The Political, Feminist, and Religious view of Frances...

The Political, Feminist, and Religious view of Frances E.W. Harper, Phllis Wheatley, and Alice Dunbar-Nelson Phillis Wheatley, Alice Dunbar-Nelson, and Francis E. W. Harper were all groundbreaking and poignant authors whose works have remained influential throughout time. Feminism, politics, and religion are three aspects evident in their personal lives an d literature. Wheatley was considered a feminist icon because she was the first published African American female poet. However, her writing did not deal with feminist issues, rather, they focussed on religious and political themes. Unlike Wheatley, Harpers femi nist views are incorporated into her work. She uses religion as a method to express her political and social views.†¦show more content†¦Probably due to the poor post-revolutionary economy, this volume was never publi shed. After Wheatleys death John Peters, her husband, went to the house of a woman that. Wheatley used to live with and demanded the manuscripts for the second volume of works. Unfortunately these manuscripts disappeared with Peters never to be recover ed. CRITICAL ANALYSIS Phillis Wheatleys political poems have been largely ignored even though she lived in Boston and was a witness to many events that led to the revolution. Poems such as To Samuel Quincy, Esq; a Panegyric, To the Kings Most Excellent Majesty, To t he Right Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth, To His Excellency General Washington, and Liberty and Peace all describe political events and figures. Each poem dramatizes a decisive moment in Americas struggle for independence. Wheatley writes a l ot of political praise poems, which means this, was probably a very important subject to her. Since Wheatley was a domestic female slave she was very bold to compose such commentaries which suggests that maybe an African tradition taught her that politic al praise was the most important to all poets (Robinson, 93). Phillis Wheatley was a minority because of her race and her sex. In the eighteenth century woman writers were the visible minority and black-female writers were non existent. Male critics felt that there were to many female writers and that they wer e a threat to