# XII explained — Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral

> Chapter companion for Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral by Phillis Wheatley.

## What happens

The speaker resists temptation, commanding it to depart and refusing to be seduced by its enchanting allure.

## Themes in this chapter

### Virtue and Moral Guidance

The speaker actively resists temptation, affirming a commitment to moral virtue.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown Narrator

The speaker who addresses and rejects temptation.

## Key lines

> But thou! Temptation hence away, With all thy fatal train Nor once seduce my soul away, By thine enchanting strain.

Temptation, go away with all your deadly followers; do not even try to lead my soul astray with your bewitching song.

_The speaker firmly rejects temptation, personifying it as a seductive force._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poems_on_various_subjects_religious_and_moral_se/chapters/xii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poems_on_various_subjects_religious_and_moral_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poems_on_various_subjects_religious_and_moral_se/chapters