Sequoyah
...rought her to slavery." As a child, Phillis Wheatley was blessed with the gift to recite poetry. Wheatley quickly mastered the English language as well as Latin, and soon began to write poetry. During this time, is was uncommon for slaves to be as literate and talented in the English language or any other language, as Phillis Wheatley was. Wheatley not only knew how to comprehend the language, she also knew how to write the language. This accomplishment made it clear that slaves were equally as intelligent if not more than their slave owners and perfectly capable of understanding any concept. Within sixteen months of her arrival, she was reading astronomy, geography, history, and British literature. Wheatley was able to break a language barrier that had held so many others of her race back. Her desire for learning increased and the quest for knowledge became implanted in her spirit, mind, and soul. By her teenage years, Wheatley was a well known author, reciting poems for the New England leaders in homes where blacks could not even sit at the table with whites. Phillis Wheatley made many offerings to American literature. Other than successfully representing and expressing the feelings of anger, frustration, and impatience of African American people overseas, she has paved the way for young hopeful African American writers. In 1771, Wheatley composed her first major work, "On an elegy to evangelist George Whitefield." After realizing Wheatley’s potential for excellence, Susannah Wheatley arranged a London publication of Wheatley’s poems. As a result of this, well known Bostonians verified the book’s author as being Black. Britons admired the book, but criticized Americans for keeping its author enslaved. At this time, Americans were only interested in benefiting White America, and were not prepared for the fact that Britons would criticize their slave policy. In 1774, she wrote a letter denying slavery, which was reprinted and distributed throughout New England. The fact that she was able to publicly denounce slavery is evidence of powerful voice as an African American during this time. In 1775, Wheatley wrote "Reply" which was the first recorded celebration of African American Heritage by an African American. Wheatley’s popularity among the leaders of Massachusetts grew rapidly. As the first African American to compose a book of creative writing, Wheatley is the creator of the African American literary tradition and also of the African American women’s tradition. Wheatley combined the influences of religion and neo-classicism in her poems. She expressed the theme of freedom in many of her works. For instance, Phillis Wheatley made political comments supporting American freedom from Britain. Her numerous poem suggested a conscious poetic escape from slavery. She celebrates death and the rewards and freedom of life after death. Wheatley used poetry to escape to a world of imagination, but never neglected to reveal the truthful difficulty of her people. "Phillis Wheatley had only to look out her front door to see the delaying conflict of her society coming closer by the day". Phillis Wheatley’s political poetry has been widely ignored, but she lived in Boston and was witness to the events leading to the Revolution. The conflicts of society inspired Phillis Wheatley to compose poems on the tragic events she witnessed. Such historic instances, as Crispus Attucks involvement in the Boston Massacre, influenced Wheatley’s poetry. In Wheatley’s poem entitled, "On the Affray in King Street on the Evening of the 5th of March 1770," she escaped to the events leading up to the death of Attucks, the first African American to die in the Boston Massacre. I admire the work of Phillis Wheatley. Her poetry illustrates the humbleness, dedication, and determination. It also characterizes the state of America during slavery and duri...