Phillis Wheatley: “On Being Brought from Africa to America”

Phillis Wheatley was born in Senegal/Gambia 1753. Wheatley was kidnapped from Africa and was enslaved in Boston, MA. Wheatley later went on to become the first African American and also the first women to issue a book of great poetries. She wrote a poem called, “On Being Brought from Africa to America” that sparked my interest. My first thought before reading this poem was that the poem was going to involve captivity and her cruelness journey perhaps. The first line of her poem however really took me by surprise. Wheatley states, “Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land”. Maybe I’m wrong, but she is speaking negatively of her land and later on in the poem explains she was saved. Wheatley, also mentions her race and how everyone is welcomed to join as she says, “the angelic train” despite being people of color. Sondra O’Neale explains, “The best-known Wheatley poem, chides the Great Awakening audience to remember that Africans must be included in the Christian stream” (O’Neale). Wheatley encourages for everyone to find and learn about God regardless of what you looked like. She expresses that God brought mercy upon her and saved her by taking her to America and learn about Christians beliefs. Her poem mentions a more positive view on the matter and how Christianity became part of her life. Overall, I think it is quite inspiring how a black woman who was given the opportunity to read and write manages to be recognized for her marvelous poems when the odds were against her. Even though she was an African slave, Wheatley was one of the most well-known poets in prenineteenth-century America. Wheatley is such a strong and inspiring individual for being open with her opinions and reassuring that anything is possible if you put your mind into it.