African American Poetry

Sample Lesson - Introduction

Lesson 1.01: Writing Poetry in Chains

"C'mon, man, are these chains really necessary?"
(Source)

Imagine this, guys:

• It's the 1700s.
• You're a slave in the South. 
• You've either been taken from your homeland and brought to the United States through the Middle Passage or you were born a slave and have spent your entire life working on the plantation, or in the factory, or in the main house, serving supper to your master.
• Perhaps your mother was a slave. Perhaps your father is actually white.
• Either way, your first thought is, "Man, I gotta write this down."

We know, it sounds crazy, but a lot of slaves had this exact thought. They were beaten, ridiculed, and worked halfway to death, but at the end of the day, when they were dead tired, they sat down to write some poetry. 

How did they manage it? Some were lucky enough to have "benevolent" masters who taught them to read and write. Others were freed by their masters and able to earn an education of their own. Some turned to the church and learned about the alphabet. 

The point? If there's a will, there's a way.

Sample Lesson - Reading

Reading 1.1.01a: "On Being Brought from Africa to America"

What can we say about Phillis Wheatley? She was a poet, a mother, a slave. Born in West Africa and brought to America at the age of seven, she was bought by John Wheatley and taught to read by his children. At an early age, she was reading Greek and Latin classics, and felt inspired to write her own poetry. Her book Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral was the first collection of poetry written by an African American and included such standouts as "On Being Brought from Africa to America."

You'll notice that the poem is written in heroic couplets, so called because they were used in the old days to talk about heroes and their adventures (like in the Greek and Latin classics Wheatley was reading as a child). You'll also notice that some words have been italicized. As you read, think about what the italics symbolize and about the position Wheatley is taking on slavery.

"On Being Brought from Africa to America" (1773)

'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)

When you're done, check out our line-by-line summary to make sure you got everything.

Sample Lesson - Reading

Reading 1.1.01b: "On Liberty and Slavery"

George Moses Horton was perhaps the most entrepreneurial young poet to ever live. Born into slavery in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, he taught himself to read and started composing poems in his head. Poems he then sold at the local market. As in, he stood up on a box and recited them for people to memorize. He got so famous, a professor's wife helped him publish his poems, but even then, his owner wouldn't give him his freedom.

Horton would spend 30 years buying his time from his master so that he could work as a full-time poet, which, as you can imagine, left him pretty sore about the whole business. Much of Horton's poetry is about the evils of slavery and oppression, and you'll see that in our next reading. 

As you read "On Liberty and Slavery," think about how this poem's message differs from that of Wheatley's and how it reflects his experience as a slave.

"On Liberty and Slavery" (1829) 

Alas! and am I born for this,
To wear this slavish chain?
Deprived of all created bliss,
Through hardship, toil and pain!

How long have I in bondage lain,
And languished to be free!
Alas! and must I still complain— 
Deprived of liberty.

Oh, Heaven! and is there no relief
This side the silent grave— 
To soothe the pain—to quell the grief
And anguish of a slave?

Come Liberty, thou cheerful sound,
Roll through my ravished ears!
Come, let my grief in joys be drowned,
And drive away my fears.

Say unto foul oppression, Cease:
Ye tyrants rage no more,
And let the joyful trump of peace,
Now bid the vassal soar.

Soar on the pinions of that dove
Which long has cooed for thee,
And breathed her notes from Afric's grove,
The sound of Liberty.

Oh, Liberty! thou golden prize,
So often sought by blood— 
We crave thy sacred sun to rise,
The gift of nature's God:
Bid Slavery hide her haggard face,
And barbarism fly:
I scorn to see the sad disgrace
In which enslaved I lie.

Dear Liberty! upon thy breast,
I languish to respire;
And like the Swan unto her nest,
I'd to thy smiles retire.

Oh, blest asylum—heavenly balm!
Unto thy boughs I flee— 
And in thy shades the storm shall calm,
With songs of Liberty!

(Source)

Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 1.01a: Finding God

So…that was rough. Wheatley uses words like "diabolic," "benighted," and "Saviour" (with an English "u"). The language here's very difficult, so for this activity, you're just going to answer some questions to make sure you're on the right track.

Answer the following questions in two to four sentences each. Cite at least one specific example for each question. For example, if asked about religion in the poem, we might write about the "redemption" the speaker is so glad to have access to, now that she's a slave.

Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 1.01b: Wheatley vs. Horton

You've probably noticed that the two poems we've read have vastly different opinions about slavery: 

• Wheatley's calls it refined and thinks it is a mercy she was taken from her African homeland to be educated by her new masters.
• And Horton talks about slavery like the bondage that it is.

At the same time, both poems use classical rhyme schemes and poetic tools like alliteration and metaphor to get their message across, and that's what we'll be looking at in this activity as we focus on "On Liberty and Slavery."

Answer each of the following questions about Horton's poem in two to four sentences, just like you did before.

Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 1.01c: Instruments of Torture

Sample Lesson - Activity