Wheatley's Patriotic Poem

American independence was achieved through the unification of colonists against the British crown. This unity required cooperation among the colonies and support for the newly formed Continental Army. George Washington was the general of the Continental Army and was expected to meet the expectations of colonists eagerly awaiting freedom. To encourage the general in his endeavors, poet Phillis Wheatley wrote “To His Excellency General Washington.” Using literary devices in the poem, Wheatley promotes the merit of the American Revolution.

By using allusion, Wheatley emphasizes the worth of the American Revolution. Wheatley accomplishes this goal by alluding to figures in mythology and describing their attributes. The poet was familiar with such allusions due to their prevalence in the literature of her day. Because of this exposure, literary critic Anne Applegate notes that Wheatley’s poetry is, “…filled with scattered references to classical Greek and Roman figures, both literary and mythological… (124) that she uses to express her thoughts. Consequently, Wheatley uses mythological allusions to stress the value of the American rebellion in “To His Excellency General Washington.” For example, when describing the Continental Army, the poet states that the movement of the soldiers is, “As when Eolus heaven’s fair face deforms, Enwrapp’d in tempest and a night of storms” (Wheatley lines 15-16). Eolus is the god of winds in classic mythology and Wheatley uses this allusion to note that similar to a powerful god rolling across the earth, the Continental Army will run down the British forces in their attempt to thwart America’s sovereignty. The effect of Wheatley’s allusion works to elevate the American Revolution to a level t...

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...usions of the poem, the work elevates the war to a providential event. In addition, Wheatley’s diction presents the movement as elegant and full of merit by nature of its courtliness. Finally, the rhyme scheme of the poem places the revolution with other venerable battles that have been recounted in poetic form. “To His Excellency General Washington” was written to inspire one man to fulfill the dreams of a nation, but the poem had the secondary effect of being a form of propaganda for the newborn American republic.

Works Cited

Applegate, Anne. “Philllis Wheatley: Her Critics and her Contribution.” Negro American Literature Forum 9.4 (1975): 123-136. JStor Database. Web. 29 July 2011.

Wheatley, Phillis. “To His Excellency General Washington.” Anthology of American Literature. Ed. George McMichael and James S. Leonard. Boston: Longman, 2011. 610-611. Print.