Themes, symbols, and motifs come alive when you use a storyboard. In this activity, students will identify themes and symbols from the poem, and support their choices with details from the text. With a storyboard, students can quickly and easily track the evocative Wheatley uses throughout the poem.
Each line of the poem contains religious words to subtly convey the speaker’s tone, attitudes, or beliefs. The repetition clearly fixes religion as a central theme of the poem's major themes. Wheatley explicitly informs the reader how she was saved and what she sees as the implications.
A recurring structure in the poem is Wheatley’s use of capitalized italics to emphasize words. She uses them for “Pagan”, “Savior”, “Christians”, “Negros”, and “Cain”. These words contribute to the poem’s strong contrasting imagery between light and darkness.
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Student Instructions
Create a storyboard that identifies recurring themes in "On Being Brought From Africa to America". Illustrate instances of each theme and write a short description below each cell.
Gather copies of Phillis Wheatley’s poem and related historical texts. Providing students with original sources helps them build critical reading and analysis skills.
Encourage students to highlight or annotate words and phrases that relate to key themes. This fosters engagement and helps students support their interpretations with direct evidence.
Organize students into groups and assign each a theme or symbol from the poem. Group exploration promotes collaboration and deeper understanding of the poem’s meaning.
Have students create drawings or digital images representing symbols from the poem. This visual approach reinforces comprehension and makes abstract ideas tangible.
Ask students to relate a selected theme or symbol to their own lives or current events. Personal connections make learning more relevant and memorable.
The main themes in 'On Being Brought from Africa to America' include religion and salvation, the contrast between light and darkness, and the transformative power of faith. Phillis Wheatley explores how religious belief shapes identity and perception of race.
Use a storyboard activity where students identify and illustrate key symbols like capitalized italics ('Pagan', 'Savior', 'Christians', etc.) and discuss how these words highlight the poem's contrasts. Encourage students to provide examples and write brief descriptions for each symbol.
Religion is central to Wheatley’s poem. She uses religious language in every line to convey her belief in salvation and to reflect on her journey from Africa to America. The poem suggests faith as both a personal and collective form of redemption.
The capitalized italicized words like 'Pagan', 'Savior', 'Christians', and 'Negros' emphasize important concepts and contrasts in the poem, such as the difference between spiritual darkness and enlightenment. They also highlight societal attitudes and Wheatley’s nuanced commentary on race and religion.
Have students create a digital or paper storyboard to identify and illustrate the poem’s themes and symbols. Ask them to write short descriptions for each cell explaining their choices. This visual activity makes abstract concepts more accessible for grades 6–12.