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Like many of her poetic counterparts, Phyllis Wheatley lived and wrote during an era where she did not have the privilege of providing information for her own people.At this time, very few African Americans have the intelligence to read their work, and an even smaller population of African Americans is wealthy enough to buy a copy of their work.
Consequently, Wheatley was forced to keep her true thoughts hidden because of the buyers and readers of her work.Due to her audience which consisted of wealthy and noteworthy White men, Wheatley was not given the opportunity to blatantly state her feelings on most subjects, especially slavery.
To the untrained and ignorant eye, Wheatley's poem "On Imagination," published in 1770, appears to be an elegantly worded expression of one's feelings on the power of simply opening the mind.However, upon further investigation, this piece of literature serves as a powerful message revealing her ideals on slavery.Throughout the poem, Phyllis Wheatley uses the technique of subversion to discuss her method of escaping slavery while still being held captive.Through her dialogue on the power of imagination, Wheatley conveys the idea that any African American can "escape slavery," if only for a minute period of time.In "On Imagination," Wheatley subversively states that even though slavery is a horrid institution that destroys the body, liberation is purely a state of mind.
In her poem "On Imagination," Phyllis Wheatley uses various forms of symbolism and purposeful diction to soften the blow of her true emotions.In the poem's opening stanza, Wheatley immediately subdues any questionable reactions that the reader might develop.She begins by empowering an inanimate object, "Thy various works, imperial queen, we see / How bright their forms! How deck'd with pomp by thee! / Thy wond'rous acts in beauteous order stand, / And all attest how potent is thine hand" (lines 1-4).Here, Wheatley gives Imagination the title of "imperial queen."In this statement, she writes Imagination into existence as a woman with undeniable power.Wheatley has already deadened the senses of her audience.She understands that the mindset of her audience will not recognize something that does not exist in the physical realm as something powerful, nor will they acknowledge a woman as having that type of power.Upon the opening of the poem, Wheatley has already subversively forced her audience to overlook the powerful message found in her work.
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This technique is again seen within the concluding lines of the first stanza.Similar to the aforementioned instance, Wheatley uses delicate diction to slip in her true emotions on slavery."Now here, now there, the roving Fancy flies, / Till some lov'd objects strikes her wand'ring eyes," (lines -10).In this instance, Wheatley gives again gives the audience a sense of security.By referencing the activity of a person being struck as punishment for disobedience, she has relaxed the senses of her readers, making them "feel at home."With her readers now relaxed, Wheatley immediately attacks."Whose silken fetters all the senses bind, / And soft captivity involves the mind" (lines -1).Here, Wheatley is able to speak on the unspeakable simply because of her choice of wording.She uses the phrases "silken fetters" and "soft captivity" to relay her accounts of slavery.
In using these descriptions, she has undoubtedly portrayed the institute of slavery as not being harsh or severe at all, deeming the experience to be a gentle bondage.Her discussion in this manner expresses her beliefs that slavery is escapable in the mental realm.Opposite to the ruthless quality of the physical aspects of slavery, she states that the mind is enslaved by a much weaker, "soft captivity."Consequently, this facet of slavery can be broken and beaten, giving a temporary liberation to the enslaved African American.
Another situation in which Wheatley uses flowery phrases to disguise a deeper ideal is found within the second stanza.The author takes the reader on a journey, flying through the sky with Imagination."We on thy pinions can surpass the wind, / And leave the rolling universe behind…There in one view we grasp the mighty whole, / Or with new worlds amaze th' unbounded soul" (lines 17-).Here, Wheatley equates Imagination with an eagle-like creature that knows no limitations.She states that while on the wings of Imagination, anything else is demoted from whatever position of power it has acquired, and it becomes a lesser creature, even the wind.In this same instance, Wheatley also deals with the ideal of freedom through symbolism.She associates the person that enjoys imagination, the individual that has the ability to mentally escape the hardships of slavery as the "unbounded soul."In this short phrase, Phyllis Wheatley speaks volumes; she says that the eternal component of the body has broken the shackles and has freed itself from
the bondage that plagues its counterparts.
In the third stanza of "On Imagination," Phyllis Wheatley uses seasonal imagery to convey her message.In this setting, she juxtaposes winter and springtime events.Wheatley says, "Though winter frowns to Fancy's raptured eyes, / The fields may flourish, and gay scenes arise…Fair Flora may resume her fragrant reign, / And with her flow'ry riches deck the plain" (lines -8).On the surface, the text says that the beauty of spring will not wilt in the face of the cold of winter.Concisely, it says that the cold of winter is weak in comparison to the willpower of spring.However, upon further investigation, many deeper ideals are revealed.One underlying message in this passage is that a pure heart will never fully succumb to a darkened heart, meaning that as long as the African American stays strong in the mind, he or she will never be defeated.The second underlying message says that pending death cannot kill the hopes and dreams of a people.In fact, in the midst of the expected death, unexpected magnificence can emerge.
In the final stanza, Phyllis Wheatley again uses flowery diction and symbolism to comment on the institution of slavery.As she says in the opening lines of the stanza, "Fancy might now her silken pinions try / To rise from earth and sweep th' expanse on high; / From Tithon's bed now might Aurora rise, / Her cheeks all glowing with celestial dies, / While a pure stream of light overflows the skies" (lines 40-45).Here, Wheatley discusses Greek mythology, including Tithon, a god, and Aurora, a goddess.This passage discusses Aurora acquiring a measure of power over Tithon, giving her the strength to remove herself from his bed, symbolizing that she is no longer the passive one in their relationship.In this stanza, the woman becomes a stronger being, obtaining a degree of power that was once absent.In the opening line of the poem, Imagination was given femininity.Therefore, this passage also displays the idea that Imagination's power of freeing the enslaved mind grows as each reader completes this poem;with every recitation of "On Imagination," more African Americans obtain a freedom within their own mind.
When great writers put their pen to paper, they write with a definite purpose.Nothing recorded in this poem was written in vain.The concept of achieving liberation in the mind is disguised extremely well.First, it is hidden in the manifestation of Imagination, a woman.Wheatley has stored an extremely powerful message in a stereotypically powerless vessel.The concept is later hidden in the skills of a seemingly oversized eagle-like bird.Again, Wheatley has placed a meaningful idea inside an empty, non-existent creature.Through both personifications, Wheatley has broken down the audience; she has removed any motive-based insecurities that her readers might have had regarding the content before reading the poem.
In "On Imagination," Phyllis Wheatley employs various techniques to say what she needs to say without actually saying it.Because of the times, she does not have the luxury of clearly putting her beliefs on paper without suffering consequences.Consequently, Wheatley must use a subversive voice in her writing to conceal her thoughts, especially the belief that liberation is a state of mind.If a statement like that was written verbatim in one of her poems, no one would ever have had the opportunity to read it.As simple as it appears, that statement, during the time period of the poem, has the power to have devastating effects on the institute of slavery.That statement gives the African American a method of escape, a way of attempting to ignore the physical suffering that exists.Having a slave with the mentality that he or she has any remote sense of power violates all of the beliefs of the White slave owner.
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