Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral · Theme
Race and Identity
How Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral develops Race and Identity.
Wheatley confronts racial prejudice and asserts the spiritual equality of African people, using her own identity as an 'Ethiop' or 'Afric's muse' to challenge racist assumptions, as in 'On Being Brought from Africa to America' and 'To S. M. A Young African Painter.'
Where it surfaces
- Letter to the Publisher
Phillis's African origins and her mastery of English and Latin challenge contemporary racial stereotypes about intellectual capacity.
- To Maecenas
The speaker questions why only Terence among 'Afric's sable race' received poetic grace, directly engaging with themes of racial identity and literary recognition.
- On Being Brought from Africa to America
Wheatley addresses racial prejudice directly, asserting that Black people can be saved and join the angelic train despite scornful views.