In the poem “To His Excellency General Washington” by Phillis Wheatley, the poet’s patriotic attitude toward the American Revolution can immediately be seen by the reader. Wheatley strongly encourages General Washington to wage war against the British and bring freedom to America. However, she admonishes him not to become tyrannical in the process and instead guide America wisely. Wheatley ultimately concludes that America has the potential to win the war if they have the proper guidance from a noble leader, such as Washington. Wheatley incorporates majestic diction, intense imagery, and multiple allusions in the poem in order to convey this message to General Washington.
Wheatley indicates Britain’s claim over America. Also, the allusions express how America still is a part of England despite how England ostracizes America from their main colony. Wheatley utilizes “realm” (1), meaning a royal domain, to show how Britain claims America as theirs. By using “realm” (1), Wheatley indirectly motivates George Washington to fight and achieve freedom for America: to give America its own claim as an independent, “glorious” (2) country. The word “glorious” (2) encourages George Washington to realize that America has become magnificent on its own. America was restrained from trading with other countries through the Navigation Acts set in 1754, but because of the French and Indian War England did not reinforce the Acts. While England was distracted, America continued to thrive and prosper, becoming a “glorious” (2) country without assistance from their mother country. Wheatley’s use of the word “gold” (47) further emphasizes America’s ability to prosper on its own: freedom. Wheatley utilizes majestic diction to pull back the curtains and rev...
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...me and how they can take control of themselves to build a whole empire. These images encourage George Washington to take action and claim America’s freedom.
In conclusion, the poet’s use of majestic diction, allusions, and intense imagery emphasizes to General Washington that America is ready to claim independence from Britain in order to achieve glory and encourages him to take action. Although America is young, Americans have proved to be more than worthy of gaining freedom and achieving glory.
Works Cited
Kindig, Thomas. "The French & Indian War." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, 4
July 1994. Web. 09 Feb. 2014.
Myers, Jay. "Native American Indian Chiefs." Http://www.historynet.com/native-american- indian-chiefs. Wild West, Oct. 2001. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.
Weaver, Jacqueline De. "EOLUS." EOLUS. Garland Publishing, Inc., 1996. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.
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Phillis Wheatley’s poem, "To His Excellency, General Washington," was composed in 1776 and sent in a letter to General Washington. Wheatley was clearly inspired by Washington. From the title of our poem one understands that Wheatley is in favor of the war of Americans against the English crown. General Washington for Wheatley is the pioneer that could just have been picked by God to lead the nation to opportunity. Moreover, throughout the poem, there is a deeper connection between Washington and Columbia (Land of Columbus). Wheatley looks to draw out the vision she sees in both as the motivation behind
The American Revolution was a conflict that arose from growing tensions between Great Britain and the Thirteen North American colonies. It was a long bloody war and one of the most well-known, and because of that it has many interpretations, and these interpretations have made it a challenge to be able to come to a single understanding of the war. In this week’s readings, two different views on the same war are given. The American Yawp describes the American colonies point of view on the revolution while the History Lesson discusses how British wanted to control America but instead drove them to rebel and fight for their independence. The colonists saw the war for their independence as a revolution, but through British eyes, events and people were, not surprisingly, seen quite differently.
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Despite the low expectations for the American colonies, they amazed the world as they rose to the occasion by taking advantage of their military assets, even those they did not know they had. For instance, George Washington proved to be a valuable asset for the American colonies. Washington was already held in high esteem prior to the Revolution for his few, but impactful, military accomplishments prior to the Revolution and for his praise-worthy character. (Schweikart and Allen 74) Because of his lack of experience commanding, he learned to excel in familiarizing himself with new tactics and responsibilities very quickly. (Mount Vernon) He used strategy to make up for what he lacked in supplies or force. In 1776, he valiantly crossed the Delaware river for a successful surprise attack on Trenton and days later successfully took Princeton, two undertakings which contributed significantly to the American victory along with Washington defeating Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1...
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...d announced the limit of human vision. ‘Farewell! farewell! brave and true man! God grant brighter skies may smile upon your future than have yet looked down upon your thorny pathway’ (Part Three). Mr.Listwell never gives up on Madison Washington because everyone should have the right to freedom and he knows that it will soon come close to that.
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