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AGE OF REASON/REVOLUTIONARY ESSAY
The Age of Reason/Revolutionary Period Essay
The Age of Reason/Revolutionary Period Essay- APA
Liberty University
ENGL201 (D01)
Professor Robinson
November 25, 2022
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AGE OF REASON/REVOLUTIONARY ESSAY
History shows that within centuries of American literature, the writers who are well
known and represented are men. However, there were two notable female authors during the Age
of Reason and Revolutionary period that overcame adversities and paved the way for women to
have a voice in a time where women did not have one. Anne Bradstreet and Phillis Wheatley
lived in different time periods and grew up in different circumstances but had literary works that
are comparable and accomplished showcasing the perspectives of the women and slaves in their
literary periods.
Bradstreet and Wheatley were raised in two different environmental circumstances.
Wheatley was born in Africa and was taken to Boston to work for a rich tailor as an enslaved
person. Bradstreet was born in England to a wealthy, supportive family. Despite their
upbringings, both women learned how to read and write in their adolescent years. Sharing an
interest in poetry, their writings were able to personify and capture the emotion and beliefs each
author had. Bradstreet and Wheatley were religious. While Bradstreet was a puritan, Wheatley
was an enlightened Christian. In poems that were published by the two, there is a clear
distinction on why and how their religious belief exists and how it encouraged them through an
era of gender inequality. Wheatley was puritan and understood that slavery brought her to God
(Showalter, 2010). Her poem entitled To the Right Honourable William, Earl of Dartmouth
alludes to her story of being a slave and how her love of freedom is from that experience. She
was able to use religion to advocate for the release of slaves. A prime example of this was when
she said, “Remember Christian Negroes who are black as Cain can be refined and join the
angelic train” (Coleridge, 1796). Whereas Bradstreet did not believe in God until the beauty of
the world changed her mind (Showalter, 2010). Wheatley supported that nature is evidence of
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AGE OF REASON/REVOLUTIONARY ESSAY
God’s presence and why he should be followed and trusted. In her work, Thoughts on the Works
of Providence, Wheatley said “see the sons of vegetation, rise, spreading their leafy banners in
the sky…all mighty providence is what we trace in trees, plants and flowery,” (Baym & Levine,
2011). The work shows that God is the ultimate creator of Earth and the surroundings that exist
within it. Correspondingly, Bradstreet’s writings and poetry combine nature and her surroundings
with her faith in God. In her poem “Contemplation”, she says, “walking alone and looking up to
sky I am inspired by the surrounding and get the reason to praise God,” (Baym & Levine, 2011).
Their faith ultimately carried them through the many adversities in their time frame and allowed
their audiences to see their expression through their works.
Anne and Phillis overcame in a time when women were considered inferior to men and
had the domestic roles of cooking, cleaning, taking care of the children, and responsibilities
within that realm. Although we see similarities between their themes of literary works, the main
difference that exists is the subject matter of their works. For example, Phillis Wheatley was the
First African American writer and poet to publish a book. Therefore, her writings contain subject
matter on spiritual freedom from slavery, puritan beliefs, spiritual salvation as well as grief.
Wheatley placed an emphasis on adapting and accepting different cultures which allowed her to
be open to her audience about slavery and her disapproval of it through her poems. Slaves were
not considered people. There was a point in history where they were considered 3/5th of a person.
Therefore, it was rare for slaves to be educated nor have a voice. Wheatley was a prime exemplar
of accomplishing the impossible by not only being an African American educated woman but
also an accomplished author who paved the way for women and African Americans to have a
voice. For example, in her poem “Love for Freedom”, the line that states “my love for freedom
sprung, whence flow wishes for the common good” (Wheatley, 752) This literature directly
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AGE OF REASON/REVOLUTIONARY ESSAY
addresses people who thought slavery was appropriate and morally correct. The ability to portray
the emotion about being separated from her loved ones and the effects of that on a person
separates Wheatley from other authors. Her poetry leads with pathos which allows the audience
to place themselves in her shoes while reading the work. Whereas Anne Bradstreet’s major
themes were her spiritual temptations, self-denigration, importance of family, and her life as a
mother and wife. In Bradstreet’s poem titled, “The Prologue”, she writes about the struggles she
endures mainly regarding how men are viewed at a higher standard compared to women. The
line in the fifth stanza emphasizes how men perceived her and her writing which states, “I’m
obnoxious to each carpy tongue, who says my hand a needle better fits” (Bradstreet, 188). All her
writings allude to her surroundings and what she endured during her period of existence which
also gives her audience a peak into a time where women answered to men and were under
looked. Both women accomplished reveal how women were perceived, what expectations, and
roles were to be during that time along with specific to Phillis, what the experiences of an
African American women writer overcame.
Bradstreet and Wheatley illustrate through their literature that despite enduring different
lives and upbringings, there are similarities in themes regarding women and voice. Foremost, the
approach and style of each author is different. The literary accomplishments and empowerment
these two individuals provide for today’s generation allow feminism and fighting for equality to
remain at the forefront of society which is an inspiration for all.
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AGE OF REASON/REVOLUTIONARY ESSAY
References
Coleridge, S. T. (1796). Poems on various subjects. CG and J. Robinsons.
Bradstreet, A., & Hensley, J. (1967). The Works of Anne Bradstreet. Cambridge, Mass.,
Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
Showalter, E. (2010). A Jury of Her Peers: American Women Writers from Anne Bradstreet to
Anne Proulx. New York, NY: Vintage Books.
Wheatley, P. (1773). Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral. London: Printed for A.
Bell
Baym, N., & Levine, R. S. (Eds.). (2011). The Norton Anthology of American Literature: Eighth
International Student Edition. WW Norton & Company.
