Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral · Question
How does Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral develop the theme of Grief and Consolation?
Answer
Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral by Phillis Wheatley develops Grief and Consolation across the chapters the companion marks for this theme.
The collection frequently addresses personal and communal grief, offering religious consolation by redirecting mourners' focus to heavenly reunion and divine will, as in 'To a Lady on the Death of Her Husband' and 'On the Death of a Young Lady of Five Years of Age.'
The poet mourns the loss but finds comfort in Sewell's salvation and the promise of heaven.
The poem expresses communal grief over Whitefield's loss but offers consolation through the vision of his eternal glory and the hope of reunion.
The speaker directly addresses parental grief, urging its transformation into grateful praise and hopeful acceptance.
Evidence in the book
- On the Death of the Rev. Dr. Sewell. 1769
The poet mourns the loss but finds comfort in Sewell's salvation and the promise of heaven.
- On the Death of the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield. 1770
The poem expresses communal grief over Whitefield's loss but offers consolation through the vision of his eternal glory and the hope of reunion.
- On the Death of a Young Lady of Five Years of Age
The speaker directly addresses parental grief, urging its transformation into grateful praise and hopeful acceptance.
- On the Death of a Young Gentleman
The speaker addresses the parents' anguish, offering spiritual comfort and urging them to look to God.
- To a Lady on the Death of Her Husband
The speaker directly addresses the mourner, telling her to cease tears and cast away anguish, offering the hope of heavenly reunion as comfort.
- To a Lady on the Death of Three Relations
The speaker urges the mourner to cease weeping and find hope in the eternal joys awaiting the departed.
- To a Clergyman on the Death of His Lady
The narrator urges the clergyman to move from sorrow to heavenly resignation, offering the muse's comfort.
- A Funeral Poem on the Death of C. E. An Infant of Twelve Months
The speaker consoles the parents by reframing their loss as a gain for the child, urging them to find comfort in faith and the hope of reunion.
