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Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral · Chapters

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Chapter companions for Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral by Phillis Wheatley.

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  1. Chapter 1

    Dedication

    Phillis Wheatley respectfully dedicates her collection of poems to the Right Honourable the Countess of Huntingdon, expressing her humility and devotion as a servant.

  2. Chapter 2

    Letter to the Publisher

    A letter from John Wheatley, Phillis Wheatley's master, to the publisher attesting to her remarkable intellectual achievements. He describes how she was brought from Africa at age seven or eight in 1761, learned English in sixteen months without formal schooling, could read difficult parts of the Bible, taught herself to write, and by 1765 wrote a letter to Reverend Occum. He also notes her progress in learning Latin.

  3. Chapter 3

    Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral

    This chapter presents a collection of poems by Phillis Wheatley, exploring themes of Christian redemption, classical and biblical allusions, and the moral and spiritual journey from enslavement to salvation. The poems reflect on divine providence, virtue, and the afterlife, often drawing on classical mythology and biblical narratives to convey moral guidance and consolation.

  4. Chapter 4

    To Maecenas

    The speaker addresses Maecenas, celebrating the power of classical poets like Homer and Virgil, while lamenting her own inability to match their genius. She reflects on the partial grace given to Terence, the only African poet celebrated in history, and asks Maecenas for his patronage and support.

  5. Chapter 5

    On Virtue

    The speaker addresses Virtue as a bright jewel and a queen, striving to comprehend and embrace it. Despite acknowledging that wisdom is beyond a fool's reach, the speaker refuses to despair, recognizing that Virtue is near and offers gentle embrace. The poem calls for Virtue to guide the speaker through youth, away from false joys, toward eternal bliss, and to teach a nobler strain, as Virtue is enthroned with Cherubs in the realms of day.

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  1. Chapter 6To the University of Cambridge, in New-England
  2. Chapter 7To the King’s Most Excellent Majesty. 1768
  3. Chapter 8On Being Brought from Africa to America
  4. Chapter 9On the Death of the Rev. Dr. Sewell. 1769
  5. Chapter 10On the Death of the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield. 1770
  6. Chapter 11On the Death of a Young Lady of Five Years of Age
  7. Chapter 12On the Death of a Young Gentleman
  8. Chapter 13To a Lady on the Death of Her Husband
  9. Chapter 14Goliath of Gath
  10. Chapter 15Thoughts on the Works of Providence
  11. Chapter 16To a Lady on the Death of Three Relations
  12. Chapter 17To a Clergyman on the Death of His Lady
  13. Chapter 18An Hymn to the Morning
  14. Chapter 19An Hymn to the Evening
  15. Chapter 20Isaiah 63:1–8
  16. Chapter 21On Recollection
  17. Chapter 22On Imagination
  18. Chapter 23A Funeral Poem on the Death of C. E. An Infant of Twelve Months
  19. Chapter 24To Captain H⸺d, of the 65th Regiment
  20. Chapter 25To the Right Honourable William, Earl of Dartmouth, His Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for North-America, etc.
  21. Chapter 26Ode to Neptune
  22. Chapter 27I
  23. Chapter 28II
  24. Chapter 29III
  25. Chapter 30To a Lady on Her Coming to North-America with Her Son, for the Recovery of Her Health
  26. Chapter 31To a Lady on Her Remarkable Preservation in an Hurricane in North-Carolina
  27. Chapter 32To a Lady and Her Children, on the Death of Her Son and Their Brother
  28. Chapter 33To a Gentleman and Lady on the Death of the Lady’s Brother and Sister, and a Child of the Name of Avis, Aged One Year
  29. Chapter 34On the Death of Dr. Samuel Marshall. 1771
  30. Chapter 35To a Gentleman on His Voyage to Great-Britain for the Recovery of His Health
  31. Chapter 36To the Rev. Dr. Thomas Amory, on Reading His Sermons on Daily Devotion, in Which That Duty Is Recommended and Assisted
  32. Chapter 37On the Death of J. C. An Infant
  33. Chapter 38An Hymn to Humanity
  34. Chapter 39I
  35. Chapter 40II
  36. Chapter 41III
  37. Chapter 42IV
  38. Chapter 43V
  39. Chapter 44Chapter VI
  40. Chapter 45To the Honourable T. H. Esq.; On the Death of His Daughter
  41. Chapter 46Niobe in Distress for Her Children Slain by Apollo, from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Book VI and from a View of the Painting of Mr. Richard Wilson
  42. Chapter 47To S. M. A Young African Painter, on Seeing His Works
  43. Chapter 48To His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, on the Death of His Lady. March 24, 1773
  44. Chapter 49A Farewel to America. To Mrs. S. W.
  45. Chapter 50I
  46. Chapter 51II
  47. Chapter 52III
  48. Chapter 53IV
  49. Chapter 54V
  50. Chapter 55Chapter VI
  51. Chapter 56VII
  52. Chapter 57VIII
  53. Chapter 58IX
  54. Chapter 59X
  55. Chapter 60XI
  56. Chapter 61XII
  57. Chapter 62XIII
  58. Chapter 63A Rebus, by I. B.
  59. Chapter 64I
  60. Chapter 65II
  61. Chapter 66III
  62. Chapter 67An Answer to the Rebus, by the Author of These Poems
  63. Chapter 68Endnotes