On Phillis Wheatley
Transcript of 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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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.
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis 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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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."
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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,
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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,
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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, &
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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.
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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).
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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.
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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.
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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).
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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.
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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,
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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."
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
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
-
7/30/2019 On Phillis Wheatley
76/76
feminist poets, such as
Alice Walker and Naomi
Madgett, have claimed
Phillis as inspiration, if nota poetic model.