Comparisons and Contrasts of Phillis Wheatley and Paul Laurence Dunbar

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Comparisons and Contrasts of Phillis Wheatley and Paul Laurence Dunbar The purpose of this essay is to clearly acknowledge similarities as well as differences amongst two great writers: Phyllis Wheatley and Paul L. Dunbar. Wheatley and Dunbar were two brilliant African American writers born of two different centuries. Both began writing at an early age and were seen as black child prodigies of their times. The points of comparison these two writers share are that they were both iconic poets of their day and that they wrote in what is referred to as “black dialect.” The differences between them are their cultural and educational backgrounds. There are several points of comparison between the two writers. First, both wrote collections of poetry. Wheatley is considered the mother of the African-American literary tradition. She became the first African American to publish a book and the second woman in the United States to publish a collection of poetry. Her writing abilities sent a wave of shock through the white Americans of her day and many found it unbelieva...

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