Phillis Wheatley
During the time of slavery many believed that African
Americans were not capable of reading and writing. Phillis
Wheatley proved them wrong by publishing Poems on
Various Subjects in 1773. Many believed that she did not
author the poems, but her owner John Wheatley supported
her claims. How else did Phillis Wheatley influence America?
Phyllis Wheatley was a female slave and poet. Her first book, Poems on Various Subjects,
was published in 1773. It was one of the earliest books of poetry published by an AfricanAmerican, and the first published by an African-American female slave. Her poems were
mostly about her religion and how it influenced her life.
Wheatley, P. (1773). Poems on Various Subjects,Religious and Moral. . .
Portrait facing Title Page . Library of Congress: Exhibitions, American
Treasures of the Library of Congress.
Phyllis Wheatley was a female slave and poet. Her
first book, Poems on Various Subjects, was
published in 1773. It was one of the earliest books
of poetry published by an African-American, and
the first published by an African-American female
slave. Her poems were mostly about her religion
and how it influenced her life.
Wheatley, J. (1772). Poems on various subjects,
religious and moral. (Image 8). Library of
Congress: American Memory, African
American Odyssey.
Many of Wheatley’s poems dealt with issues
that were not related to her personal condition
as a slave. Her poems were very similar, in
subject and style, to those of other poets of
that time. In this poem, for example, she talks
about King George III of Britain.
Wheatley did not speak directly about being a
slave, and her writing very carefully reflected
the unwritten social rules of the times. Many
historians and literary scholars do not,
therefore, see her as an activist. She is
remembered for her success as a poet and for
being a noteworthy, literate, enslaved AfricanAmerican in an era in which few AfricanAmericans were literate.
Wheatley, J. (1772) Poems on various subjects,
religious and moral. (Image 19). Library
of Congress: American
Memory, African American Odyssey.
Although Phyllis Wheatley did not share much of her life as a slave in her poetry, she did
inspire other African-Americans to write about their experiences. One was Olaudah Equiano, a
former slave who wrote down his life-story. He became an important leader in the fight against
slavery, and his autobiography became one the abolitionist movement’s most important texts.
Some scholars have recently questioned the truth of some his stories, however.
Equiano, O. (1794). The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the
African. Library of Congress: American Memory, African American Odyssey.