On Being Brought from Africa to America

Quiz: "On Being Brought from Africa to America" by Phillis Wheatley

1. Recall – Form & Context: "On Being Brought from Africa to America" is a very short poem. Approximately how many lines does it contain, and what century was it published in?

1. Recall – Speaker & Biography: Who is the speaker of the poem, and what significant historical distinction did its author hold in American literary history?

1. Recall – Key Image: What term does Wheatley use to refer to black skin color in a respectful, dignified way — and what does that word literally mean?

1. Recall – Key Image: What biblical figure is invoked near the end of the poem, and how had some people in Wheatley's era misused this figure in theological arguments?

1. Comprehension – Tone: The poem's opening lines appear grateful and devout, but the overall tone is described as complex. How does the tone shift as the poem progresses, and where is this shift most strongly felt?

1. Comprehension – Symbolism: What does the phrase "angelic train" symbolize in the poem, and how does it support Wheatley's central argument?

1. Comprehension – Language Strategy: Why does Wheatley use phrases like "pagan land" and "benighted soul" to describe Africa and her former self, even though these terms reflect colonial prejudice?

1. Analysis – Rhetoric & Audience: Wheatley uses the word "Remember" as a direct command near the poem's end. Who is the intended audience of this command, and why is addressing them directly a bold rhetorical choice?

1. Analysis – The "Diabolic Dye" Phrase: Wheatley includes a phrase that was an actual slur of her era, suggesting dark skin was a mark of evil. How does her presentation of this phrase function as a critique rather than an endorsement of that racist belief?

1. Analysis – Themes: The poem engages with themes of faith, freedom, and identity simultaneously. Explain how Wheatley uses the language and moral standards of Christianity to argue for the spiritual equality — and by extension, the humanity — of Black people.

Answer Key

1. The poem is eight lines long and was published in the 18th century (1773), in Wheatley's collection Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral.

1. The speaker is an enslaved young woman (Wheatley herself, in a personal voice). Phillis Wheatley was the first African American and one of the first American women to publish a book of poetry.

1. Wheatley uses the word "sable" to refer to her people with dignity. It literally means black, and she chooses it to acknowledge race respectfully while avoiding the derogatory language common in her time.

1. The biblical figure Cain is invoked. Some pro-slavery theologians had misappropriated Cain's "mark" as a justification for enslavement, falsely claiming it represented dark skin and that Black Africans were his cursed descendants.

1. The poem opens with a tone of apparent gratitude and devout acceptance of Christianity. The tone sharpens into social critique in the final couplet, where Wheatley directly challenges white Christians — making it the poem's most pointed and striking moment.

1. The "angelic train" — a procession of angels entering heaven — symbolizes complete spiritual equality in the afterlife. It supports Wheatley's argument that if heaven is free from racial hierarchy, then Black souls are just as worthy of salvation as white ones.

1. Wheatley uses this colonial language strategically to engage her white Christian audience on their own terms. By adopting their framework, she makes her subsequent challenge harder to dismiss, building her case from within the moral standards her audience already claimed to uphold.

1. The command is directed at white Christians. Addressing them directly is bold because it positions Wheatley — an enslaved woman — as a moral authority issuing a reprimand to those who held social and legal power over her, using their own religious beliefs as the grounds for the challenge.

1. By presenting the phrase as language to be scrutinized (drawing attention to it as a toxic piece of racist theology), Wheatley exposes and critiques the false logic behind it rather than accepting it. She frames it as a belief system that contradicts genuine Christian values of equal salvation.

1. Wheatley argues that if Christianity teaches universal salvation, then Black people — equally capable of faith and redemption — must be recognized as fully human and spiritually equal. She turns the colonizers' own religious language into a tool of resistance, making it logically and morally inconsistent for her audience to accept Christian doctrine while denying Black humanity.