Blake

Broken Freedom

Theophilus Niger,

one of the many.

Wild Cat Road

where everything happened.

Enslaved in Guilford CT in 1745 by Thomas Hodgkin,

awarded property for being loyal,

But not living his life free.

No rights,

being treated like property,

being treated like garbage,

being treated like no one cared if he lived tomorrow.

Then finding a part of life that Theophilus hadn’t experienced.

Love

Theophilus married Penelope Tantipen at 20 years old.

April 29, 1750 is when he had his first son

Then 5 followed after.

Theophilus, enslaved for more than half of his life.

He deserved to be happy,

he didn’t deserve to be enslaved.

Blake’s Artist Statement

I wrote this poem because I wanted people to know Theophilus Niger’s story. This poem shows that he made it through slavery with absolutely no freedom or rights. In this story I wanted this poem to make the audience sad and feel bad for what Theophilus went through and how much he suffered. I also wanted this poem to be a wake-up call to my audience because this terrible thing is still happening today in some countries.

I used poetic devices to make the poem stand out and to make my statement stronger so the audience is more in shock by what transpired in Theophilus Niger’s life. For example, in the poem, I said, “Not living his life free rights being treated like property being treated like garbage Being treated like no one cared if he lived tomorrow”(7-11) I used repetition, hyperbole, and a simile in that one sentence.