on phillis wheatley

7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley

1/76

On Phillis Wheatley

Portrait reportedlypainted by Scipio

Moorhead (S. M.)

For the best biography,

check out Phillis Wheatley:

Biography of a Genius in


2/76

Bondage by Vincent

Carretta (Univ. of GA

Press, 2011).

In 1761 Phillis was

purchased as a personal

slave in Boston by

Susannah Wheatley, wife

of tailor John Wheatley.


3/76

She was evidently around

7 years old at the time.

Her only written memory

of her birthplace was ofher mother performing a

ritual of pouring water

before the sun as it rose;

biographers conjecture she

came from Senegal/Gambia


4/76

and may have been a Fula,

a Moslem people who read

Arabic script. Very likely

she was kidnapped intoslavery; she was brought

to Boston on a slaving

vessel named "The Phillis."


5/76

She learned to speak and

write English very quickly,

taught by Mary Wheatley,

the 18 year old daughterof her owner; within 16

months she could read

difficult passages in the

Bible. At 12 she began

studying Latin and English


6/76

literature, especially the

poetry of Alexander Pope,

soon translating Ovid into

heroic couplets. Thesewould have been

remarkable

accomplishments for an

educated white male boy,

and were virtually unheard


7/76

of for white females. She

may well have read Anne

Bradstreet's poetry. The

Wheatleys appreciated hertalents, and showed her

off to their friends; many

came to visit with this

"lively and brilliant

conversationalist." She was


8/76

thoroughly indoctrinated

into the Calvinist theology

of Congregationalism.

Phillis's place was

designated by her white

world, and she was

virtually cut off from her

own people, but she was


9/76

definitely still a slave,

although a privileged one.

Though superior to most

in her intellectual andliterary accomplishments,

she was clearly never their

social equal. Perhaps that

accounts for her not

adopting Pope's major


10/76

literary characteristic--

satire--although she did

adopt his poetic forms and

classical allusions.Nevertheless, modern

feminist critics have

pointed out her subtle and

hidden critical messages

(which would have had to


11/76

have been well hidden, so

as not to offend the

white benefactors upon

whom she had to depend).

At the age of 20, the

Wheatleys sent her to

England for health (and

exhibition?) reasons with


12/76

her "young master,"

Nathaniel Wheatley, who

was traveling on business.

Her poem to Mrs.Wheatley suggests her

affection for her:

"Susannah mourns, not can

I bear,/ To see the crystal

shower, /Or mark the


13/76

tender falling tear, /At

sad departure's hour;"While

there, her poetry, 'Poems

on Various Subjects,Religious and Moral" was

published and dedicated to

her English patron, Lady

Huntingdon. She noted the

hope that under her


14/76

patronage "my feeble

efforts will be shielded

from the severe trials of

uppity Criticism."

Attached to the volume

was a statement from 18

prestigious Boston

residents, as well as


15/76

testimony from John

Wheatley attesting to its

authenticity:"The following

is a Copy of a LETTERsent by the Author's

Master to the Publisher.

Phillis was brought from

Africa to America, in the

Year 1761, between Seven


16/76

and Eight Years of Age.

Without any Assistance

from School Education, and

by only what she wastaught in the Family, she,

in sixteen Months Time

from her Arrival, attained

the English Language, to

which she was an utter


17/76

Stranger before, to such a

Degree, as to read any,

the most difficult Parts of

the Sacred Writings, tothe great Astonishment of

all who heard her. As to

her WRITING, her own

Curiosity led her to it;

and this she learnt in so


18/76

short a Time, that in the

Year 1765, she wrote a

LETTER to the Rev. Mr.

Occom, the IndianMinister, while in England.

She has a great Inclination

to learn the Latin Tongue,

and has made some

Progress in it. This


19/76

Relation is given by her

Master who bought her,

and with whom she now

lives. John Wheatley.Boston, Nov. 14, 1772."

The following letter

appeared in Connecticut

Gazette, March 11, 1774,


20/76

written by Wheatley to

Reverend Samson Occum,

11 February 1774: "I have

this Day received yourobliging, kind Epistle, and

am greatly satisfied with

your Reasons respecting

the negroes, and think

highly reasonable what you


21/76

offer in Vindication of

their natural Rights: Those

that invade them cannot

be insensible that thedivine Light is insensibly

chasing away the thick

Darkness which broods over

the Land of Africa; and

the Chaos which has


22/76

reigned so long is

converting into beautiful

Order, and reveals more

and more clearly theglorious Dispensation of

civil and religious Liberty,

which are so inseparably

united, that there is little

or no Enjoyment of one


23/76

without the other:

Otherwise, perhaps the

Israelites had been less

solicitous for theirFreedom from Egyptian

slvery; I do not say they

would have been contented

without it, by no means,

for in every human Breast,


24/76

God has implanted a

Principle, which we call

love of Freedom; it is

impatient of oppression,and pants for Deliverance--

and by the Leave of our

modern Egyptians I will

assert that the same

principle lives in us. God


25/76

grant Deliberance in his

own Way and Time, and

get him honour upon all

those whose Avarice impelsthem to countenance and

help forward the

Calamities of their fellow

Creatures. This I desire

not for their Hurt, but to


26/76

convince them of the

strange Absurdity of their

Conduct whose Words and

Actions are so diametricallyopposite, How well the

Cry for Liberty, and the

reverse Disposition for the

exercise of oppressive

power over others agree I


27/76

humbly think it does not

require the penetration of

a Philosopher to

determine."

Wheatley did reach out to

other artists of color and

they to her, as this letter

and her poem to Scipio


28/76

Moorhead show. She was

also an inspiration for

Jupiter Hammon, another

African writer in America.

However, the death of

Mrs. Wheatley in 1774

(whose illness required

Phillis to return


29/76

prematurely from London)

and the Revolutionary war

were to change her life

drastically. War, notpoetry, became the major

concern, and many of her

former patrons had

dangerous British

connections. She was freed


30/76

after Mrs. Wheatley's

death and married John

Peters, but her life was

chaotic. She wrote to herblack friend Obour Tanner

(who disapproved of the

marriage) in 1778 (with

her typically restrained

style): "The vast variety


31/76

of scenes that have pass'd

before us these 3 years

past will to a reasonable

mind serve to convince usof the uncertain duration

of all things temporal, and

the proper result of such

a consideration is an

ardent desire of, &


32/76

preparation for, a state

and enjoyments which are

more suitable to the

immortal mind." Little isknown of Peters, who was

evidently handsome and

educated, but unable to

settle in any vocation.

They lived in great


33/76

poverty; she had three

children and all died in

infancy. She never found

another patron for herpoetry, though she

continued to write poems,

obscuring her own personal

ordeals. She wrote over

100 poems, but at least


34/76

30 poems were evidently

lost. Her long physical

frailty, hard life and

poverty led to her deathat 31, with her third child

dying shortly after.

Some critics have been

disturbed that her poetry


35/76

is not more attuned to

modern politlcal and racial

awareness, that she seems

to have adopted a "whitevoice" and abandoned her

own race. This hardly

seems fair, though it has

led many to focus on the

tragedy of her life rather


36/76

than her poetry. Collins

argues that her work

should also be explored to

see how the slavementality affected her

self-identity, although he

acknowledges her slave

condition was most

unusual. Is she demeaning


37/76

her own blackness in many

poems, or is she

establishing credibility

based on her uniqueexperience? She had to

tread a very fine line--

between her own feelings,

her patrons and readers,

and the Christian God in


38/76

whom she devoutedly

believed. African-American

feminist poets, such as

Alice Walker and NaomiMadgett, have claimed

Phillis as inspiration, if not

a poetic model.


39/76

Portrait reportedly

painted by Scipio

Moorhead (S. M.)

For the best biography,check out Phillis Wheatley:

Biography of a Genius in

Bondage by Vincent

Carretta (Univ. of GA

Press, 2011).


40/76

In 1761 Phillis was

purchased as a personal

slave in Boston bySusannah Wheatley, wife

of tailor John Wheatley.

She was evidently around

7 years old at the time.

Her only written memory


41/76

of her birthplace was of

her mother performing a

ritual of pouring water

before the sun as it rose;biographers conjecture she

came from Senegal/Gambia

and may have been a Fula,

a Moslem people who read

Arabic script. Very likely


42/76

she was kidnapped into

slavery; she was brought

to Boston on a slaving

vessel named "The Phillis."

She learned to speak and

write English very quickly,

taught by Mary Wheatley,

the 18 year old daughter


43/76

of her owner; within 16

months she could read

difficult passages in the

Bible. At 12 she beganstudying Latin and English

literature, especially the

poetry of Alexander Pope,

soon translating Ovid into

heroic couplets. These


44/76

would have been

remarkable

accomplishments for an

educated white male boy,and were virtually unheard

of for white females. She

may well have read Anne

Bradstreet's poetry. The

Wheatleys appreciated her


45/76

talents, and showed her

off to their friends; many

came to visit with this

"lively and brilliantconversationalist." She was

thoroughly indoctrinated

into the Calvinist theology

of Congregationalism.


46/76

Phillis's place was

designated by her white

world, and she was

virtually cut off from herown people, but she was

definitely still a slave,

although a privileged one.

Though superior to most

in her intellectual and


47/76

literary accomplishments,

she was clearly never their

social equal. Perhaps that

accounts for her notadopting Pope's major

literary characteristic--

satire--although she did

adopt his poetic forms and

classical allusions.


48/76

Nevertheless, modern

feminist critics have

pointed out her subtle and

hidden critical messages(which would have had to

have been well hidden, so

as not to offend the

white benefactors upon

whom she had to depend).


49/76

At the age of 20, the

Wheatleys sent her to

England for health (andexhibition?) reasons with

her "young master,"

Nathaniel Wheatley, who

was traveling on business.

Her poem to Mrs.


50/76

Wheatley suggests her

affection for her:

"Susannah mourns, not can

I bear,/ To see the crystalshower, /Or mark the

tender falling tear, /At

sad departure's hour;"While

there, her poetry, 'Poems

on Various Subjects,


51/76

Religious and Moral" was

published and dedicated to

her English patron, Lady

Huntingdon. She noted thehope that under her

patronage "my feeble

efforts will be shielded

from the severe trials of

uppity Criticism."


52/76

Attached to the volume

was a statement from 18

prestigious Bostonresidents, as well as

testimony from John

Wheatley attesting to its

authenticity:"The following

is a Copy of a LETTER


53/76

sent by the Author's

Master to the Publisher.

Phillis was brought from

Africa to America, in theYear 1761, between Seven

and Eight Years of Age.

Without any Assistance

from School Education, and

by only what she was


54/76

taught in the Family, she,

in sixteen Months Time

from her Arrival, attained

the English Language, towhich she was an utter

Stranger before, to such a

Degree, as to read any,

the most difficult Parts of

the Sacred Writings, to


55/76

the great Astonishment of

all who heard her. As to

her WRITING, her own

Curiosity led her to it;and this she learnt in so

short a Time, that in the

Year 1765, she wrote a

LETTER to the Rev. Mr.

Occom, the Indian


56/76

Minister, while in England.

She has a great Inclination

to learn the Latin Tongue,

and has made someProgress in it. This

Relation is given by her

Master who bought her,

and with whom she now


57/76

lives. John Wheatley.

Boston, Nov. 14, 1772."

The following letterappeared in Connecticut

Gazette, March 11, 1774,

written by Wheatley to

Reverend Samson Occum,

11 February 1774: "I have


58/76

this Day received your

obliging, kind Epistle, and

am greatly satisfied with

your Reasons respectingthe negroes, and think

highly reasonable what you

offer in Vindication of

their natural Rights: Those

that invade them cannot


59/76

be insensible that the

divine Light is insensibly

chasing away the thick

Darkness which broods overthe Land of Africa; and

the Chaos which has

reigned so long is

converting into beautiful

Order, and reveals more


60/76

and more clearly the

glorious Dispensation of

civil and religious Liberty,

which are so inseparablyunited, that there is little

or no Enjoyment of one

without the other:

Otherwise, perhaps the

Israelites had been less


61/76

solicitous for their

Freedom from Egyptian

slvery; I do not say they

would have been contentedwithout it, by no means,

for in every human Breast,

God has implanted a

Principle, which we call

love of Freedom; it is


62/76

impatient of oppression,

and pants for Deliverance--

and by the Leave of our

modern Egyptians I willassert that the same

principle lives in us. God

grant Deliberance in his

own Way and Time, and

get him honour upon all


63/76

those whose Avarice impels

them to countenance and

help forward the

Calamities of their fellowCreatures. This I desire

not for their Hurt, but to

convince them of the

strange Absurdity of their

Conduct whose Words and


64/76

Actions are so diametrically

opposite, How well the

Cry for Liberty, and the

reverse Disposition for theexercise of oppressive

power over others agree I

humbly think it does not

require the penetration of


65/76

a Philosopher to

determine."

Wheatley did reach out toother artists of color and

they to her, as this letter

and her poem to Scipio

Moorhead show. She was

also an inspiration for


66/76

Jupiter Hammon, another

African writer in America.

However, the death ofMrs. Wheatley in 1774

(whose illness required

Phillis to return

prematurely from London)

and the Revolutionary war


67/76

were to change her life

drastically. War, not

poetry, became the major

concern, and many of herformer patrons had

dangerous British

connections. She was freed

after Mrs. Wheatley's

death and married John


68/76

Peters, but her life was

chaotic. She wrote to her

black friend Obour Tanner

(who disapproved of themarriage) in 1778 (with

her typically restrained

style): "The vast variety

of scenes that have pass'd

before us these 3 years


69/76

past will to a reasonable

mind serve to convince us

of the uncertain duration

of all things temporal, andthe proper result of such

a consideration is an

ardent desire of, &

preparation for, a state

and enjoyments which are


70/76

more suitable to the

immortal mind." Little is

known of Peters, who was

evidently handsome andeducated, but unable to

settle in any vocation.

They lived in great

poverty; she had three

children and all died in


71/76

infancy. She never found

another patron for her

poetry, though she

continued to write poems,obscuring her own personal

ordeals. She wrote over

100 poems, but at least

30 poems were evidently

lost. Her long physical


72/76

frailty, hard life and

poverty led to her death

at 31, with her third child

dying shortly after.

Some critics have been

disturbed that her poetry

is not more attuned to

modern politlcal and racial


73/76

awareness, that she seems

to have adopted a "white

voice" and abandoned her

own race. This hardlyseems fair, though it has

led many to focus on the

tragedy of her life rather

than her poetry. Collins

argues that her work


74/76

should also be explored to

see how the slave

mentality affected her

self-identity, although heacknowledges her slave

condition was most

unusual. Is she demeaning

her own blackness in many

poems, or is she


75/76

establishing credibility

based on her unique

experience? She had to

tread a very fine line--between her own feelings,

her patrons and readers,

and the Christian God in

whom she devoutedly

believed. African-American


76/76

feminist poets, such as

Alice Walker and Naomi

Madgett, have claimed

Phillis as inspiration, if nota poetic model.

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