USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Poems on Various Subjects revealed that Wheatley’s favorite poetic form was the couplet, both iambic pentameter and heroic. More than one-third of her canon is composed of elegies, poems on the deaths of noted persons, friends, or even strangers whose loved ones employed the poet.

Detailed explanation-2: -In 1773, Phillis Wheatley accomplished something that no other woman of her status had done. When her book of poetry, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, appeared, she became the first American slave, the first person of African descent, and only the third colonial American woman to have her work published.

Detailed explanation-3: -During the peak of her writing career, she wrote a well-received poem praising the appointment of George Washington as the commander of the Continental Army. However, she believed that slavery was the issue that prevented the colonists from achieving true heroism.

Detailed explanation-4: -Her poetry was based on classical themes, Christianity, the ‘new world’ of America and her African heritage. She also wrote about her experiences of slavery and spoke out against it at public meetings.