ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos

Women's Literature 27 Phillis Wheatley: Who was she? 55 Views


Share It!


Description:

Phillis Wheatley was, regrettably, not a billionaire bread mogul... what a waste of a name. On the bright side, though, she was the first African American poet to be published.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:00

Thank you We sneak Phillis wheatley who was she Eyelash

00:10

So we're trying with phyllis wheatley who's an ex slaves

00:14

who is the first first african american to publish a

00:18

book of poems that's pretty sickening absolutely Although of course

00:21

given the nature of the times she did all of

00:23

this under the auspices of this white patron woman who

00:27

endorsed her So we talked earlier about how mary rawlinson

00:31

was endorsed by cotton mather allow that power she gained

00:34

was actually through him phillis wheatley zina somewhere boat Where

00:38

like because society has just adventure in such an amazing

00:41

way she has to gain authority by getting a white

00:44

woman to want to speak on her behalf and advocate

00:45

for her the interesting thing about phyllis wheatley Is she

00:48

more or less I think embraces that So her poems

00:52

are about moving that she is a christian who like

00:58

the white americans that surround her and that she understands

01:02

neoclassical literature Jai references neo classical literature She loves it

01:07

so she doesn't seem to feel add about needing to

01:10

go through white people Teo tree what she wants and

01:14

she generally wants to be like them Or at least

01:17

she needs to prove To them that black people care

01:20

and they have the same skills that they dio because

01:23

that is used the biting his white people as justification

01:26

for slavery rate So whites are saying like blacks are

01:28

less intelligent they're incapable of learning Therefore it makes a

01:31

lot of sun So we don't even get them through

01:33

school right Where is she By showing that she's a

01:34

classical education by showing that she has mastered these very

01:38

new classical forms was demonstrating that black people have the

01:41

same capacity to learn that white people dio And therefore

01:44

that not allowing them to learn is a choice that

01:47

reflects badly on white people instead of just the reality

01:50

of the situation Where did wheatley receive her education What

01:56

point is wheatley make to dismantle racist thought The general

02:00

attitude of society toward african american slaves Teach me a

02:08

better stray no nobler lay o thou and thrown with 00:02:11.903 --> [endTime] tara bs in the realms of day

Up Next

The Importance of Being Earnest Summary
123038 Views

They say that honesty is the best policy, but Jack lies about his identity and still gets the girl. Does that mean we should all lie to get what we...

Related Videos

The Giver Summary
105893 Views

Ever wish you could remember everything that you ever studied? How about everything that everyone has ever studied? Yeah, pretty sure our brains ju...

Invisible Man (Ellison)
1818 Views

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is an American classic. Hope you're not expecting any exciting shower scenes though. It's not that kind of book.

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
1256 Views

Do not go gentle into that good night. In fact, if it's past your curfew, don't go at all into that good night. You just stay in your good bed and...

Quotes: A fool's paradise
294 Views

Find out the meaning behind "a fool's paradise."