Summary
In this poem, the speaker claims that mercy brought them from their "Pagan land" and taught their "benighted soul"—their soul shrouded in darkness—that there is a God and a Saviour. Previously, the speaker had never sought or known to seek redemption. Though some may view black people with scorn, and think that their color is "diabolic" or evil, the speaker implores those people to remember that black people "may be refin'd" and become angels.
Analysis
"On Being Brought from Africa to America" is a single stanza made up of eight lines and has an AABBCCDD rhyming structure.
In this poem, the speaker contends with being "brought from Africa to America," calling this a merciful act as their "benighted soul" was taught to "understand/ That there's a God" and a Saviour. Here, the capitalization of God and Saviour mirror the capitalization of the Greek and Roman gods and goddess in Wheatley's other poems, and seem to create a parallel between the two. The speaker explains that they were taught to "understand" the existence of a God and a Saviour, but this understanding does not necessarily indicate an acceptance of these figures. Indeed, though the speaker "neither sought nor knew" redemption at one point, the first four lines do not necessarily indicate that the speaker now accepts redemption or a God or Saviour.
In the last four lines of this poem, the speaker indicates that "some" may view black people with a "scornful eye," saying their colour is diabolic. Line seven, "Christians, Negros, black as Cain," provides a biblical reference to describe black people, and places Christians and black people next to each other within the same line to indicate equality. The speaker subverts the notion that black people are diabolic by saying that they can "join th' angelic train. This poem insists on the equality of all people under God, and asserts that those who say black people are diabolic are misguided.
The first four lines of this poem may also be tinged with sarcasm, as many of her later poems denounce the violence that brought her to America, separating her from her family and leading to her enslavement. Indeed, in later poems Wheatley calls into question Christians who believe in enslavement and see enslaved Africans as inferior.
