How does Phillis Wheatley raise her black woman’s voice in the poem “On Being Brought from American to America”?

                                                                                                             

MASTER’S DEGREE IN ENGLISH (MEG-18)

American Novel

ASSIGNMENT 

Course Code: MEG-18

3. How does Phillis Wheatley raise her black woman’s voice in the poem “On Being Brought from American to America”?

In "On Being Brought from Africa to America," Phillis Wheatley uses her voice as a black woman to subvert the dominant narrative of her time that suggested that Black people were inferior and less deserving of human rights. Wheatley, who was herself an enslaved African brought to America as a child, turns the expectations of her time on their head by asserting her humanity and her worth as an individual.

The poem begins with the line "Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land," which acknowledges the fact that she was brought to America against her will, but also suggests that there was a greater force at work that enabled her to survive and thrive despite the horrors of slavery. Wheatley then goes on to say that being enslaved in America has actually been a positive experience for her, as it has allowed her to learn about Christianity and be saved from her "benighted soul."

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