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  • Phillis Wheatley’s “On Imagination”

    Image 1:  Phillis Wheatley:  Engraving, reproduced from her book, “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral.” London, 1773.  New York Public Library

    Phillis Wheatley’s “On Imagination”

    Phillis Wheatley’s classically influenced poem, “On Imagination,” explores the powerful force of human imagination.  Wheatley demonstrates her remarkable talent for use of mythological allusion and the classical forms in which she was trained and in which she excelled.

    Introduction and Text of “On Imagination”

    Phillis Wheatley’s “On Imagination” explores the nature of the human mind as it engages in the fanciful act of imagining.   In the opening movement, Wheatley’s speaker offers an invocation [1] to the “imperial queen,” on whom she bestows the royal label, while personifying her subject.  

    Phillis Wheatley’s classical training in poetry is on full display as she composes a useful “invocation” that helps set the tone for her poem.  Wheatley’s invocation also performs the traditional function of supplicating to the muses or to a deity for guidance and inspiration in composing the poem in progress. 

    The poet has her speaker follow such luminaries as the world-renowned, classical Greek poet, Homer, in his Odyssey [2 ]and the British mastercraftsman and classic poet, John Milton, in his Paradise Lost [3] .

    On Imagination

    Thy various works, imperial queen, we see,
        How bright their forms! how deck’d with pomp by thee!
    Thy wond’rous acts in beauteous order stand,
    And all attest how potent is thine hand.

        From Helicon’s refulgent heights attend,
    Ye sacred choir, and my attempts befriend:
    To tell her glories with a faithful tongue,
    Ye blooming graces, triumph in my song.

        Now here, now there, the roving Fancy flies,
    Till some lov’d object strikes her wand’ring eyes,
    Whose silken fetters all the senses bind,
    And soft captivity involves the mind.

        Imagination! who can sing thy force?
    Or who describe the swiftness of thy course?
    Soaring through air to find the bright abode,
    Th’ empyreal palace of the thund’ring God,
    We on thy pinions can surpass the wind,
    And leave the rolling universe behind:
    From star to star the mental optics rove,
    Measure the skies, and range the realms above.
    There in one view we grasp the mighty whole,
    Or with new worlds amaze th’ unbounded soul.

        Though Winter frowns to Fancy’s raptur’d eyes
    The fields may flourish, and gay scenes arise;
    The frozen deeps may break their iron bands,
    And bid their waters murmur o’er the sands.
    Fair Flora may resume her fragrant reign,
    And with her flow’ry riches deck the plain;
    Sylvanus may diffuse his honours round,
    And all the forest may with leaves be crown’d:
    Show’rs may descend, and dews their gems disclose,
    And nectar sparkle on the blooming rose.

        Such is thy pow’r, nor are thine orders vain,
    O thou the leader of the mental train:
    In full perfection all thy works are wrought,
    And thine the sceptre o’er the realms of thought.
    Before thy throne the subject-passions bow,
    Of subject-passions sov’reign ruler thou;
    At thy command joy rushes on the heart,
    And through the glowing veins the spirits dart.

        Fancy might now her silken pinions try
    To rise from earth, and sweep th’ expanse on high:
    From Tithon’s bed now might Aurora rise,
    Her cheeks all glowing with celestial dies,
    While a pure stream of light o’erflows the skies.
    The monarch of the day I might behold,
    And all the mountains tipt with radiant gold,
    But I reluctant leave the pleasing views,
    Which Fancy dresses to delight the Muse;
    Winter austere forbids me to aspire,
    And northern tempests damp the rising fire;
    They chill the tides of Fancy’s flowing sea,
    Cease then, my song, cease the unequal lay.

    Commentary on “On Imagination”

    The speaker of Phillis Wheatley’s “On Imagination” is dramatizing the power of the human imagination to create any situation it desires.  However, remaining a rational, thinking mind ensconced in reality, the speaker returns to the physical plane of being to make a humble claim about her own use of imagination.

    Opening Movement:  The Classical Invocation

    Thy various works, imperial queen, we see,
        How bright their forms! how deck’d with pomp by thee!
    Thy wond’rous acts in beauteous order stand,
    And all attest how potent is thine hand.

        From Helicon’s refulgent heights attend,
    Ye sacred choir, and my attempts befriend:
    To tell her glories with a faithful tongue,
    Ye blooming graces, triumph in my song.

        Now here, now there, the roving Fancy flies,
    Till some lov’d object strikes her wand’ring eyes,
    Whose silken fetters all the senses bind,
    And soft captivity involves the mind.

    The speaker begins by describing some of the creations that have resulted from the works of this imperial queen, Imagination.  She asserts that the queen’s many varied “works” reveal bright forms that have been accompanied by “pomp.”   The works are also “wond’rous” as they appear in a “beauteous order.”  And they all prove the exquisite power that rests in that imperial queen’s hand.

    The speaker engages an allusion to the Greek mythological mountain of Helicon [4], whose springs became known as a fount of poetic inspiration. It was there that the poet, Hesiod, was inspired to compose his Theogony, a work that offers a narration about the origin of the world as it was formed from chaos.

    Hesiod’s famous opus also describes the genesis and historical progression of the Greek gods. Also allusive is her brilliant invocation. This speaker wishes to tell with “a faithful tongue” the glories of the work of the Imagination. She avers that as “Fancy flies,” that facility eventually lands on some object of intense interest, and then the mind takes over to wrap that object in “silken fetters.”

    Second Movement:  The Astonishing Force

    The second movement begins the intense exploration of the “force” that the human mind through employment of its tool, the imagination, wields upon nature, time, and space.  

    The speaker implies that the imagination, in fact, has such a force that it is likely that no one can do it justice by speaking about it: no one can “sing” it force, and no one can fully “describe” the speed at which the imagination can move along its path.  Still, she is motivated to offer her attempt to shed some light on the subject.

    The speaker avers that through the powerful force of imagination the human mind can fly through space in search of the abode of the “thund’ring God.”  The mind through the imagination can fly past the wind and abandon the confines of the “rolling universe.”  

    On the wings of imagination, the human mind may flit from “star to star” and take a measuring tape to the skies, while roaming above the sky.  The mind through imagination can bring the human consciousness to a pinnacle from which s/he may “grasp the mighty whole,” while also discovering new places that will astonish even the “unbounded soul.”

    Third Stanza:   Imaginative Declarations

    The speaker then makes an amazing claim that through the imagination the ravages of the season of winter can be transformed, and spring-like weather may again become refulgent.  

    The fields may again hold the growing grain.  Frozen soil and streams may come alive and move unfettered. Flowers again may send out their fragrance as their colorful beauty again decorates the landscape.  

    Alluding to the Roman god, Sylvanus [5], the speaker insists that the “forest”—”silva” is Latin for “forest”—may become festooned with green leaves, replacing the brown, bare branches of winter.

    Spring rains may sprinkle the landscape while dew may form and gleam in the morning sunlight.  And roses may hold their “nectar sparkle.”  All of this is made possible by the forceful functioning of the mental process known as “imagination.”

    Fourth Stanza:   The Powerful Force for Creativity

    The speaker then affirms that what she has described as issuing from the force of imagination is, in fact, true.   She asserts that the power of imagination remains in effect and what that power orders comes into being because imagination is the “leader of the mental train.”  According to the dictates of this speaker’s thinking, the central invigorating feature of the mind is imagination.

    After the imperial queen, the imagination, lifts her staff over the heads of the “realms of thought,” her subjects, like all good subjects, “bow.”  This queen remains their “sovereign ruler.”  

    Interestingly, the speaker finds that as this ruler asserts her power, instead of resistance and doubt claiming the subjects, their hearts are filled with joy.  This joy rushes in and then “spirits dart” through those “glowing veins.”

    Thus, the presence and powerful force of the imagination offers the host mental facility only positive attributes.  With an inspirational joy flooding the body and mind, the host remains in a regenerative state of awareness.

    Fifth Movement:   A Humble Return to Reality

    The speaker next refers to the wildly imaginative venture of “ris[ing] from earth” and rushing through the expanse far distant above the earth-planet.   Alluding again to Greek mythology, she employs the character Tithon [6], whose bed from which dawn (Aurora) may awaken in a stream of pure light—an occasion that would be quite different from the activities experienced by those characters.  

    The imagination can change all negativity to positivity, but the speaker, however, must return to earthly reality by admitting that she must leave those halcyon realms to which her imaginative journey has aspired.  While an imaginative winter may turn to spring, the reality of the empirical winter forbids such flights of fancy.

    Thus, the speaker reluctantly returns to “northern tempests” that will douse the fire of pure imagination.  While Fancy’s “flowing sea” begins to chill, the speaker must end her song, which she claims is inferior to the imaginative heights she had reached earlier in her singing.

    Sources

    [1]  Editors.  “Invocation.”  Britannica.  Accessed August 26, 2023.

    [2]  Homer. Odyssey. Translation by  Classics Archive.  Accessed August 26, 2023.

    [3]  John Milton.Paradise Lost.   Poetry Foundation.  Accessed August 26, 2023.

    [4]  Curators. “Helicon.”  Fandom: Greek Mythology. Accessed August 26, 2023.

    [5]  Editors. “Sylvanus: Roman God.”  Britannica.  Accessed August 26, 2023.

    [6]  Curators.  “Tithon.”  GreekMythology.com.  Accessed August 26, 2023.

  • Phillis Wheatley

    Image: Phillis Wheatley 

    Life Sketch of Phillis Wheatley

    Phillis Wheatley’s talent was questioned but then authenticated during her lifetime, and she is now hailed by all but the most cynical as one of America’s finest poetic voices.

    Two Versions of a Publication History

    Although Phillis Wheatley’s talent was at first questioned [1], her authenticity was finally established during her lifetime. Today, she is widely recognized by all, except the most cynical [2], as one of America’s finest poetic voices.  

    Phillis Wheatley’s first and only collection of published poetry was titled Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral; it was published in England.

    There are two versions of the history of this book’s publication [3]: one is that the Countess Selina of Huntington invited Phillis to London and found a publisher for the poet; the other is that Phillis suffered from asthma, and so the Wheatley family took her to England to recuperate, and while there, they sought publication of her work.  

    Either way, the book was published and Wheatley’s career was established. The Wheatley family’s insight played a major role in helping a slave rise above the hardships of that vile institution.

    The Value of One Poem

    In May 1968, one poem written by Phillis Wheatley brought $68,500 at Christie’s auction [4], Rockefeller Center in New York. It had been estimated to bring between $18,000 and $25,000.  

    The poem is titled “Ocean”; its seventy lines were written on three pages that had yellowed with time. It is thought to be the only copy.  

    Ocean

    Now muse divine, thy heav’nly aid impart,
    The feast of Genius, and the play of Art.
    From high Parnassus’ radiant top repair,
    Celestial Nine! propitious to my pray’r.
    In vain my Eyes explore the wat’ry reign,
    By you unaided with the flowing strain.
    When first old Chaos of tyrannic soul
    Wav’d his dread Sceptre o’er the boundless whole,
    Confusion reign’d till the divine Command
    On floating azure fix’d the Solid Land,
    Till first he call’d the latent seeds of light,
    And gave dominion o’er eternal Night.
    From deepest glooms he rais’d this ample Ball,
    And round its walls he bade its surges roll;
    With instant haste the new made seas complyd,
    And the globe rolls impervious to the Tide;
    Yet when the mighty Sire of Ocean frownd
    “His awful trident shook the solid Ground.”
    The King of Tempests thunders o’er the plain,
    And scorns the azure monarch of the main,
    He sweeps the surface, makes the billows rore,
    And furious, lash the loud resounding shore.
    His pinion’d race his dread commands obey,
    Syb’s, Eurus, Boreas, drive the foaming sea!
    See the whole stormy progeny descend!
    And waves on waves devolving without End,
    But cease Eolus, all thy winds restrain,
    And let us view the wonders of the main
    Where the proud Courser paws the blue abode,
    Impetuous bounds, and mocks the driver’s rod.
    There, too, the Heifer fair as that which bore
    Divine Europa to the Cretan shore.
    With guileless mein the gentle Creature strays.
    Quaffs the pure stream, and crops ambrosial Grass.
    Again with recent wonder I survey
    The finny sov’reign bask in hideous play.
    (So fancy sees) he makes a tempest rise
    And intercept the azure vaulted skies.
    Such is his sport:—but if his anger glow
    What kindling vengeance boils the deep below!
    Twas but e’er now an Eagle young and gay
    Pursu’d his passage thro’ the aierial way.
    He aim’d his piece, would C[ale]f’s hand do more ?
    Yes, him he brought to pluto’s dreary shore.
    Slow breathed his last, the painful minutes move
    With lingring pace his rashness to reprove;
    Perhaps his father’s Just commands he bore
    To fix dominion on some distant shore.
    Ah! me unblest he cries. Oh! had I staid
    Or swift my Father’s mandate had obey’d.
    But ah! too late.—Old Ocean heard his cries.
    He stroakes his hoary tresses and replies:
    What mean these plaints so near our wat’ry throne,
    And what the Cause of this distressful moan?
    Confess. Iscarius, let thy words be true
    Not let me find a faithless Bird in you.
    His voice struck terror thro’ the whole domain.
    Aw’d by his frowns the royal youth began,
    Saw you not. Sire, a tall and Gallant ship
    Which proudly skims the surface of the deep?
    With pompous form from Boston’s port she came.
    She flies, and London her resounding name.
    O’er the rough surge the dauntless Chief prevails
    For partial Aura fills his swelling sails.
    His fatal musket shortens thus my day
    And thus the victor takes my life away.
    Faint with his wound Iscarius said no more.
    His Spirit sought Oblivion’s sable shore.
    This Neptune saw, and with a hollow groan
    Resum’d the azure honours of his Throne.

    Coming to America

    Phillis Wheatley was born in Senegal/Gambia, Africa, in 1753. At age seven, she was brought to America and sold to John and Susannah Wheatley of Boston. She soon became a family member instead of a slave.  The Wheatleys taught Phillis to read, and she was soon reading classic literature in Greek and Latin, as well as English. 

    But her talent did not stop with reading, because she began to write poetry, influenced by the Bible and the English poets, particularly John Milton, Alexander Pope, and Thomas Gray. Her poetry reflected the classical forms and content which she closely studied [5].

    Phillis wrote her first poem at age thirteen, “On Messrs. Hussey and Coffin,” which was published in 1767 in the Newport Mercury [6]. But she gained wide recognition as a poet with “On the Death of the Reverend Mr. George Whitefield,” which appeared only three years later.   Chiefly, because of this poem, Phillis’ first book was later published. It is thought that she had a second book of poems, but the manuscript seems to have disappeared.

    In 1778, Phillis married John Peters, a failed businessman. They had three children, all of whom died in childhood. Phillis’ final years were spent in extreme poverty, despite her work as a seamstress.   She continued to write poetry and tried in vain to publish her second book of poetry. She died at age 31 in Boston.

    The Poet’s Authenticity Questioned

    As one might surmise, there was, indeed, a controversy over the authenticity of Phillis’ writing.   That a young black slave girl could write like a John Milton was not a fact easily digested back in Colonial America, when slaves were considered something less than human.

    Even Thomas Jefferson [7] showed disdain for Phillis’ writing; in his Notes on the State of Virginia, he remarked, “Religion indeed has produced a Phyllis Whately [sic] but it could not produce a poet. The compositions published under her name are below the dignity of criticism.”

    Yet Jefferson goes ahead and offers criticism in his next remark, “The heroes of the Dunciad are to her, as Hercules to the author of that poem.”

    Unlike Jefferson, George Washington [8].proved to be a fan; in 1776, she wrote a poem and a letter to Washington, who praised her efforts and invited her to visit. I wonder how seriously we can take Jefferson’s criticism, when he so badly misspelled her name; one wonders if he might be speaking of someone else.

    Important American Poet

    Readers can sample Phillis’ poetry online; her book of poems, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, is offered in its entirety, including the front material that shows how strong the controversy over her talent was [9].  After suffering the ambivalence of the Colonial mind-set during her lifetime, today Phillis Wheatley is hailed as one of the most important early American poets.

    Sources

    [1]  Joel Gladd.  “Phillis Wheatley, Thomas Jefferson, and the Debate over Poetic Genius.”  CWI.  Accessed August 25, 2023.

    [2]  R. Lynn Matson.  “Phillis Wheatley—Soul Sister?” Phylon (1960-), vol. 33, no. 3, 1972, pp. 222–30. JSTOR.

    [3]   Sondra A. O’Neale.  “Phillis Wheatley.”  Poetry Foundation.  Accessed August 25, 2023.

    [4] Paul P. Reuben.  “Phillis Wheatley.”  Perspectives in American Literature.  Accessed August 25, 2023.

    [5] Sydney Vaile.  “Phillis Wheatley’s Poetic Use of Classical Form and Content in Revolutionary America, 1767–1784.”  Researchgate. April 2015.

    [6]  Debra Michals.  “Phillis Wheatley.”  National Women’s History Museum.  2015.

    [7] Thomas Jefferson.  “Notes on the State of Virginia: Queries 14 and 18.”  Teaching American History.  Accessed August 25, 2023.

    [8] George Washington.  “George Washington to Phillis Wheatley, February 28, 1776.” Library of Congress.  Accessed August 25, 2023.

    [9]  Phillis Wheatley.  Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral.  Gutenberg Project.  Accessed August 25, 2023.

    Commentaries on Phillis Wheatley Poems