Africa

One of the named settings in the poem is "Africa." No more specificity is provided about what part of the continent this is associated with, which suggests Wheatley's appeal to her assumed-white audience, since they likely knew little about the diversity of African nations and cultures. It is also worth considering that Wheatley herself, who was enslaved as a young child, may not have had access to specific knowledge about Africa: she was educated by white people, with a focus on Greco-Roman classics, and was encouraged to demonstrate her ability to align with white literature, culture, and ideals. Even scholars are not sure which country in Africa Wheatley came from. In the poem, Africa seems to be characterized quite negatively, as a "Pagan land" (1). However, careful reading reveals that Wheatley also avoids the primary negative associations with Africa that were often seen in the literature of this era...