Phillis Wheatley

During the time of slavery many believed that African Americans were not capable of reading and writing. Phillis

Wheatley proved them wrong by publishing Poems on Various Subjects in 1773. Many believed that she did not

author the poems, but her owner John Wheatley supported her claims. How else did Phillis Wheatley influence America?

Phyllis Wheatley was a female slave and poet. Her first book, Poems on Various Subjects, was published in 1773. It was one of the earliest books of poetry published by an African-American, and the first published by an African-American female slave. Her poems were mostly about her religion and how it influenced her life.

Wheatley, P. (1773). Poems on Various Subjects,Religious and Moral. . . Portrait facing Title Page . Library of Congress: Exhibitions, American Treasures of the Library of Congress.

Phyllis Wheatley was a female slave and poet. Her first book, Poems on Various Subjects, was published in 1773. It was one of the earliest books of poetry published by an African-American, and the first published by an African-American female slave. Her poems were mostly about her religion and how it influenced her life.

Wheatley, J. (1772). Poems on various subjects, religious and moral. (Image 8). Library of Congress: American Memory, African American Odyssey.

Many of Wheatley’s poems dealt with issues that were not related to her personal condition as a slave. Her poems were very similar, in subject and style, to those of other poets of that time. In this poem, for example, she talks about King George III of Britain.

Wheatley did not speak directly about being a slave, and her writing very carefully reflected the unwritten social rules of the times. Many historians and literary scholars do not, therefore, see her as an activist. She is remembered for her success as a poet and for being a noteworthy, literate, enslaved African-American in an era in which few African-Americans were literate.

Wheatley, J. (1772) Poems on various subjects, religious and moral. (Image 19).

Library of Congress: American Memory, African American Odyssey.

Although Phyllis Wheatley did not share much of her life as a slave in her poetry, she did inspire other African-Americans to write about their experiences. One was Olaudah Equiano, a former slave who wrote down his life-story. He became an important leader in the fight against slavery, and his autobiography became one the abolitionist movement’s most important texts.

Some scholars have recently questioned the truth of some his stories, however.

Equiano, O. (1794). The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African. Library of Congress: American Memory, African American Odyssey.