Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral · Chapter
To S. M. A Young African Painter, on Seeing His Works explained
Phillis Wheatley addresses the young African painter Scipio Moorhead, praising his artistic skill and encouraging him to pursue noble themes and immortal fame.
What happens
Phillis Wheatley addresses the young African painter Scipio Moorhead, praising his artistic skill and encouraging him to pursue noble themes and immortal fame. She envisions a future beyond earthly life where both painter and poet will experience divine beauty and express purer, heavenly art.
Themes in this chapter
Christian Redemption and Salvation
The poem envisions an afterlife where the painter and poet experience divine glory, moving beyond earthly art to heavenly praise.
Death and the Afterlife
The poem contrasts the 'shades of time' with 'everlasting day,' describing a celestial realm where art reaches its purest form.
Characters to notice
- Phillis Wheatley
The speaker who praises the young painter and reflects on the power of art and the promise of heavenly reward.
- Scipio Moorhead
The young African painter addressed in the poem, encouraged to pursue immortal fame and divine themes.
- Damon
Mentioned as a subject of earthly poetry that will be surpassed by nobler heavenly themes.
- Aurora
Referenced as a figure of earthly beauty that will give way to purer expression in the afterlife.
Key passages
“To show the lab’ring bosom’s deep intent, And thought in living characters to paint”
To reveal the heart's profound purpose and to depict ideas as if they were alive.
Wheatley praises the painter's ability to express inner emotion and thought through art.
“Still, wond’rous youth! each noble path pursue, On deathless glories fix thine ardent view”
Continue, amazing young man, to follow every honorable path and keep your passionate focus on eternal fame.
She encourages the painter to persist in seeking noble and immortal achievements.
“But when these shades of time are chas’d away, And darkness ends in everlasting day, On what seraphic pinions shall we move, And view the landscapes in the realms above?”
When the shadows of mortal life vanish and darkness gives way to eternal light, we will fly on angelic wings and see the scenery of heaven.
Wheatley imagines a heavenly afterlife where both artist and poet experience divine beauty.
“For nobler themes demand a nobler strain, And purer language on th’ ethereal plain.”
Because more elevated subjects require a more elevated song and a cleaner form of expression in the heavenly realm.
She suggests that earthly art will be surpassed by purer, more exalted art in heaven.