Bring Brought from Africa

English 2304-2

February 1, 2013

Wheatley “On Being Brought from Africa to America” Analysis

“On Being Brought from Africa to America,” was written by the distinct female slave, Phillis Wheatley. Wheatley wrote this remarkable poem to explain and elaborate upon her endeavors, as she left her homeland and was “brought” to America, not by choice, to be enslaved and in the rapidly prosperous American Colonies. Having wrote a poem, is a peculiar and almost astonishing instance for an African slave, between such time period of 1750s to 1780s, being Wheatley’s life time. As a result, Wheatley’s rare and powerful literature gives the audience a chance to engage in the toils and hardships of a slave, from a slave’s own prospective. The perspectives of Wheatley are varied and insightful, as her vague remarks leave one to infer and comprehend much of her deeper subject matter. Overall, Phillis Wheatley wrote “On Being Brought from Africa to America” to express a slave’s views within the spectrum, upon the lowly class’s hardships and experiences.

Wheatley displays her dexterous writing capabilities, with a acute choice in words; where Wheatley exhibits a sense of tone expressing her thoughts in a way that avoids conflict with any that would conspire against her, yet expressing her true feeling upon her experiences. The most evident of such cases is within the title, where is word “Brought” is used, instead of coming or other more humble and moderate words. The word brought adds an emphasis that expresses the voyage and the experience as a unpleasant hardship and unnecessary struggle. Wheatley tone begins moderate at first, and yet with careful analysis a more radical and harsh undertone is exposed, showing a hidden animosity and anger towards her owners.

Furthermore, Wheatley continues that form and structure of writing within her poem within the first line the powerful word choice is apparent, as she specifically utilizes the word “pagan.” The use of pagan allows...