Wednesday, September 4, 2019
Does Phyllis Wheatley use religious references to warn her readers abou
Does Phyllis Wheatley use religious references to warn her readers about slavery and sin and its repercussions? à à à à à Throughout the poem, ââ¬Å"To the University of Cambridge, in New Englandâ⬠, Phyllis Wheatley suggest that she accepted the colonial idea of slavery, by first describing her captivity, even though this poem has a subversive double meaning that has sent an anti-slavery message. Wheatleyââ¬â¢s choice of words indicates that her directed audience was educated at a sophisticated level because of the language chosen. Her audience was assumingly also familiar with the bible because of the religious references used. The bible was used as a reference because of its accessibility. Wheatley uses religious references to subversively warn her readers about slavery and its repercussions and to challenge her readerââ¬â¢s morals. à à à à à As the poem starts out, Wheatley describes being taken from her ââ¬Å"native shoreâ⬠to ââ¬Å"the land of errors.â⬠Her native shore was the western coast of Africa, and she was taken to the ââ¬Å"land of errorsâ⬠which represents America. America is seen in her eyes as the land of errors because of slavery. Wheatley is acknowledging right off the bat that slavery is wrong. Wheatley then goes on and references the ââ¬Å"Egyptian gloomâ⬠which is italicized. The italicization forces the readers to focus and reflect on ââ¬Å"Egyptianâ⬠and itââ¬â¢s possible Smith-Joseph 2 meaning. The ââ¬Å"Egyptian gloomâ⬠symbolizes Egypt and one of the most famou...
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