Nika Bogoslovsky
10/19/07
Wheatley

"High to the blissful wonders of the skies Elate thy soul, and raise thy wishful eyes."

Summary:

This poem was hard to figure out but in the first few lines I think she's admiring his art. Then, it sounds like she relates to him and and how important it is that they create art, her being a poet and he a painter. Then she goes on to talk about heavenly things and muses. I think she points out that it's important that their muses have to be worthy in order to make their art and poetry significant.

Response:

I have no idea if I'm getting the explanation right, and while I'm sure it's important, it really doesn't compare to how beautifully this poem is written and how nice it sounds out loud. Out of the poems in the anthology this one is my favorite. I noticed this poem, unlike the others, is so much more positively passionate. I can tell she probably enjoyed writing this because it's light, it has no punches, cautions or warnings against sins. She is speaking to a fellow African American who is an artist like she is and she can relate to him and appreciate his work and be happy that he is also recognized. In this poem she rejoices in art and heaven and herself while in others it seems like she has the burden of constantly having to be aware that she's African American writing to a white audience while also slyly standing up for a cause. I wish we could have gone over this one in class.