’Twas Mercy brought me from my Pagan land,
Taught my benighted soul to understand
That there’s a God, that there’s a Saviour too;
Once I redemption neither sought nor knew.
Some view our sable race with scornful eye,
“Their colour is a diabolic die,”
Remember, Christians, Negros, black as Cain,
May be refin’d, and join th’ angelic train.
Source: Phillis Wheatley, “On Being Brought from Africa to America,” in Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, 1773. (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC06154)
Discussion Questions
- What did Phillis Wheatley mean by “Pagan land”? What did she identify as a benefit that came from being forced to leave the “Pagan land”?
- Who are the “some” who dismiss other people because of the color of their skin? What assumption do they make about people with dark-colored skin?
- Wheatley concluded the poem by reminding her Christian readers that “Negros . . . May . . . join th’ angelic train.” That is, they can obtain as much grace and salvation as any other person pleasing to God. Based on evidence from the poem, do you believe Wheatley intended this as a reason for hope or as a warning?