ipl-logo

On Being Brought From Africa To America Analysis

526 Words3 Pages

“On Being Brought from Africa to America” (1773) is one of the most famous poems by Phillis Wheatley. Wheatley was an African-American poet, who became known despite her being a Black woman for her literary success while living under the institution of slavery. The poem clearly indicates its overall representation which was to describe in great detail with the use of imagery, rhyme and meter the situation and experiences faced by the speaker. Wheatley chose to use meditation as the form for her contemplation throughout her enslavement as she meditates on the institution of slavery; she applies it to her instead of in turn making a more vocal condemnation or acceptance. The poem digs deeply into the mind of the young African American narrator …show more content…

There are many people in the world that do not know “that there’s a God, and there’s a Savior too.” Meanwhile the speaker is grateful of her Savior, even though she was violently stolen and shipped across the ocean from her native homeland of Africa. In the beginning of the poem the speaker makes no mention of being enslaved in America while she was free in Africa. Being utilized is a white/ dark contrast to demonstrate the narrator’s movement from a life of ignorance and misunderstanding in a “Pagan land” to a life of deliverance and revelation in her new found home. Shockingly, the imagery presented is quiet positive despite the negative aspects of the situation she is faced with. The speaker then explains why she believes that coming to America was good fortune. She did not know God or Christ and was therefore in a sinful and ignorant state prior to living in America. The image of night is used in a sense of Christianity to convey ignorance or sin, but the night can suggest skin color which is described in the poem as “sable” (5) meaning black. In addition, the metaphor of Africans living in darkness can therefore be interpreted. Any person who has now seen the shining light of god is therefore deemed to have a sinful

Show More
Related

  • Theme Of On Being Brought From Africa To America

    484 Words  | 2 Pages

    Within Ellis Island by Joseph Bruchac, On Being Brought from Africa to America by Phillis Wheatley, and Europe and America by David Ignatow there are different views of what the American Dream is and what it means to immigrants. Each author writes about their own experience of immigration and life in America, which shapes their view of the American dream. The common theme between the three poems is the variable nature of the American dream and how it has different meanings for each person coinciding with contradictions between leisure and suffering.

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglass: Comparing Washington And Blake

    1512 Words  | 7 Pages

    Frederick Douglass was an influential African American author, writing about the realities of African Americans stuck in slavery and the internal as well as external dilemmas they faced, capturing powerful messages within his works. With the sheer truth embedded in carefully written words on such a difficult topic to discuss, Douglass differentiates his work from the other African American writers of his time period. With the pursuit of the abolishment of slavery fueling Douglass’s works, his work The Heroic Slave advocates for unification and selflessness in order for slaves to successfully rebel. Examples of how poorly slaves were treated and their rights for better, much deserved conditions are displayed throughout the written piece to try

    Read More

  • How Does Frederick Douglass Use Direct Language

    1257 Words  | 6 Pages

    For years, the institution of slavery existed in the United States and was characterized by the legal, inhumane treatment of those enslaved. One of the most prominent figures during this time was Frederick Douglass, an African-American abolitionist who detailed his own experiences in the practice. Having spent most of his life enslaved and wishing to escape, when he finally did he would find himself in a new and overwhelming situation. In this excerpt of his autobiography, “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,” he describes his life after escaping slavery and shows how his state of mind goes from being enthusiastic over freedom to suddenly fearful and lonely. To convey his change, Douglass uses deliberate language, such as various

    Read More

  • African Americans: The Middle Passage

    461 Words  | 2 Pages

    How were captives treated during their journey otherwise known as the Middle Passage? The Middle Passage refers to the journey in which Africans were transported across the Atlantic to the West Indies as slaves and were then sold or traded for raw materials. Due to the fact that Africans were considered as less than human, the conditions they were forced to endure during the Middle Passage were appalling. Evidently, the conditions varied by ship and voyage, yet the same problems arose; disease, abuse, lack of food and water as well as inadequate living conditions.

    Read More

  • On Being Brought Me John Wheatley Analysis

    362 Words  | 2 Pages

    • "On Being Brought from Africa to America," Wheatley applauds the leniency of God for singling her out for recovery. Such a significant number of on the planet don't know God or Christ. The word "benighted" is an intriguing one: it signifies "overtaken by night or darkness" or "being in a condition of good or scholarly haziness.” She likewise utilizes the expression "mercy brought me" and the title "on being brought" - deftly down-playing the savagery of the capturing of a tyke and the voyage on a slave transport, in order to not appear a perilous pundit of subjugation, but rather in the meantime crediting not the slave exchange, but rather (divine) kindness with the demonstration. This could be perused as denying the ability to those people who seized her and subjected her to the voyage and to her consequent deal and accommodation.

    Read More

  • Leah Price In The Poisonwood Bible

    2112 Words  | 9 Pages

    The people of Africa were taken over and forced to do hard labor with no reward. This part of the poem says that the white men have already dealt with the red man’s problem, which were the American Indians. After receiving word of this, they knew that they weren’t far behind them. By witnessing Lumumba’s speech and moving to the Belgian Congo, Leah sees the pain and suffering that the African people

    Read More

  • Phillis Wheatley Thesis

    2649 Words  | 11 Pages

    I. Introductory Paragraph and Thesis Statement Phillis Wheatley has changed the world of the literature and poetry for the better with her groundbreaking advancements for women and African Americans alike, despite the many challenges she faced. By being a voice for those who can not speak for themselves, Phillis Wheatley has given life to a new era of literature for all to create and enjoy. Without Wheatley’s ingenious writing based off of her grueling and sorrowful life, many poets and writers of today’s culture may not exist. Despite all of the odds stacked against her, Phillis Wheatley prevailed and made a difference in the world that would shape the world of writing and poetry for the better. II.

    Read More

  • Of On Being Brought From Africa To America By Phillis Wheatley

    1317 Words  | 6 Pages

    Phyllis Wheatley shocked the world with poetry as a young black woman who was raised as a slave. Wheatley, unlike most slaves, received an extensive religious education from her owners. The disbelief that surrounded Wheatley’s ability caused her to have to go to court to prove that the writing was her own. This doubt ran through the colonies, showing their opinions on who could be successful at this time . One of Wheatley’s best known poems is “On being brought from Africa to America” and another poem is “To the Right and Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth”.

    Read More

  • Religion In Phyllis Wheatley's Poetry

    616 Words  | 3 Pages

    Religious Effects Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral by Phyllis Wheatley was the first book to be published by a black American, and “On being brought from Africa to America” was probably one of the most famous poems included in the book. It discusses Wheatley’s experience of being taken as a slave, and the religious effects of the experience. Religion played a great role in shaping Wheatley’s outlook on many subjects. “On being brought from Africa to America” expresses religion’s effect on Wheatley through her word choices and the overall message of the poem.

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Phillis Wheatley's To S. M

    1225 Words  | 5 Pages

    In Phillis Wheatley’s To S.M., a Young African Painter, the reader can easily assume that Wheatley is expressing her opinion on the beauty of Scipio Moorhead’s paintings. The poem seems to discuss Wheatley’s appreciation for another African-American artist like herself. However, after looking closely at word choice, visual imagery, and deviation from the rhyme scheme one can see that there is much more going on in this poem. Wheatley addresses not only her thoughts on S.M.’s works, but also religion, immortality, race, and freedom. Looking at this poem more in-depth is important because it will allow the reader to better understand the poem’s meaning.

    Read More

  • Phyllis Wheatley: A Brief Biography

    882 Words  | 4 Pages

    In 1773, there were slaves all over colonial America working in plantations, and cleaning their masters houses. It wasn’t common for a slave to be writing poetry with their owners consent. Phyllis Wheatley’s success as the first African American published poet was what inspired generations to tell her story. It was her intellectual mind and point of view that made her different from others, both black and white. Phyllis’s story broke the barrier for all African American writers, and proved that no matter the gender or race, all human beings are capable of having an intelligent state of mind.

    Read More

  • On Being Brought From Africa To America By Phillis Wheatley

    974 Words  | 4 Pages

    To understand the real meaning of a literary work, we need to look into the meaning of each word and why the author has chosen these particular words and not different ones. Close reading of literary works helps us understand the author’s thinking and understanding of the time they lied in. One of the American poet and author of the 18th century, Phillis Wheatley, she was one of the most famous poets who changed the life of most Americans. Wheatley’s most famous poem is “On Being Brought from Africa to America”. To look in more detail into this specific poem, first thing is the language that she uses, second the form and style of the poem, and lastly what message she is trying to get to her audience.

    Read More

  • The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

    1099 Words  | 5 Pages

    The greatest slave trade stage was enslaved people transportation from West and central Africa to the New World- America. The trans-Atlantic slave trade was the largest forced movement and prior from the 16th through the 19th centuries. The salve trade between Western and Central Africa and the America reached its peak in the middle of 18th century when over 80.000 Africans annually crossed the Atlantic to spend all their rest of lives in chains. “For three centuries the white man seized and enslaved millions of Africans and transported them, with every circumstance of ferocious cruelty, across the seas.” (Morel.1903) Approximately from the 10 to 12 million Africans from the central and western parts of continent were sold by others Africans

    Read More

  • Negative Effects Of The Transatlantic Slave Trade

    166 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Trans-Atlantic slave trade impacted and changed the world by misplacing and separating thousands of individuals from their families and homes. Thousands of people lost their lives when they were abducted and forced into slavery. Many did not survive the ship rides to the Americas. Many were murdered and tortured. Some were thrown of boats and died from diseases caught on the ship.

    Read More

  • Trumpet Player Poem Analysis

    753 Words  | 4 Pages

    The gender of the speaker cannot be defined since there are no indications to suggest the speaker’s gender. The main idea of the poem is the integral part of music in African American culture as a “hypodermic needle / to [the] soul” soothing the weariness and pain from the “smoldering memor[ies]” of “slave ships” (6). In stanza 1, the larger theme of social inequality is addressed through the allusion of the slave trade by trumpet player’s memory “of slave ships / Blazed to the crack of whips,” (6-7).

    Read More

More about On Being Brought From Africa To America Analysis

Open Document