Phillis Wheatley and her Themes
...r own with candles and time to write. The Wheatleys, who saw themselves as benign or anti-slavery in their politics, continued teaching her how to read and write in both English and Latin. As a favored servant, she had access to her master's library and voraciously studied the great works of history and poetry from ancient and modern times. She not only received an education which set her apart from other slaves, she received a better education than many if not most white girls. Phillis began writing poems as a young woman and gradually began to see her poetry as her avenue of expression in literate white culture. She then was used as a showpiece for the Wheatleys as she was made to recite her poetry during their social gatherings. Wheatley's first poem, 'On Messrs. Hussey and Coffin,' published in 1767, was a religious piece about two sailors who narrowly escaped drowning; its theme was that through the will of God alone the sailors survived. Over the next five years Wheatley accumulated about 30 poems which her master, John Wheatley, tried to help her publish as a book. This project was hampered by the skepticism of publishers, who did not believe that an African-American was capable of producing such correct and conventional verses. To dispel rumors of dishonesty, Wheatley took the extraordinary step of allowing herself to be examined by a committee of Boston's leading dignitaries, including the Governor and several eminent ministers, and they wrote a testimonial stating that they had examined her and believed that she really was the author of the poems concerned. Her book Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral was published in 1773. She was twenty years old. In 1773, Wheatley was manumitted and sent to London with members of her master's family. Here she met many outstanding figures, including Benjamin Franklin and the Countess of Huntington. In 1774 news arrived that Mrs. Wheatley was ill, and Phillis returned to Boston to nu...