Philis Wheatley

Philis Wheatley just amazes me in so many ways.  She is this woman in the mid to lat 1700s who was just such an influence in spite of the fact that, not only was she a woman, but she was also an African American slave.  She has a different voice in her poems that has this solidity in her understanding of the world. Unlike Bradstreet, Philis is not constantly pointing out her (according to society) inferior condition.  She is bold in her statements pointing towards the truth of equality and the hypocracy that what intertwined within the Christian tradition during that time.  The call to love a neighbor regardless of who they are.  She pointed out the fact in one of her poems that this in fact is not what was being shown by the enslavement of her people.  Another thing I was shocked by was the eloquence to which she wrote with. She seemed to have taken great advantadge of her oppurtunity to study and learn how to read.