On Being Brought from Africa to America Analysis

Phillis published her first work at the age of 14 in a local newspaper and thereafter, she wrote and published both books and pamphlets. More specifically, this paper aims at providing a response to give a clear insight on the poem On Being Brought from Africa to America by Phillis Wheatley. As suggested by the title, the poem aims at narrating the life story and experiences of a young woman abducted from African and sold in America. It shows suffering and discrimination directed toward African Americans and other minority communities in the States. The poem is uniquely written and constitutes of eight long lines with several rhyming couplets creatively formed into a block. In line five of the poem, Phillis introduces the basic concepts of racism bigotry, and, prejudice towards the black community and that it is anti-Christian.

In the poem, she uses the statement "Their color is a diabolic die," as they are described by the whites. Introducing slavery is one thing but calling black people a diabolic dye, to mean they are black because they are evil, is ridiculous and unethical. The poem puts a strong reminder in line 7 emphasizing that all people, black or white, are treated equally in the eyes of God and are all welcome into Christianity. In my opinion, Phillis used the poem to show restraint and dignity and create a message that identifies black people as not evil and are welcome before the eyes of God. It uses several literal elements to convey her complex yet captivating message to the reader. In a few lines, it juxtaposes religious language with the institution of slavery and identifies various issues regarding salvation, equality, and liberty.