Phillis Wheatley: Poems Lesson Plan

What are the ways that Wheatley refers to the personal history of an enslaved person in these poems?

In "To the Right Honorable William …," the third stanza explains that the speaker (perhaps Wheatley) was kidnapped from Africa as a young child and that she hopes no other families would ever have to endure such grief as her parents likely did. This refers to the speaker's state of being enslaved, and shows some resistance to the idea. "On Being Brought from Africa to America," by contrast, makes it seem as if the speaker is almost grateful to be enslaved, because being brought from Africa to America allowed her to be introduced to Christian salvation. Some students are likely...