The Age Of African American Literature - 927 Words

Wheatley was the first African American to have her work published and is known as the mother of African American literature. Wheatley was brought into slavery and she was very fortunate to have masters that allowed her to learn to read and write. In the 18th century, it was very rare to find an African American who was educated and with Whitley being a female it was even more surprising. Her vernacular was very broad and she was not timid about letting her voice be heard. In fact, you can imagine the type of women she was by reading His Excellency General Washington. Whitley’s poems mostly consist of themes that revolved around Christianity, slavery and abstract ideas which were based on her personal beliefs, experiences, and ideas. The belief that the power of poetry is immeasurable was her inspiration while writing. After reading a few poems by Whitley I realized her work is still relevant and by break down each piece of work I can find inspiration. Throughout this paper I am going to analyze Wheatley works and also find was to see how her work relates to modern times. The poem â€Å"To S.M., a Young African Painter on Seeing His Work† is one Wheatley less popular pieces of work even though it contain a very inspiring message. The way she used detailed and descriptive words in such an angelic ways was breath taking. Upon viewing the artist’s work, Wheatley was inspired and therefore wrote a poem about what she saw. The amount of enlightenment that she absorbed is expressedShow MoreRelatedAfrican American Literature Toni Morrisons Essay Black Matters667 Words   |  3 PagesAfrican American Literature Toni Morrisons Essay Black Matters In Black Matters, Toni Morrison discusses knowledge and how it seems to take on a Eurocentric standpoint. The knowledge she discusses is the traditional literature that is unshaped by the four-hundred-year-old presence of the first Africans and then African-Americans in the United States (Morrison 310). 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