5.

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Anónimo

Literatura Norteamericana Ii

3º Grado en Estudios Ingleses

Facultad de Filosofía y Letras

Universidad de Granada

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No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
 ON BEING BROUGHT FROM AFRICA TO AMERICA

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• 'Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land,

Taught my benighted soul to understand

That 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.

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1. Heroic Couplets in Iambic Pentameter. We mentioned it earlier, but we'll give you the
lowdown now. "On Being Brought" is written in heroic couplets. They were the in-thing for
all the poets back in Wheatley's day. Basically, she rhymed, she wrote in iambic pentameter,
and her poetic style was all about reason, form, and restraint. She wasn't a romantic poet,
using all sorts of flowery language and overblown emotions. She stayed cool, used reason,
SHE WAS PRESSED and never colored outside of the formal lines.

That's because she probably wanted to imitate the neo-classical greats, like Alexander Pope.

On one hand, it could be said that her argument, expressed in the rhymed couplets of her form,
uses logic and a fixed rhythm that imitates the balance of her thinking and her message. The
straightforward progression of iambic lines, the end rhymes, and the clear, logical thinking are
classic neo-classicism. Really, the form is the message, and Wheatley's message is that she was
saved by being brought, educated, and converted in a new country. Her virtuosic handling of
heroic couplets reflects her new thinking.

Wheatley's tightly-controlled form reflects her confidence in her argument. The poem is clear
and straightforward, without formal deviations to detract from its message. Wheatley's use of
heroic couplets also pays homage to traditional techniques of English poetry. This mirrors
Wheatley's position as the first African-American woman to publish a book of poetry; she toes
the line between appealing to her mostly white readership and establishing her unique vantage
point as an educated African American woman living in colonial America. PROVING THE POINT
THAT SHE WAS EDUCATED AND CAPABLE AS ANY OTHER WHITE WRITER

2. The speaker describes her experience as a young African girl who was enslaved and sold to
the Wheatley family in 1761. While living with the Wheatleys in Boston, the speaker learned
about Christianity. In addition to specifically arguing for racial equality on the basis of
Christian teachings, the poem also captures Wheatley's general appreciation for her life in
America and, most importantly, for her discovery of redemption and salvation through
Christianity in the first place. The speaker insists that redemption is possible for everyone if
they are given the opportunity to learn about the existence of God and the teachings of
Jesus. GOD ELECTED HER TO DISCOVER CHRISTIANITY AND OBTAIN REDEMPTION

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 3. Line 7: the speaker does use the word "black." It's not just any black, either, but "black as
Cain." Again, she's talking about a literal and spiritual blackness. Cain was marked by God,
so he had a dark stain on his skin that marked him as different from others. But he was also
spiritually marked because he'd murdered his own brother. So why does the speaker want
to compare her race to a murderer from the Bible? She's telling them that, no matter how
others see them, and whatever they might have done, they can be changed by faith in God.
If we step outside of the lens of religion, we can also note that Cain was protected by God,
regardless of his punishment. The darkness of their plight as slaves in America, just like the
darkness of not knowing God, isn't permanent. SIMILEE YOU ARE CONSIDERING YOUR

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BROTHER AS EVIL

Although the figure of Cain has a specific role in the Bible, this poem uses Cain as a broader
symbol of the human condition. In the Bible, Cain is infamous for becoming the first murderer
when he kills his brother, Abel. God punishes Cain for his sin by banishing him from Eden and
condemning him to a life of wandering. Despite this punishment, God places a mark on Cain to
prevent anyone from harming or killing him once he's banned from paradise. Wheatley uses
Cain's notorious status to illustrate a larger point about the state of humanity through the lens
of Christianity: we are all sinners, and we are all worthy of mercy and forgiveness.

From this perspective, it stands to reason that African Americans should be granted the same
mercy and given the opportunity to redeem themselves through Christianity. If God was willing

Reservados todos los derechos.

to show mercy to the first murderer, then Christians have no justification for denying mercy to
anyone, especially people who have not had the opportunity to learn about Christianity and its
teachings. In a brilliant move, Wheatley uses scripture to gently expose the hypocrisy of many
18th-century Christians and encourage them to rethink their harsh attitudes towards African
Americans.

4. ^^^^^

5. WHEATLEY´S RELIGIOUS CLAIM CAN BE READ IN POLITICAL/RACIAL TERMS, IRONIC

SARCASTIC UNDERLYING TONE, MOCKING CHRISTIANS ABOUT THEIR RACIAL PREJUDICES, A
GOOD CHRISTIAN WOULD ACCEPT A BLACK PERSON AS AN EQUAL

6.

7. REFINED: This Word is key, since it establishes that black people also have a soul and that
the difference between black and white people is not in black people’s inherent spiritual
depravity (and while people’s inherent spiritual purity), but on the spread (learning) of the
Christian faith (access to religious education). You could have also claimed for education as
a social leveler, since religious confession is accessed through education.

In the last two verses lines, the poetic voice arrives at the conclusion that since redemption is a
possibility open to anyone, black people are equal to those of European descent: “Remember,
Christians, Negros, black as Cain,/May be refin'd, and join th' angelic train.” By continuing to
rely on religious discourse and references to the Bible, Wheatley constructs a poem that
dismisses the religious reasons for which Africans and people of African descent colored people
are hated upon considered to be spiritually inferior, and supports the view of racial equality.

The speaker finishes up by saying that people of African descent “May be refined and join the
angelic train.” In 1773, this was a powerful statement, especially from a slave. Here the speaker
firmly insists that redemption is possible for everyone if they are given the opportunity to learn

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 about the existence of God and the teachings of Jesus. Therefore, the poem presents animosity
towards African people as not only misguided, but as antithetical to the Christian philosophy of
universal redemption and salvation.

8. Line 2: The speaker says, "my benighted soul." That's benighted, as in, "unenlightened" or
ignorant. Her soul was in a dark place, like before the light of God entered into it. This was
when she was in Africa, which could be seen as a "dark" place, meaning that it isn't Christian.
Have you heard that expression, "being kept in the dark," as in someone doesn't know
something? Well, that's what we're talking about here. Her soul was benighted because it

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had been kept in the dark about Christianity, until mercy came and let the light of God inside.
Notice we're talking about the soul here, since the focus is on religion, but if you thought of
dark skin, too, that's probably no accident. HYPALLAGE: is it applied to soul or only a
description

She frames the conversion process as a spiritual awakening that allowed her "benighted soul"
to grasp the existence of God and Jesus Christ. By describing the soul as "benighted," she invokes
the image of her soul being shrouded in darkness prior to her conversion.

9. REFERENCE TO CHRISTIANS: What's more, the speaker's phrasing here—“Remember,

Christians, Negros, black as Cain”—effectively places the words (and concepts) of “Christians”
and “Negros” side-by-side. This creates an association between Christianity and African
Americans in the reader's mind, reinforcing the speaker's point that these traits—being

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Christian and being black—are not mutually exclusive. Anyone can be a Christian

10. MAIN MESSAGE: Wheatley references religious discourse as a way to advocate for racial
equality. In this poem, I will explore the means by which Wheatley articulates a message of
racial equality by referring to religious doctrine.

Line 5: The speaker refers to "our sable race." She's talking about the African race, but it's
unclear if she means it in a negative or positive sense. Sable could mean wrapped in dark
clothes—imagine a funeral and all the mourners dressed in black. But there's also the animal
sable (cute!), which was considered valuable because of its pelt (sad). The point is that the
speaker's trying to place a value on how others see black people in America. They're physically
"dark," though also valuable (perhaps for different reasons than Phillis will point out by the end
of this poem), but there were also a lot of negative associations with being black in America, and
our speaker is using a figurative phrase to capture that. IT IS POSITIVE

SIMILARITY WITH BRADSTREET: REIVINDICATION, RELIGIOUS MESSAGE MIXED WITH THE

PERSONAL

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