On Being Brought from Africa to America

 ClassDate FOUNDATIONAL TEXTS TO BLACK AMERICAN EXPERIENCE TRANSITION--------------------------------------------------------------------->DirectionsWe will be reading a biography and a poem, highlighting and annotating in order to understand the writer’s life and works. Phillis Wheatley, a poetess famous in her time, was a “pioneering African-American poet” who was able to find fame and respect even while facing the bonds of slavery. Use the definitions below to help you mark up the poem. Parallelism DefinitionParallelism is the use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same; or similar in their construction, sound, meaning or meter. Parallelism examples are found in literary works as well as in ordinary conversations. Example: “I have a dream” speech/ I came, I saw, I conqueredDefinition of CoupletA couplet is a literary device which can be defined as having two successive rhyming lines in a verse and has the same meter to form a complete thought. It is marked by a usual rhythm, rhyme scheme and incorporation of specific utterances. Example: Positive and Negative ConnotationsWords may have positive or negative connotations that depend upon the social, cultural and personal experiences of individuals. For example, the words childish, childlike and youthful have the same denotative but different connotative meanings. Childish and childlike have a negative connotation as they refer to immature behavior of a person. Whereas, youthful implies that a person is lively and energetic. Example: odor vs. scent, lethargic vs. tired, house vs. home(Biblical) Diction DefinitionDiction can be defined as style of speaking or writing determined by the choice of words by a speaker or a writer. Biblical diction is when a writer uses terms associated with the Bible. Example: she is an angelPhillis Wheatley, 1753 - 1784 Quick BioIn 1761 Phillis was purchased as a personal slave in Boston by Susannah Wheatley, wife of tailor John Wheatley. She was evidently around 7 years old at the time. Her only written memory 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 she was kidnapped into slavery; she was brought to Boston on a slaving vessel named "The Phillis."35909251657350She learned to speak and write English very quickly, taught by Mary Wheatley, the 18 year old daughter of her owner; within 16 months she could read difficult passages in the Bible. At 12 she began studying Latin and English literature, especially the poetry of Alexander Pope, soon translating Ovid into heroic couplets. These 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 talents, and showed her off to their friends; many came to visit with this "lively and brilliant conversationalist." She was 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 definitely still a slave, although a privileged one. Though superior to most in her intellectual and literary accomplishments, she was clearly never their social equal. Perhaps that accounts for her not adopting Pope's major 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 have been well hidden, so as not to offend the white benefactors upon whom she had to depend).The death of Mrs. Wheatley in 1774 (whose illness required Phillis to return prematurely from London) and the Revolutionary war were to change her life drastically. War, not poetry, became the major concern.On Being Brought from Africa to AmericaPhillis Wheatley, 1753 - 1784‘Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land,Taught my benighted soul to understandThat there’s a God, that there’s a Saviour too:Once I redemption neither sought nor knew.Some view our sable race with scornful eye,“Their colour is a diabolic die.”Remember, Christians, Negros, black as Cain,May be refin’d, and join th’ angelic train. Define:Notes:Pagan: Benighted:Redemption:Sable: Refined:Cain and Abel: ................
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