“How does Phillis Wheatley use her origins to respond to the idea of colonial rule?”
Focusing on ‘To the Right Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth’.
Wheatley was commissioned to write the eulogy ‘To the Right Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth’ in 1773, in honour of his recent appointment. Wheatley’s poems tend to discuss freedom, imagination, and her origins. For example: ‘on Being Brought from Africa to America’ and ‘On Imagination’. Yet, the main theme of this eulogy is not Wheatley longing for freedom, but rather her celebrating someone, who is also an abolitionist, as well as an Earl, and thus has a very different role from hers in society. She still talks about her roots, but not as the main theme, instead they are discussed in relation to the Earl’s appointment. transforms this assignment into an opportunity to talk about her cause. But how?
Abolitionism during Wheatley’s time was considered controversial. Wheatley had to first fight for her freedom and to be a published author and then prove she had written her own poems to eb published, while showing she was more talented than her fellow poets who had the luxury of being white. This meant Wheatley’s poetic form had to be flawless, she did not have the privilege of being able to experiment like other poets. We see this throughout her work, as she adheres to common forms such as “AABB” rhyme schemes and the use of iambic pentameter. She is able to express herself with her poems’ content, although she has to be careful with the way she does so. Even in her boldest poems, such as ‘On Being Brought from Africa to America’, she had to mask her distress of being taken away from her home and sold into slavery as a child, with fake gratefulness. ‘Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land’[1] to ‘Remember, Christians, Negros, black as Cain, May be refin’d, and join th’ angelic train.’[2] Only after having shown thankfulness may she briefly talk about the truth.
It is therefore unsurprising her message has to be even more covert in ‘To the Right Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth’, a poem despite being commissioned by someone who shared her opinions, was still treated as her superior in every way: gender, societal status, race. She may discuss the truth only towards the end of the poem, and even then, it must relate to the Earl. The poem begins with a happy tone, celebrating the Earl: ‘Hail Happy Day when, smiling like the morn, Fair Freedom rose New-England to adorn.’[3] Wheatley instantly shows the main subject of the poem: the Earl, but leaves subtle clues, such as mentioning ‘freedom’ in the second line, as to why she is actually celebrating the Earl’s appointment; it is not because of the Earl himself, but rather what he stands for. The poem progresses, its focus shifts: ‘should you, my lord, while you pursue my song, Wonder from whence my love of freedom sprung.’[4] Wheatley can now reveal why she considers “today” such a happy day. She does not care about the Earl personally, but by celebrating him she is able to reveal her feelings and show that he agrees with her.
Wheatley’s origins influenced everything she wrote. She is not just celebrating the Earl, but she is showing what this means for her, and for others like her, she is showing colonialism that times are slowly changing. By comparing the Earl to Jesus, towards the end of the poem: ‘Like the prophet, thou shalt find thy God’[5], she implies Jesus, and thus God, would be abolitionists too, and colonialism will one day be over, meaning those who took part in it will soon be judged. As the first African-American published poet, as well as being a woman, Wheatley’s voice and point of view was unique, meaning only she could stand up for herself and her people to colonial rule, by sharing the truth.
[1] Phillis Wheatley, ‘On Being Brought from Africa to America, In Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral’ (London: A. Bell, 1773), p.18.
[2] Phillis Wheatley, ‘On Being Brought from Africa to America, In Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral’ (London: A. Bell, 1773), p.18.
[3] Phillis Wheatley, ‘To the Right Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth , In Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral’ (London: A. Bell, 1773), p.73.
[4] Phillis Wheatley, ‘To the Right Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth , In Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral’ (London: A. Bell, 1773), p.74
[5] Phillis Wheatley, ‘To the Right Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth , In Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral’ (London: A. Bell, 1773), p.75