AP Success - AP US History: Phillis Wheatley on Tyranny & Slavery
Source 1
". . . No more, America, in mournful strain Of wrongs, and grievance unredress’d complain, No longer shall thou dread the iron chain, Which wanton Tyranny with lawless hand Had made, and with it meant t’enslave the land. Should you, my lord, while you peruse my song, Wonder from whence my love of Freedom sprung, Whence flow these wishes for the common good, By feeling hearts alone best understood, I, young in life, by seeming cruel fate Was snatch’d from Afric’s fancy’d happy seat: What pangs excruciating must molest, What sorrows labour in my parent’s breast? Steel’d was that soul and by no misery mov’d That from a father seiz’d his babe belov’d: Such, such my case. And can I then but pray Others may never feel tyrannic sway?"
Wheatley, Phillis. "Poem on tyranny and slavery," 1772.
Question 1
What is the primary theme of Phillis Wheatley's poem?
Question 2
Phillis Wheatley's reference to 'Afric’s fancy’d happy seat' is an example of:
Question 3
The line 'No longer shall thou dread the iron chain' suggests that Wheatley believed:
Question 4
Wheatley's poem can be seen as a reflection of which broader historical context?
Question 5
What does Wheatley's poem suggest about her own experiences and perspective?
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