventions of her day, evidence of the education that the Wheatleys offered...
[The entire page is 541 words long]
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