Phillis Wheatley was born in Senegal, West Africa, in 1753. She was kidnapped in 1761 at the age of eight years old and purchased by John Wheatley so that he could serve his wife Susan. Due to the fact that Phillis was extremely intelligent and a quick learner, Susan did not train her to be her servant. Phillis learned English, Latin, and Greek, as well as other subjects, including the Bible. She gradually became a member of the Wheatley family. Through the lessons Phillips received, she began writing poems, one of the poems she is known for is "Being Brought to America from Africa." In this poem, Phillis Wheatley uses poetic devices such as similes, metaphors, hyperbole to illustrate color and darkness, the multiple meanings of words, and the relationship between complexion and salvation. Wheatley begins the poem in a very dark place when she mentions the word. “plunged into night” (line 2) as if the darkness had disappeared from her life once she encountered mercy. Since the poem was written in the late 1700s, the reader can assume that she was in obscurity in her native Senegal because she was a slave. Once brought to America by mercy, she is no longer in the dark. The word “obscured” must be overtaken by obscurity, so it means that the speaker was obscured while living in a place where she did not follow certain religious beliefs like the rest of the world. The speaker's soul is in a dark place and when she was brought to America and found God, she was enlightened. Another example of how Wheatley references color and darkness is the sixth line of the poem "Their color is an evil die" (line 6). This is the only sentence in the poem that has quotation marks so readers can assume she has quoted someone. This could also mean that it refers to a phy...... middle of paper ......o having already lived in darkness can be revived by this angelic train or by the famous mercy which will bring light in your dark world. Wheatley clearly emphasizes that all human beings, regardless of color, can be saved. To conclude, Phillis Wheatley may have been bought into slavery, but she never lost her faith and ended up being one of the most famous poets of the early 19th century. This poem illustrates how she lived in obscurity in Senegal, West Africa and because of slavery, she was purchased and brought to America. In this poem "On Being Brought from Africa to America", Wheatley uses poetic devices such as similes, metaphors, hyperbole to illustrate color and darkness, the multiple meanings of words and the relationship between complexion and salvation. This poem seems to be an account of his life and how slavery might have been the best thing that happened to him..