solved about Phillis Wheatley. If this poem had been made today,

about Phillis Wheatley. If this poem had been made today, I would’ve guessed it to be satire, some type of poetic comment on how black folks were taken from their motherland and thrust into a world of foreign cultures and religion. It’s the final line: “Remember, Christians, Negros, black as Cain, May be refin’d, and join th’ angelic train,” which makes me question who the audience is. It feels like she’s speaking to white christians but the “angelic train” piece almost feels like a play on words. Angelic being a comment on angelo perhaps? This impression would make it an unattainable goal. If this is the case, it could be a very coded message, almost a direct a front against the entire concept of the African American christian. Using the words mercy and benighted feeds into my theory. She’s very clearly an educated person and I believe it would be a stretch for even the most learned of christian blacks to consider their situation mercy. I really enjoyed the poem nonetheless and I only wish I could ask her about it myself.