COVE

This portrait is one of Phillis Wheatley, an American author, and heavily considered one of the first African-American authors to have a published book of poetry. Wheatley was born in West Africa in 1753, where she stayed until the age of 8 when she was kidnapped and enslaved. By the age of 9, Wheatley had learned to read and write, a knowledgeable fact to show the resistance that Wheatley had against the white man. 

The National Portrait Gallery states, "When her book of poetry, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, appeared, she became the first American slave, the first person of African descent, and only the third colonial American woman to have her work published." Wheatley is an embodiment of what our country is currently, and what our country would become of. Being a women poet back then was an astonishment, and even more so being a slave. Wheatley was so renowned that her poem, "His Excellency General Washington," was responded to with an invitation to visit Washington in Cambridge. Within this poem, in the last stanza it states, “Proceed, great chief, with virtue on thy side, Thy ev’ry action let the Goddess guide. A crown, a mansion, and a throne that shine, With gold unfading, WASHINGTON! Be thine.” This urges Washinton on greatly to continue to fight for the freedom of America against Great Britain but also has a sense that Washington should follow these words when their country is formed, and possibly support the abolition movement.

Wheatley is an excellent example of women in revolution, due to the mere fact that she defied all odds at the given time, and showed people why she was an amazing author and poet. Wheatley's works will go down as one of the most remarkable works that show the perseverance and resilience that women, especially women of color, accomplished within the forming of our country.

Works Cited

Moorhead, Scipio. “Phillis Wheatley, Negro Servant to Mr. John Wheatley, of Boston.” Home, 1 Jan. 1773, loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3a40394/.

Sheridan, Stephanie. “Phillis Wheatley: Her Life, Poetry, and Legacy.” National Portrait Gallery, 27 Mar. 2014, npg.si.edu/blog/phillis-wheatley-her-life-poetry-and-legacy.

Wheatley, Phillis. “His Excellency General Washington.” Poets.Org, Academy of American Poets, 27 June 2019, poets.org/poem/his-excellency-general-washington.