Phillis Wheatley (1753 – 5 December 1784 / Gambia)

Of course this poem is sarcastic! Even without the italics, it is hard not to understand it. Those previous comments show that slavery still lacks understanding and interest from new generations, or that intolerance prevails so much so that it is still believed that African American felt thanksful from having been kidnapped from cultures as rich or even richer than what was 17th,18th or 19Th America. That torture and rapes have been forgotten and their oppressors thanked for having brought them the enlightment of Christianism and American values. Seems that the Myth of the Old South is still alive, and it saddens me to hear such comments, even well meant. Although any comment has a right to be ewpressed, obviously, and we are all here to make mistakes and learn, it still shocks me a bit... This poem reminds me of a text written by Montesquieu: De l'Esclavage des Negres... Bonne lecture!

First of all, Phillis Wheatley is a SHE, not a he. Second, can you not hear the sarcasm in her voice? I suggest that you find another version of this poem... in the original, words were italicized, giving them extra emphasis on the satirical tones behind them. The words are Pagan, Saviour, Christians, Negros, and Cain. Re-read it looking for the italics and there is a dramatic difference. And look for the sarcasm... you'll see it if you look for it.

The poet is not suffering from an inferiority complex but rather a great feeling of self worth, nor is he saying that the slave trade was the 'mercy' that transported him from the 'pagan land', but rather he is saying that, out of something so cruel and inhumane as slavery, he found salvation, he found Christ. It is this Salvation that has given him inner peace and a great feeling of self worth. He is not condemning those that are not Christians but rather, he feels sorry for them, he is thinking about his eternal soul, not the flesh that is his body. Pagan land refers to the fact that Africa has alot of pagan dieties that they worship and he has seen the light and is celebrating that. He feels that if he was never enslaved, he would have never found freedom so absolute which is the freedom of the soul, and thats why he uses the word 'Mercy', to explain the mysterious ways in which God works.

The poet was, it seems, suffering from a terrible inferiority complex during his lifetime. I think it was not mercy but cruelty that transplanted him from what he calls the 'Pagan Land.' Further, not being a Christian does not imply that the person is not worthy of being human because God lives in all our hearts irrespective of color, caste, creed, or religion. So it was wrong of him to say that he did not know redemption until he came to America.