Name Instructor Course Date Biographical Criticism Phillis Wheatley was among the first black women to publish a book. In her poem, she expresses her attitude towards Christianity and slavery. In the 1700, slavery business had thrived, and Africans were shipped and sold to wealthy land owners. Wheatley was a victim of the slavery trade and when she was shipped to America where she was sold as a slave. Luckily, Wheatley was taken in by a good family who taught her Christianity and how to read and write. In her poem, she shares her experience as a slave and Christian and shows that whether black or white all human beings are equal. In the first line, she uses the word mercy to bring out the illusion of God’s forgiveness and to show the kindness of her owners. Wheatley was among the few slaves who had the privilege of learning. Her slave owners gave her their family name and educated her (Skipp 17). When she became of age, they freed her and allowed her to get married. The first line shows her positive attitude towards slavery. She was grateful that she became a slave where she learnt how to write and read and become a Christian. The word benighted used in the second line of the poem shows her state as a slave and her race. Benighted is a state of darkness, and the poet was a black woman, and a slave. The word benighted represents her …show more content…
Diabolic die was a triangle of trade where slaves were placed at the bottom. The words express the moral darkness that the whites associated the blacks with. Diabolic die was a taint of the devil, and it showed that the blacks had a moral darkness that prevented them from becoming Christians. According to Wheatley, she was grateful that the whites had introduced Christianity to her, but she was against the way the viewed the black. She believes that the whites should not deny the blacks the right to become Christians by aligning Christianity with