Phillis Wheatley

Wheatley’s early life was incredibly difficult, however, she was an eager learner despite her situation. Her life started off rough when she was sold into slavery at a young age, “Wheatley was seized from Senegal/Gambia, West Africa, when she was about seven years old. She was transported to the Boston docks with a shipment of “refugee” slaves, who because of age or physical frailty were unsuited for rigorous labor in the West Indian and Southern colonies” (“Phillis”). Wheatley wasn’t treated well during her childhood, so she had to work a lot harder than other people did. If she hadn’t been as determined and eager to learn and improve, she likely wouldn’t have been able to accomplish much of anything in her life because society didn’t want to let her. There was one person who was willing to help her learn, though. Phillis' mistress taught her to read from the Bible. When her work was satisfactory, she was given more books to read and eventually a goose quill and parchment paper so she could write. She was so dedicated to learning that by the time she was twelve she could translate Latin into English (Joyce). Phillis worked hard as a slave and did what she was told because she really wanted to be able to learn. She found the gaining of knowledge to be a reward, which was probably beneficial to both her and her mistress. She was given the resources to be able to learn and managed to teach herself everything she could. After Phillis’ success in educating herself, “... Susanna soon discovered that Phillis had an extraordinary capacity to learn. She relieved the child of most domestic duties and educated her, with assistance from her own daughter, Mary, in reading, writing, religion, language, literature, and history” (Sheridan). Although being a slave made her childhood difficult, her mistress helped her with learning once she had proved herself. That education, along with her determination, put her on the path to become the great poet that she became, which is what led to her being so influential. 

Despite political barriers, Phillis Wheatley was able to become a published poet. Her success started out small and complicated, “When her poems, which were laced with patriotic themes, began appearing in newspapers around Massachusetts, whites were unwilling to accept the fact that a slave girl had written them. In the early 1770s, Wheatley had to take a test to prove that she had actually written the poems bearing her name. Even though she passed the test, she was unable to find a Boston publisher and traveled to London, England” (Baker). No matter how much Wheatley’s poems aligned with the general populace’s opinions and views, white people were never able to accept that a black woman was writing them. Her status in society because of her race and gender made her success a lot more complicated because people turned away from her work even if they agreed with what she was saying. Wheatley was determined to continue to have her work published, so she traveled to another place to try again. Another challenge was that her poems didn’t always align with popular views. During the American revolution, Wheatley opposed slavery even more than before. She wrote poems and letters to powerful people preaching about how one of the biggest problems in the colonies was slavery. (Michals). Several of her poems were on slavery, and how she believed abolishing it would cause the colonists to win the revolution. Because of her background, her voice wasn’t strong enough to convince the public. Even though she couldn’t convince the general populace of her opinion, she still sent letters and poems to many people expressing her views to try to spread her message. Her hard work and dedication didn’t make her life easy. Although her book was a success, her life was still filled with challenges. When Phillis was set free, most of her family had passed, making her life in Boston more difficult. Publishing and selling her work became harder as time passed, but she found happiness when marrying John Peters (Sheridan). Because of her social status, even her popularity wasn’t enough to secure her a good experience in life. She worked hard to achieve her position as a poet and author. Despite continuous hardships, she never gave up on writing and kept trying even though her publication wasn’t really doing much for her. She didn’t give up, which shows how determined and brave she was. 

Her accomplishments made a big impact on future generations and helped shape history. In her writing, “The slave-poet carefully mingled simple piety and conventional verse techniques with a discreetly managed republican spirit of independence. While still a slave, she embedded the American spirit of political revolution below the surface of the literary conventions and pious sentiments of her poetry” (Scheick). Wheatley used other people's interests and current events to help influence her writing. She did this so people would pay attention to her and what she had to say. She wasn’t afraid to voice her opinion in a way that non-slaves as well as other slaves could relate to. Her language was very powerful and appealed to a wide range of people, which in turn helped build her popularity and as a result her impact on the world. Phillis Wheatley became a very accomplished woman. When her book, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, came out, she became the first slave, the first person of African descent, and the third colonial woman to publish a piece of literature (Sheridan). Phillis showed other people like her that if they wanted to do something, they could. She made people think about what they may be able to accomplish and inspired future generations to follow their dreams like she did. She proved that even if something seemed impossible because it had never been done, it was possible to break the barriers and be the first. Jacqueline Wade, an actress who did extensive research on Phillis Wheatley to write and perform her own play about her said, “‘Phillis Wheatley had a love of knowledge under the handicap of being a slave,’ Wade said, ‘But she was able to achieve so much. Being the first meant she had a lot of obstacles to overcome, yet here's a woman who went forth with her dream. . .’” (Joyce). Nobody told her how to become a published author, and she didn’t have anyone like her to be inspired or guided by. She didn’t let that stop her. Phillis became the role model for other people that she lacked in the beginning of her journey. She was able to be inspirational because of her success and bravery in continuing to pursue her dreams in the face of all the hardships.