# Poetry — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for Poetry by Sarah Louisa Forten Purvis.

- [The Grave of the Slave](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_20_se/chapters/the-grave-of-the-slave.md): The poem reflects on the death of a slave, finding solace in the grave as a release from suffering and oppression. It contrasts the slave's lonely burial with the peace and freedom death brings, suggesting that death is 
- [The Slave Girl's Address to Her Mother](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_20_se/chapters/the-slave-girl-s-address-to-her-mother.md): A slave girl comforts her weeping mother, urging faith in God's protection and justice despite their suffering and separation from home. She condemns the hypocrisy of American freedom, which tolerates slavery, and expres
- [Past Joys](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_20_se/chapters/past-joys.md): The poem reflects on the pain of losing loved ones and home, emphasizing that memory keeps them dear. It contrasts the speaker's own sorrow with the deeper, lasting grief of an enslaved African who has been forcibly sepa
- [Prayer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_20_se/chapters/prayer.md): The poem celebrates prayer as a sacred right that connects the soul to Christ, offering freedom and solace even to the enslaved. It describes how through prayer, 'Afric's children' can momentarily forget their grief, pai
- [The Slave](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_20_se/chapters/the-slave.md): A poem contrasting the American founders' fight for freedom with the ongoing oppression of enslaved people, questioning the nation's hypocrisy and calling for divine justice.

> 10 more chapter companions — [open a free preview](https://www.betterreads.dev/reader?bookId=poetry_20_se_915kb&preview=1) to unlock the rest.

- [The Farewell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_20_se/chapters/the-farewell.md)
- [A Mother’s Grief](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_20_se/chapters/a-mother-s-grief.md)
- [To the Hibernia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_20_se/chapters/to-the-hibernia.md)
- [Life](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_20_se/chapters/life.md)
- [The Separation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_20_se/chapters/the-separation.md)
- [My Country](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_20_se/chapters/my-country.md)
- [Hours of Childhood](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_20_se/chapters/hours-of-childhood.md)
- [An Appeal to Woman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_20_se/chapters/an-appeal-to-woman.md)
- [The Slave Girl’s Farewell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_20_se/chapters/the-slave-girl-s-farewell.md)
- [A Prayer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_20_se/chapters/a-prayer.md)

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_20_se/chapters