How does Wheatley use of imagery contribute to her purpose in the poem to His Excellency General Washington?

How does Wheatley use of imagery contribute to her purpose in the poem to His Excellency General Washington?

Wheatley personifies America through the use of the character Columbia who is very much a goddess. Through the allegorical figure of Columbia, the poem uses a glamorous image to personify the states and the fight for independence. The figure of Columbia serves (or functions as) a guide for General Washington.

What details does Wheatley use to describe the morning?

The speaker describes the morning’s sun with its far-reaching rays of light. She observes that the light is falling on every leaf, and a gentle breeze is playing upon them.

What literary techniques did Wheatley use?

Wheatley makes use of several literary devices in ‘On Being Brought from Africa to America’. These include but are not limited to personification, allusion, and alliteration. The first, personification, is seen in the first lines in which the poet says it was “mercy” that brought her to America.

What is the main message of the poem on being brought from Africa to America?

Major Themes in “On Being Brought from Africa to America”: Mercy, racism and divinity are the major themes of this poem. Throughout the poem, the speaker talks about God’s mercy and the indifferent attitude of the people toward the African-American community.

How do the poem’s imagery meter and rhyme contribute to the meaning of to His Excellency General Washington?

The poem’s imagery, meter, and rhyme contribute to the meaning of the poem his excellency general Washington by using a vivid imagery. The imagery, the meter, the rhyme forms the work a better one.

What image does Wheatley use to describe Columbia?

Wheatley personifies the American colonies as a warrior goddess named Columbia. She wears armor, “flash[ing] dreadful in [her] refulgent arms.” Columbia takes up “freedom’s cause,” moving “divinely fair” with her golden hair and many charms and graces.

What does Phillis Wheatley compare the setting sun in an hymn to the evening?

In “A Hymn to the Evening”, Phillis Wheatley compares the human heart to a sunset. This comparison is made, because of her current situation. She is a slave in her life and her days are filled with labor and her evenings are a time for her to rest and rejuvenate.

What is on imagination by Phillis Wheatley about?

In ‘On Imagination’, Wheatley constructs a liberated world outside of slavery, flying on the wings of Fancy, another word for the imagination, to free herself from the bonds imposed by Winter, an allegorical figure representing slavery.

What was Phillis Wheatley’s writing style?

Poems on Various Subjects revealed that Wheatley’s favorite poetic form was the couplet, both iambic pentameter and heroic. More than one-third of her canon is composed of elegies, poems on the deaths of noted persons, friends, or even strangers whose loved ones employed the poet.

What type of figurative language does Wheatley use in most of her poems?

Wheatley’s use of hyperbole accentuates her respect for the king; Bradstreet’s use of hyperbole shows how greatly the speaker values her husband’s love.

What is on being brought from Africa about?

In “On Being Brought from Africa to America,” the speaker argues that Christian teachings have led her to reject racism on the grounds that all people are equal in the eyes of God. After Cain was punished by God for this offense, God then showed mercy by offering Cain protection from his own untimely death.

What does Taught my benighted soul to understand?

‘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.

What did Phillis Wheatly write about?

Phillis Wheatley is famous for producing poetry describing personal experiences about slavery and opinions regarding religion and ethics. Wheatley was tested countless times by the U.S. court system to prove that it was in fact her that was producing the poetry.

How does Phillis Wheatley personify the American colonies?

Wheatley personifies the American colonies as a warrior goddess named Columbia. She wears armor, “flash [ing] dreadful in [her] refulgent arms.” Columbia takes up “freedom’s cause,” moving “divinely fair” with her golden hair and many charms and graces.

What was life like for Susannah and Phillis Wheatley?

While Susannah was harsh with her other slaves, “she loved the ornamentation provided her by Phillis.” In fact, she did not allow Phillis and the other slaves to converse with one another. After the death of both John and Susannah, Wheatley was set free.

When did Phillis Wheatley come to the US?

Born around 1753 in Gambia, Africa, Wheatley was captured by slave traders and brought to America in 1761. Upon arrival, she was sold to the Wheatley family in Boston, Massachusetts. The Wheatley family educated her and within sixteen months of her arrival in America she could read the Bible, Greek and Latin classics, and British literature.