Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral

by Phillis Wheatley

This moving collection of poems by Phillis Wheatley is intended to inspire Christians and tribute various believers who had recently been deceased. Published in 1773, this collection brings together many of Wheatley's finest writings addressed to figures of the day. She writes evocative verse to academic establishments, military officers and even the King of England, with other verses discussing various subjects in verse form, offering condolences and verse commemorating recent events, or the death of a recent loved one. Recognized as one of the first black poets to be widely appreciated in the Western world, Phillis Wheatley was a devoted Christian whose talent with the English language impressed and awed her peers. Wheatley took plenty of influence from past works of poetry, such as Ovid's Metamorphosis. Several of the poems in this collection mention or allude to such masterpieces, the voracious absorption of which helped Phillis Wheatley to learn and hone her creative abilities.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Nonfiction, History, African American, American, 18th Century

127 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1773

About the author

Phillis Wheatley (1753 – December 5, 1784?) was the first professional African American poet and the first African-American woman whose writings were published. Born in Gambia, Senegal, she was enslaved at age eight. She was purchased by the Wheatley family of Boston, who taught her to read and write, and helped encourage her poetry.

Born about 1753 in West Africa, she was kidnapped in 1763 and taken to America on a slave ship called The Phillis (this is where she got her name). She was purchased in Boston by John Wheatley. Wheatley and his wife Mary instructed the young girl and encouraged her education including study of Latin and history. Mrs.Wheatley arranged for Phillis to work around the house and allowed Mary Wheatley to tutor Phillis. Mary Wheatley taught Phillis science, geography, and history. Phillis was also taught English and studied the American Bible extensively. Within 2 ½ years of joining the Wheatley family, Phillis was fully literate. At the age of 12 she was reading the Greek and Latin classics, and passages from the Bible. This amazed the Wheatleys. Phillis was encouraged to continue to learn and was allowed to express herself, so much so she was also provided pen and paper on her nightstand in case she was inspired to write during the night.

In 1773, Phillis Wheatley was sent to London with Nathaniel Wheatley. However Wheatley’s visit did not go unnoticed. She held an audience with the Lord Mayor of London, she was also scheduled to have a session where she recited a poem to George III was arranged, but Phillis returned home before expected. A collection of her poetry was also published in London during this visit. Wheatley was free of slavery, but not given the full rights of a free woman. On October 18, 1773 she was given this "freedom" as a result of her popularity and influence as a poet.

In 1775, she published a poem celebrating George Washington entitled, “To his Excellency General Washington.” In 1776, Washington invited Wheatley to his home as thanks for the poem. Wheatley was a supporter of the American Revolution, but the war hurt the publication of her poetry because readers were swept up in the war and seemingly uninterested in poetry.

In 1778, Phillis was legally freed when her master John Wheatley died. Three months later, Phillis married John Peters, a free black grocer. Wheatley was unable to publish another volume of her poetry. Wheatley’s husband, John Peters, was imprisoned for debt in 1784, leaving an impoverished Wheatley behind with a sickly infant daughter, Eliza. Wheatley became a scullery maid at a boarding house, forced into domestic labor that she had avoided earlier in life while enslaved. Wheatley died alone on December 5, 1784, at age 31.

Phillis Wheatley, like most authors, wrote about what she knew or experienced. She believed that the power of poetry is immeasurable.

Reviews

[Flo · Rating 2 out of 5]

To a lady on the death of three relations
...
Weep not for them, and leave the world behind.
As a young plant by hurricanes up torn,
So near its parent lies the newly born—
But 'midst the bright ehtereal train behold
It shines superior on a throne of gold:
Then, mourner, cease; let hope thy tears restrain,
Smile on the tomb, and sooth the raging pain.
On yon blest regions fix thy longing view,
Mindless of sublunary scenes below;
Ascend the sacred mount, in thought arise,
And seek substantial and immortal joys;
Where hope receives, where faith to vision springs,
And raptur'd seraphs tune th' immortal strings
To strains extatic. Thou the chorus join,
And to thy father tune the praise divine.

Not one but three, and smile. Smile, mourner. No more complain, but be to heav'n resign'd.

Well, this collection was tiring. I wasn't surprised since the the title wasn't exactly an auspicious omen. Despite the repetitive themes I wasn't able to connect with, these verses have a rich musicality, so reading them out loud was actually pleasant. Until the tenth eulogy, at least, then I had the entire necrological section of a local newspaper with all the dead people Phillis Wheatley wrote about. (I felt invincible after finishing the never-ending "Goliath of Gath". My attention span killed a giant, kids.)

On the contrary, I became instantly captivated by Wheatley's life. Born in 1753 in West Africa, she was sold into slavery at a very young age and ended up in Boston where she was purchased by the Wheatleys, a family that taught her to read and write and encouraged her poetry. Thus she became the first published African-American woman and this book was her first success. She knew fame and tragedy, and died at the age of 31.

On imagination
THY various works, imperial queen, we see,
How bright their forms! how deck'd with pomp
by thee!
Thy wond'rous acts in beauteous order stand,
And all attest how potent is thine hand.
...

Aug 3, 18
* Actual rating: 2.5 stars.
** Also on my blog.

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know the preface to this book praises young Phillis for her precociousness, her intelligence, her motivation, but then it still has to end with:

"This relation is given by her Master who bought her, and with whom she now lives."

Slave, slave, slave that Master really wanted the reader to know that. And he made sure to make it sound like Phillis picked up all of this education practically on her own because that would be breaking the law. Can't educate a slave

[Raymond · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good collection, many of the poems are about the loss of a loved one. I mostly read it because of Phillis Wheatley's historic significance of being the first published African American poet. Poetry fans may like it more than I did.

[Francesca Calarco · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is absolutely no denying that Phillis Wheatley reaches for transcendence and achieves a type of sublime beauty with this collections of poems. The content is inspired by both the people and events that encompass her lived experience, as well as her explorations of religious spirituality.

Much of Phillis' writing starts with a prompt from her life, which is typically a tragic event, and she then draws from the event's reactionary emotions a greater celestial understanding to make sense of the suffering that she and others are experiencing. As much of her writing does surround making sense of otherwise senseless sorrow, my only criticism lies with her renunciation of her previous life in Africa with the poem, "On being brought from Africa to America":

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 fought nor knew,
Some view our sable race with scornful eye,
"Their colour is a diabolic die."
Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain,
May be refin'd, and join th' angelic train.

While it makes sense to appreciate knowledge gained from perseverance as a means of making sense of suffering, it is almost sad to read how a type of Western hegemony that belittles non-Christians and people of color, has come to encompass her understanding of the world around her. Then again, this was written and published while she was enslaved, so she could also have very well just been pandering to the people who could grant her freedom. This we will never know.

That one poem aside, much of her work explores the deaths of individuals in her life, and this is where her artistic intention is very clear. One passage from, "On the Death of a young Lady of Five Years of Age," I found to be especially moving:

FROM dark abodes to fair etherial light
Th' enraptur'd innocent has wing'd her flight;
On the kind bosom of eternal love
She finds unknown beatitude above.
This known, ye parents, nor her loss deplore,
She feels the iron hand of pain no more

For the sake of transparency, my uncle passed away this week after leading a hard life, and I was left trying to make sense of the suffering he endured up until the end. Reading Phillis' work has allowed for me some catharsis on this matter. She herself experienced numerous losses and hardships that I could never begin to fathom, so I appreciate and revere her life and work all the more.

If you want to feel something, I would recommend this collection of poems.

[Vicki Tillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I realized that I have not read enough American poets' entire books. Wheatley's beautiful poetry gives a glimpse into her times.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a shame Wheatley was so indoctrinated in certain ways, but yet you can still see that she has this sense of pride in herself and her fellow Africans/African Americans. Plus what she did just at a formal level is more impressive than any of her white peers when you factor in that she was literally kidnapped, enslaved, and forced to write in a foreign language. Show me one white poet who did that, I'll wait. I can't say Wheatley is radical, but there are some delicious nuggets in here for careful readers.

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

The poetry isn't really to my taste, most of the poems being fairly long and composed of rhyming couplets, which can quickly grow tedious. It was nonetheless appropriate for the time period, as well as her practice of addressing many of her poems to specific people.

The book is still worth reading for the historical value, and also just Wheatly as an example of how quickly a slave born in Africa could not only master the English language but become familiar with classical literature. She must have had an incredible mind, and she happened to end up in a fairly supportive household. There could have been many others with her abilities who never got to develop them.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't like poetry. I read this book because the New York Times included it on its horrible list regarding the history of racism. Wheatley is brilliant! My sneaking suspicion is that she is writing her poems (especially the ones with more sentimental themes) tongue in cheek, essentially saying, "If you people buy all the things you've been telling my people about suffering nobly you won't let things like death get you down." Of course, I could be reading way too much into this volume of poems.

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral

‘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, Negroes,
black as Cain,
May be refin’d, and join th’ angelic train.

("On Being Brought From Africa to America")

Before I address her poetry, Phillis Wheatley deserves to have her origins understood. Born in West Africa in 1753, a six-year-old Negro child was captured and brought to Boston on the slave ship “Phillis”. The almost naked young child was bought by John Wheatley and assumed his last name. She was given the first name of the slave ship.

Phillis proved herself gifted and the generous family decided to give her a classical education. She could read and write Greek and Latin by the age of 20, and by that time had begun to write poetry.
In 1773, sponsored by a countess in England, she published Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral.

Her poetry is very religious, and filled with references to the Bible, classical literature, and mythology. Over one third of her poetry is elegiac and written to mourn the death of young children or of notable people in Boston, particularly the clergy.

Her writing is lush and luxurious, but to my taste it is too heavy-handed in addressing scripture and in finding peace in sorrow and tragedy. “Freed from a world of sin, and snares, /and pain,/Why would you wish your daughter back again?” reads her poem titled “On the Death of a Young Lady of Five Years of Age”. Her spiritual passions are directed to the heavenly realm where there is “unknown beatitude”.

To my taste, Phillis Wheatley's poetry is extremely depressing. Even though it is remarkable that she found some fame in Colonial America and even in Britain, she struggled to find a publisher. But indeed, she demonstrated to all who encountered her writing that enslavement of the black race was wrong. Her poetry is well worth reading as it gives a unique insight into the early slave trade, and forces recognition that those held in bondage were equal to or superior to their masters. In a number of poems she bemoans the injustice of slavery.

“I, young in life, by seeming cruel fate
Was snatch’d from Afric’s fancy’d happy seat:
What pangs excruciating must molest,
What sorrows labour in my parent’s breast?
And can I then but pray
Others may never feel tyrannic sway?”

To read her poetry is to memorialize her struggles as well as her incredible talent and brilliance as a poet. But her brief years of recognition (even by George Washington, with whom she enjoyed a brief correspondence) and protection by the Wheatley family dissolved after the family freed her in 1774. The Wheatleys themselves died shortly after the Revolution, and the entire family that had nourished, educated and loved her was dead by 1778.

By 1784, she died impoverished and alone, as a brief marriage to another freed slave had not saved her. Her husband was jailed for debt, a common solution to poverty both in the colonies and in England till late in the 19th century. This incredibly tragic ending to a heroic life that had risen above slavery and found solace in God and in writing poetry is for me too heartbreaking to be inspiring. Instead, I grieve for Phillis Wheatley as I read her poetry.

But I do highly recommend her one published work. It is a testament to how one black woman was able to soar above the African slave trade in Colonial America. Choosing a verse from the fine writings of her book to conclude my five star review 5 is difficult, but I will try.

“O could I rival thine and Virgil’s page,
Or claim the Muses with the Mantuan Sage;
Soon the same beauties should my mind adorn,
And the same ardors in my soul should burn:
Then should my song in bolder notes arise,
And all my numbers pleasingly surprise;

But here I sit, and mourn a grov’ling mind,
That fain would mount, and ride upon the wind.”
(from: TO MAECENAS)



Phillis Wheatley

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poems: 4 stars
Audiobook: 2 stars

[Sonya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I looked for this book after reading “Stamped from the Beginning: the definitive history of racial ideas in America.” While the poems, which primarily exalt flowery religious praise/all glory to God, aren’t really my thing, the story of young Phyllis Wheatley, a 17 year old slave, whose masters educated her and paraded her around as a “Black exhibit” of “exceptional barbarians” is fascinating. When she published this book of poems in 1773, it was the first book by an African American, and the second book by a woman in the United States. Eighteen men were assembled to verify that she had indeed written these poems herself and published their signed letter in the intro to her book. When the publication reached London, it set off a “social earthquake” with Londoner’s condemning the U.S. for still having slaves. Young Phyllis was freed as a result. I’ve gotta think she & Maya Angelou are writing poetry for the angels right now.

[Victoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my style of poetry, but love the thought of stuffy contemporaries falling off their collective chairs thanks to this remarkable lady. "Some view our sable race with a scornful eye" indeed!

[Bernie Gourley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many talented poets have caught flack, but few have managed to take it from as many directions as Phillis Wheatley. A slave from The Gambia, Wheatley was one of the most skilled poets of Colonial America. Obviously, she got bad-mouthed by racists. Some of them claimed she wasn’t the true author of her poems. Others said she wasn’t a good poet. Still others, quite nonsensically, made both claims simultaneously – i.e. that she plagiarized poems that weren’t any good.

If all she had to contend with was the criticism of racists, well that’s like Einstein being critiqued on General Relativity by the slack-jawed yokel working a Slurpee machine at the carnival. But when she (posthumously) became more well-known, she also started to get sass from blacks who considered her an Uncle Tom because her poetry featured the hallmarks of mainstream poetry of the era, as well as little of the visceral anger one would expect of a person who wasn’t recognized as a person. (Wheatley was eventually freed.)

It’s true that Wheatley’s poetry was - in form and content - quite in line with the poetry of her day. In terms of form, most of her poems are iambic pentameter with couplet rhyming, with a few sestinas and common meter quatrains thrown in the mix. In terms of content, Wheatley draws heavily upon Christianity, Western classics (e.g. Ovid,) and the elegy, discussing her African heritage almost in passing. When Wheatley is accused of not being good, the only sense in which that statement could be said to have a speck of truth is that her poems are quite reserved (certainly not unique to her.) But – to be fair – I think she fought enough of an uphill battle to be published and the fact that her poems are brilliant in language and cadence makes them well worth reading. I think Wheatley’s poetry must be considered in light of her time and stand on its excellent craftsmanship.

[Justin Goodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genuinely shocked by how legible the rhythms are here. When I think neoclassical I think Alexander Pope and William Cowper who, while I have enjoyed their work, I find often enough to be a big bother to work through. Wheatley is attuned to assonance and consonance to an absurd degree though. From "TO A GENTLEMAN ON HIS VOYAGE TO GREAT-BRITAIN FOR THE RECOVERY OF HIS HEALTH""

This equal case demands thine equal care,
And equal wonders may this patient share.

It's almost spell-like, slowly moving from hard k sounds (equal case, equal care, equal) to the softer w, p, and sh sounds. That said, most of the poems are eulogies of one form or another which, even for myself, who's not particularly a content fiend when it comes to the topics of poems, does pull the collection into a dim hum at times.

I also think I came into the collection from a specific perspective after reading Vincent Carretta's Phyllis Wheatley: Biography of a Genius in Bondage> . It's easier to appreciate how bonkers the authority Wheatley takes on is when you also consider the poetry from a sociohistorical perspective. Would recommend that biography a hundred times over.

[Estelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Should you, my lord, while you peruse my song,
Wonder from whence my love of Freedom sprung,
Whence flow these wishes for the common good,
By feeling hearts alone best understood,
I, young in life, by seeming cruel fate
Was snatch'd from Afric's fancy'd happy seat:
What pangs excruciating must molest,
What sorrows labour in my parent's breast?
Steel'd was that soul and by no misery mov'd
That from a father seiz'd his babe belov'd:
Such, such my case. And can I then but pray
Others may never feel tyrannic sway?

Brought as a slave from Africa to America in 1761, Wheatley’s only schooling was in the family she served. Yet within twelve years she had begun writing these poems. The subjects vary from nature to the re-telling of a myth; many are written as memorials to people who have died. Though not of high literary value, they are historically significant.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because I wanted to read something old and produced by a young woman slave. Phillis was a young girl kidnapped in Africa during the early 1700s. She had the fortune to be purchased by a man in Boston to be his wife's ladies maid. However, the family made certain that she could read and write and educated her in the classics. Her poetry brought her fame as she had such a grasp of vocabulary and mythology. While I enjoyed many of the poems, so many were eulogies of men, women, and children that assured their loved ones of life after death that I became fatigued by those themes. Otherwise, they are quite remarkable. Phillis was the first published African-American author. A favorite of mine was her use of the word sable to describe people from Africa so much more gentle and appreciative than Black, I think.

[MaryLucille · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the audible as I read the Kindle version of this book of poetry. The elegies particularly struck me. Her writing pushed me to research the “muses” and the ancient, mythological gods and goddesses. It is amazing and awesome that a young girl, brought to America as a slave, learned the language and learned the Scriptures and learned the classics so deeply and insightfully so quickly and then write the poetry that is read and praised even today. Few can. That is my main reason for the four-stars rating.
I am concerned that there does seem to be a blurring of her Biblical beliefs and the mythological beliefs.
PS: If you do not know the history of Phillis Wheatley as I did not until reading her poems this week, I encourage you to read her biography.

[Max Murphy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not amazing, but historically significant. I find Phillis Wheatley's place in American literary history to be exceptionally interesting and nuanced, a slave turned artist turned prop turned forgotten tragedy. This book has some great writing in it, albeit clearly marked by it's era and not necessarily transcendent of that era's tendencies and shortfalls.

Poetically it isn't enough to stand on it's own, but the context is incredibly important. Worth owning and knowing about, moreso than worth reading and analyzing.

[Eddie Mercado · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded up. The importance of this collection of poems makes it a recommended read. That’s not to say all poems will be equally compelling or easy to read. Wheatley is not the greatest poet you’ll come across, but her accomplishments are deserving of praise and thanksgiving. Knowing her life and circumstances, it will be hard to reflect on and not weep when reading lines such as:

“Remember, Christians, Negros, black as Cain,
May be refined and join the angelic train.”

[Kesha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read mainly for the historical significance, and while I enjoy a rhyming couplet, mentioning lost loved ones was quite tedious. Not the subject of death itself but the unique repetitiveness led me to want more. I did not fully get enthralled in Wheatley's writing, though it was good from a technical standpoint, I was just not as drawn in as I thought I would be. Her biography was far more engaging.

[Oliver Brauning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phillis Wheatley's poems are very pretty to hear. In fact they are probably the most pleasant sounding poems I have come across, although they are a bit homogenous as far as subject matter and rhyming go. On some of the better poems here, such as "To Maecenas", you can see the glimpse of an extraordinary talent that unfortunately didn't get a chance to fully develop—you know—first being a slave and then extremely poor. In general I think Wheatley treats the classical matter here the best.

[John English · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book.

It seemed to me to be worth the time; and I like this style of poetry, which while not too common today seems enjoyable to me. Phillis Wheatley is an author I was not familiar with. Her story is interesting so I hope to take the time to find a biography about her.

[Chass Coon]

Reading poetry is very much outside of my comfort zone; therefore, I am not going to give this a rating. I don't feel adequate in giving a fair rating. If you are interested in knowing more about Phillis Wheatley, I highly recommend the podcast Fierce: Stories of Women Who Changed the World, Season 1, Episode 3. The podcast is the reason I sought out Wheatley's collection.

[Molly Cooper Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eat your heart out, Thomas Jefferson.

“Such, such my case. And can I then but pray / Others may never feel the same tyrannic sway?”

“See the bright beams of heaven’s revolving light / Involved in sorrows and the veil of night!”

This is my third class that has assigned Phillis Wheatley. She’s simply That Girl.

[Alec · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wheatley’s poetry ranges from beautiful to tiring. I really enjoyed the poetry when I started reading the book, but so many couplets and so little diversity in subject matter made the reading grow dreary.

[sasheel]

🙏🏾✊🏾 Prolific Poems

I love the Audible narrator, very well read by her.
I would recommend this book to poetry lovers or anyone who just want to read and explore what this book have to offer.

[Jeffrey Petit-bois · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sublime Romantic Poetry

Phillis writes like a future Keats or Byron, she is their peer in my view. Her works contains flowery language that moves the mind as well as the soul. Incredible writer and woman.

[Moth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting from a historical standpoint (a Black, enslaved woman who learned to write poetry), but I didn’t care about the poems themselves. There was a lot of talk about God and Christianity. Also, a lot of death poems.
CW: death

[Claire Blok · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's good! It's a little confusing to navigate, but it's very good. Phillis Wheatley was a slave but her writing helped her earn her freedom. She was taught to read and brought to a faith in Jesus by her masters. My favorite poem of hers is Goliath of Gath. Enjoy this book!