Writing Assignment: In a short essay, compare the purposes of the poems by Bradstreet and Wheatley. Compare their attitudes toward submission to superior powers, and argue in support of the poet you feel displays the strongest personal character, based only on the information provided by the two poems.
Use the following reading and discussion guides to prepare for writing.
Reading Guide: Read both poems. Then read the poems again and think about the comments and questions.
Bradstreet addresses this poem to her father whom she regards as "truly honored" and "truly dear."
To whom does the word "worth" refer in lines 2-4 and what meanings does it have?
Why does she have difficulty repaying her father?
What is "this simple mite" she offers her father as payment?
Why does she feel indebted to her father?
Does she feel this gift is sufficient payment for her debt? / "To Her Father with Some Verses" (1678)
Anne Bradstreet
Most truly honored, and as truly dear,
If worth in me or ought I do appear,
Who can of right better demand the same
Than may your worthy self from whom it came?
The principal might yield a greater sum,
Yet handled ill, amounts but to this crumb;
My stock's so small I know not how to pay,
My bond remains in force unto this day;
Yet for part payment take this simple mite
Where nothing's to be had, kings loose their right.
Such is my debt I may not say forgive,
But as I can, I'll pay it while I live;
Such is my bond, none can discharge but I,
Yet paying is not paid until I die.
Comments and Questions
Wheatley addresses a general audience on her attitude toward coming to America.
To whom does Wheatley feel indebted and why?
What specific benefit came to her by coming to America?
What evidence of prejudice does she see in her fellow Americans?
What is her defense against such prejudice? / "On Being Brought from Africa to America" (1773)
Phillis Wheatley
Twas mercy brought me from my pagan land,
Taught my benighted soul to understand
That there's a God, that there's a Savior too:
Once I redemption neither sought nor knew.
Some view our sable race with scornful eye.
"Their color is a diabolic dye."
Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain,
May be refined, and join the angelic train.
Group Discussion Guide: When you finish reading the two poems discuss the questions beside the poems with a small group of classmates. Continue your discussion by responding to the following questions:
1. What are the purposes of "To Her Father with Some Verses" and "On Being Brought from Africa to America"? What do these purposes and the content of the poems reveal about the two women and their circumstances in life?
2. Both poets feel indebtedness toward a superior power. What do you think of their submissive attitudes? Are these attitudes of thankfulness to a superior power appropriate? Are they admirable? Does attitude affect the tone in each poem?
3. Both poets write in an elevated style, using rhymed couplets in iambic pentameter. Is one poem more effective in its language and metrics than the other? Is one more powerful or eloquent than the other? Explain and support your choice.
4. Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672) and Phillis Wheatley (c. 1753-1784) wrote a century apart, but they were the first two women poets to publish in America. Bradstreet was married at 16, and two years later, along with her father and husband, came to America as a member of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Bradstreet's father gave her an education that far surpassed that of most women of her day. Wheatley was born in Africa and brought to America as a slave in 1761. Her owners were kind to her, and when Wheatley was taught to read and write, they discovered she was unusually talented. Wheatley knew Latin, read the major English poets of her time, and was well-known as a talented poet in Massachusetts during her lifetime. What aspects of Bradstreet and Wheatley's lives probably made it difficult for them to become published writers? Why do you think they succeeded?