Phillys Wheatley "To the Right Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth" Flashcards
Who wrote “To the Right Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth”?
Phillys Wheatley
Time period and relevant historical context “To the Right and Honorable William”
published 1773, Wheatley first woman of African descent publish, formerly enslaved by ‘progressive’ slavers who taught her to read, classicist, dedicated poem to Earl of Dartmouth the secretary of state of the colonies at the time of publication
Plot Summary “To the Right and Honorable William”
Wheatley directly addresses the Earl of Dartmouth appealing to his ‘good’ nature as a less tyrannical man than his predecessor. Suggests her love of freedom comes from her experiences as an enslaved woman, beseeching him to lend his support to freeing the colonies and the enslaved people
Key Characters “To the Right and Honorable William”
Wheatley
Earl of Dartmouth
Notable formal or stylistic elements “To the Right and Honorable William”
Direct address
Personification/deification of freedom
Biblical language
Rhetorical question
Emotional appeal/moral persuasion
Patriotic laguage
Important themes and recurring motifs “To the Right and Honorable William”
Freedom as a goddess, deity, being of light (sun)
Hypocrisy of American Tyranny (slavery)
Divine justice and moral leadership
Literary ‘schools’ or genres; analytical concepts; relevance to history “To the Right and Honorable William”
lyric poem, perhaps early sentimental appeal, abolitionist / revolutionary
What is this from: “She shines supreme, while hated faction dies:
Soon as appear’d the Goddess long desir’d,
Sick at the view, she languish’d and expir’d;
Thus from the splendors of the morning light
The owl in sadness seeks the caves of night.” (lines 10-14)
“To the Right Honorable William Earl of Dartmouth”
What is this from: “By feeling hearts alone best understood,
I, young in life, by seeming cruel fate
Was snatch’d from Afric’s fancy’d happy seat:
What pangs excruciating must molest,
What sorrows labour in my parent’s breast?
Steel’d was that soul and by no misery mov’d
That from a father seiz’d his babe belov’d” (Lines 23-29)
“To the Right Honorable William Earl of Dartmouth”
What is this from: “But to conduct to heav’ns refulgent fane,
May fiery coursers sweep th’ ethereal plain,
And bear thee upwards to that blest abode,
Where, like the prophet, thou shalt find thy God.” (Lines 40-43)
“To the Right Honorable William Earl of Dartmouth”
Other useful hints ID “To the Right and Honorable William”
uses iambic pentameter and coupled rhyme scheme
direct address
patriotic and biblical language
