What literary terms does Wheatley use in "On Being Brought from Africa to America"?

The poem, "On Being Brought from Africa to America" by Wheatly is very brief yet full of meaning. First of all, it is written in heroic couplets, which means it has rhyming lines in iambic pentameter in this eight line verse. The theme is slavery, as the speaker is coming from Africa and Christianity.

In line one, "Pagan land" is a metaphor for Africa, mentioned somewhat ironically—she calls Africa pagan, yet it is the Christians who enslave her. We do not think of slavery as a Christian concept. Furthermore, "sable race" describes the Africans and likens them to the devil, "diabolic die." Again, this irony shows the Africans being described as evil merely because of their skin color. Lastly, the metaphor of the "angelic train," that train being heaven, is used in opposition of the "diabolic die," as the Africans have the right to gain heaven just as the Whites.

What literary terms does Wheatley use in "On Being Brought from Africa to America"?

Wheatley uses a simile in line seven when she refers to the Negros being black as Cain...Cain was marked by God which some believe was a mark of blackness...He was fleeing for his life after he killed Able; therefore, God marked him so no one would know who he was...

'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.

In line two, she uses a metaphor in that her soul is darkened or "benighted. She is expressing a comparison to he soul being black or unenlightened.

In line six, she is using hyperbole in that her race "is a diabolic die." Diabolic refers to Satan or the Devil...this exaggeration would be that her race has been colored by the Devil...

In line seven, she uses a metaphor in describing the train as angelic...this would be a reference to a heavenly train that takes a person to eternal bliss...

What is the literary analysis of "On Being Brought from Africa to America"?

In Phillis Wheatley's poem, "On Being Brought from Africa to America," the speaker considers her voyage to America a blessing or an act of mercy. This is strange considering she was brought here to be a slave. She considers her former home, Africa, as a "Pagan land." She feels that being in America has given her the opportunity to find God. She Has learned that "there is a God, and a Saviour too." She admits that there was a time in her former country that she did not seek redemption. She did not know it existed. Being in America has taught her about God's redemptive plan and for that she is grateful.

The speaker adds that some may consider her "sable race" with "a scornful eye," but she points out that "Negros" can find God too. She reminds Christians that Cain was the son of Adam and Eve; therefore, he is part of God's family. The speaker is preaching to Christians, informing them that "Negros" are God's children too. She is seeking a little respect even though she is a slave. She has great courage to write such a poem during her days of slavery. She definitely stands up for her race and even speaks with a scolding tone to the Christians who did not believe blacks or slaves could find God:

Remember, Christians, Negros, black as Cain,

May be refin'd and join th' angelic train.

What is the interpretation of the poem "On Being Brought from Africa to America"?

Phillis Wheatley's "On Being Brought from Africa to America" gives a justification for slavery which was very common in the eighteenth century, though it is more often heard from slave owners than from slaves like Wheatley. The poet says that it was the mercy of God that brought her from Africa to America, where she was introduced to Christianity. In Africa, she was unaware of the existence of God or Christ and never sought salvation, so the transition between continents and from freedom to slavery has saved her soul.

This is the message of the first half of the poem. In the remaining two couplets, however, the poet changes messages. Having justified the horrors of the Middle Passage, she rebukes racists who see African Americans as spiritually inferior to white Americans. These people, who see dark skin as a sign of the devil—"a diabolic dye"—should read their Bible and understand that they have no basis for such thoughts. The reference to the mark or brand of Cain reflects the belief of some Christians that God cursed Cain with dark skin. This idea became widespread in the nineteenth century and was one of the reasons for the split between Northern and Southern Baptists. In Wheatley's time, however, the idea that the mark of Cain separated Black people from white people was widely regarded as a heresy, and the poet treats it as one, insisting that there is no difference between the races in the eyes of God.