Phillis Wheatley was a slave in Colonial America, just before and during the Revolution. Educated by her owners, she showed a great proclivity for the literary, being able to read both Latin and English.
Some Interesting Facts
* Phillis Wheatley was the first female African-American to have a book published. Her book was entitled "Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral."
* After she gained some recognition as a poetess she was given freedom by her owners, John and Susannah Wheatley.
* Her poetic style consisted of Epic Couplets and her topics usually centered around the Revolution, religion and people.
* She went to England with Nathaniel Wheatley at the approximate age of 20, where her book was first published.
* After writing a poem about George Washington, Wheatley actually got to meet him along with Benjamin Franklin.
* A statue of Wheatley stands on Commonwealth Avenue and Fairfield Street in Boston, Massachusetts.
Some Quotes from Phillis Wheatley
- "The world is a severe schoolmaster, for its frowns are less dangerous than its smiles and flatteries, and it is a difficult task to keep in the path of wisdom."
- "in every human Breast, God has implanted a Principle, which we call Love of Freedom; it is impatient of Oppression, and pants for Deliverance."
- "Imagination! who can sing thy force?"
- "Some view our sable race with scornful eye;
'Their colour is a diabolic dye.'"
- "let us imagine the loss of a parent, sister, or brother, the tenderness of all these were united in her."
- "No more, America, in mournful strain Of wrongs, and grievance unredress'd complain, No longer shalt thou dread the iron chain, Which wanton Tyranny with lawless hand Had made,"
A Video about Phillis Wheatley by a guy with a rockin' mustache
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