An Hymn to the Morning
Evan Holt
Phillis Wheatley’s “An Hymn to the Morning”
There are plenty works of poetry that have been published, but none that match the intellect and beautiful writing aura like those of Phillis Wheatley’s. Phillis Wheatley was America’s first black female poet who learned to read and write at an age where blacks were either unable to learn or restricted from these opportunities. Most of Phillis Wheatley’s poetry consists of religion, death and the hardships and burdens blacks endured throughout slavery. With the will to overcome slavery, she went on to express her thoughts, views, and ideas through poetry. Her writing talents and deep intellect towards her works separate her from other writers and place her in a category of her own. Even though she has plenty of poems published, one in particular caught my eye the most. In “An Hymn to the Morning” we are introduced to a speaker who is in search of herself, a forceful nature, and what she means to “An Hymn in the Morning.” We are given a taste of Phillis Wheatley’s amazing writing style as well as a sample to her state of mind and approach to poetry as a whole.
After reading this poem I’ve come to a realization that Phillis Wheatley’s writing style reminds me much of old English. Not only that, but I’ve also realized that Phillis Wheatley has had some type of influence in the expression of Roman and Greek literature. In “An Hymn to the Morning” I’ve established that Phillis Wheatley wants to address “Calliope” which is one nine muses or in this case goddesses, in relation to music. Being the fact that we are dealing with a hymn we can already assume that the poem has some type of affiliation with music. The “Calliope” I believe is a forceful goddess in this particular poem that protects and guides the unknown speaker of who is singing in this poem.
The speaker also makes mention of this certain “Aurora” as if it is a person or some type of force. In my view I believe the “bright aurora” is a way of
Phillis Wheatley’s “An Hymn to the Morning”
There are plenty works of poetry that have been published, but none that match the intellect and beautiful writing aura like those of Phillis Wheatley’s. Phillis Wheatley was America’s first black female poet who learned to read and write at an age where blacks were either unable to learn or restricted from these opportunities. Most of Phillis Wheatley’s poetry consists of religion, death and the hardships and burdens blacks endured throughout slavery. With the will to overcome slavery, she went on to express her thoughts, views, and ideas through poetry. Her writing talents and deep intellect towards her works separate her from other writers and place her in a category of her own. Even though she has plenty of poems published, one in particular caught my eye the most. In “An Hymn to the Morning” we are introduced to a speaker who is in search of herself, a forceful nature, and what she means to “An Hymn in the Morning.” We are given a taste of Phillis Wheatley’s amazing writing style as well as a sample to her state of mind and approach to poetry as a whole.
After reading this poem I’ve come to a realization that Phillis Wheatley’s writing style reminds me much of old English. Not only that, but I’ve also realized that Phillis Wheatley has had some type of influence in the expression of Roman and Greek literature. In “An Hymn to the Morning” I’ve established that Phillis Wheatley wants to address “Calliope” which is one nine muses or in this case goddesses, in relation to music. Being the fact that we are dealing with a hymn we can already assume that the poem has some type of affiliation with music. The “Calliope” I believe is a forceful goddess in this particular poem that protects and guides the unknown speaker of who is singing in this poem.
The speaker also makes mention of this certain “Aurora” as if it is a person or some type of force. In my view I believe the “bright aurora” is a way of