Phillis Wheatley: Complete Writings

Phillis Wheatley, Complete Writings is a poetry collection by Phillis Wheatley, a slave sold to an American family who provided her with a full education. She published her first poem in 1767, bringing the family considerable fame. Critics note that Wheatley’s writing was ahead of its time; her style of poetry shows that she anticipated the nineteenth-century Romantic Movement. Originally published in 1773, Penguin Classics first published a complete compilation of Wheatley’s poetry, letters, and musings written during the eighteenth century for the mass market in 2001.

Complete Writings begins with a comprehensive introduction to the girl’s backstory. She arrived in Massachusetts from West Africa in 1761, and she was sold to the Wheatley family. At the time of her arrival, she was only seven or eight years old. She was named after the Phillis, the ship that brought her to America, and she helped the Wheatley’s raise their children.

Mrs. Mary Wheatley recognized the girl’s affinity for languages at an early age. Under Mary’s tutelage, Wheatley learned everything from Latin to English, and she carefully studied classical writers such as John Milton and Virgil. Milton became one of her favorite writers, inspiring her to become a poet. Her poems, hymns, elegies, and stories featured in some of Boston’s most popular newspapers.



Complete Writings includes writings on numerous religious and moral topics. Few of Wheatley’s writings contain references to her own life. Critics note that she was reluctant to write about her own experiences because she had conflicting feelings about slavery, religion, and faith. She did not want her own feelings to overshadow or overcomplicate her writing.

Although Wheatley seldom wrote about herself and her own experiences of slavery, Complete Writings includes one of the few poems she penned on the subject. The poem, “On being brought from Africa to America,” highlights Wheatley’s contradictory feelings about Christianity and slavery. On the one hand, she despises slavery for its cruelty, but on the other hand, slavery introduced her to the wonders of Christianity.

Wheatley dedicates several poems and hymns to God and Christianity. Her interest in religion was no doubt encouraged by the Wheatleys, who were members of the New South Congregational Church. One such hymn is “A Hymn to the Evening.” Through classical and mythical imagery, the poem describes the grandeur of sunset and how it reveals to us the glory of God. The speaker wishes that she, and everyone else, could seize a piece of this sunset and keep it close to their hearts forever.



Another example of writing dedicated to God is “A Hymn to the Morning.” As with “A Hymn to the Evening,” Wheatley uses the beauty of nature and the passage of time to show how God reveals His glory to us in daily life. Throughout all her writings, Wheatley blends the classical with the contemporary to reveal the timelessness of all things and the eternal nature of God. Wheatley found poetic inspiration through her closeness to God.

Critics believe that Wheatley’s use of classical allegories and metaphors set her apart from contemporary writers. Wheatley’s work is a blend of the mythological and modern that few adopted in eighteenth-century America or Europe. As this blend of grandeur and the contemporary is found in later Romantic Movement writing, critics believe this is evidence of Wheatley’s writing being ahead of her fellows.

Although Wheatley dedicated many poems and hymns to religious subjects, she also used her talents to campaign for political change. As her popularity and her command of the English language grew, she began writing letters addressed to monarchs and political leaders. One of Wheatley’s most famous writings is “To His Excellency George Washington,” in which she honors Washington for his dedication to freedom and justice.



“To the King’s Most Excellent Majesty” is another such example of Wheatley’s political writing. In this letter, Wheatley praises King George III for repealing the Stamp Act, which eliminated the tax payable on posting and exchanging certain documents. “To the Right Honourable William, Earl of Dartmouth, his Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State of North America,” is unusual because it celebrates a Colonial appointment. Wheatley is celebrated as much for the diversity of her subject matter as she is for her talent.

Complete Writings includes Wheatley’s tribute to George Whitefield, an evangelist, arguably her most famous work. The elegy, “On the Death of George Whitefield,” describes Whitefield as a man of honor who wanted nothing but the best for both America and Africa. Strongly believing in the power of the written and spoken word, Wheatley praises Whitefield for his command of both.

The writings included in Complete Writings demonstrate Wheatley’s fondness for literary style. Her poems and letters are deceptively simple as constructed, and they leave readers with as many questions as answers. Wheatley’s writings encourage readers to contemplate God, freedom, human nature, and how the power of language unites us all.