Phillis Wheatley wrote her poem "A Farewell to America" before leaving for London with John Wheatley. The trip had a positive purpose—she was to publish her first collection of poems while in England to receive treatment for some health issues. However, in this poem Wheatley expresses sadness about leaving the place that has become her home and especially her master's wife, Susannah.
As you read the poem, think about how Wheatley's use of personification characterizes New England, Old England, and the ocean in between.
In the first few stanzas, how does Wheatley personify New England's spring flowers?
What is the "celestial maid" in stanza III?
What example of personification appears in stanza VI?
Overall, how does Wheatley's use of personification portray New England in the spring, when she left for England?
In stanza VII, what figure of speech does Wheatley use to describe the ocean?
In stanza VIII, what appears to cheer up the speaker of the poem?
Later in the poem, Wheatley describes London—and portrays it very differently from New England. Which line characterizes London in a way that contrasts it with America?
| Your Responses | Sample Answers |
|---|---|
| She describes the flowers as proudly boasting of their bright beauty. | |
| The "Celestial maid of rosy hue" is the Sun over New England. | |
| The garden is personified as a person who breathes out "sweet perfumes" on the bosom of spring. | |
| Her personification creates a picture of bright, cheerful, lively landscapes and skies. | |
| She calls the ocean a "liquid plain," comparing it to a vast field, but liquid. | |
| the Sun, described as a "celestial dame" | |
| "with misty vapors crown'd" | |
A Farewell to America
I.
Adieu, New-England's smiling meads,
Adieu, th' flow'ry plain:
I leave thine op'ning charms, O spring,
And tempt the roaring main.
II.
In vain for me the flow'rets rise,
And boast their gaudy pride,
While here beneath the northern skies
I mourn for health deny'd.
III.
Celestial maid of rosy hue,
Oh let me feel thy reign!
I languish till thy face I view,
Thy vanish'd joys regain.
IV.
Susannah mourns, nor can I bear
To see the crystal shower
Or mark the tender falling tear
At sad departure's hour;
V.
Not regarding can I see
Her soul with grief opprest
But let no sighs, no groans for me
Steal from her pensive breast.
VI.
In vain the feather'd warblers sing
In vain the garden blooms
And on the bosom of the spring
Breathes out her sweet perfumes.
VII.
While for Britannia's distant shore
We weep the liquid plain,
And with astonish'd eyes explore
The wide-extended main.
VIII.
Lo! Health appears! celestial dame!
Complacent and serene,
With Hebe's mantle oe'r her frame,
With soul-delighting mien.
IX.
To mark the vale where London lies
With misty vapors crown'd
Which cloud Aurora's thousand dyes,
And veil her charms around.
X.
Why, Phoebus, moves thy car so slow?
So slow thy rising ray?
Give us the famous town to view,
Thou glorious King of day!
XI.
For thee, Britannia, I resign
New-England's smiling fields;
To view again her charms divine,
What joy the prospect yields!
XII.
But thou! Temptation hence away,
With all thy fatal train,
Nor once seduce my soul away,
By thine enchanting strain.
XIII.
Thrice happy they, whose heavenly shield
Secures their souls from harm,
And fell Temptation on the field
Of all its pow'r disarms.
