Essential question
How does Wheatley use the poem’s closing turn to challenge the racial judgment named earlier in the poem?
Marked passage
- Start anchor
- 'Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land,
- End anchor
- May be refin'd, and join th' angelic train.
Poem - complete poem
Ways to teach it
Listening
Listen; same evidence task.
Solo
Read independently.
Supported
Narration + highlighting.
Teacher guide
Close
Name the single detail that most changed or sharpened your interpretation, and say why.
Evidence
Use the direct address to Christians and the final salvation claim.
Mark
Underline first-person references in the opening. Circle the moment the poem addresses “Christians.” Box the words describing racial judgment. Star the final claim about salvation.
Instructional move
Analyze how a short poem changes audience and purpose at its closing turn
Notice
• Who appears to be speaking about whom in the first half? • What changes when the poem directly addresses Christians? • How does the final religious claim answer the racial judgment quoted before it?
Strong answer
The closing turn shifts the poem from personal testimony to direct correction. By addressing Christians and placing racist judgments beside the claim that Black people may join the angelic train, Wheatley uses the audience’s own religious framework to expose a contradiction in racial prejudice.
Think
Answer provisionally: How does Wheatley use the poem’s closing turn to challenge the racial judgment named earlier in the poem? Choose the strongest interpretation you can defend from this passage alone.
Watch for
Do not treat the opening word “mercy” as the whole argument. The key instructional move is the shift in audience and pressure created by the final two lines.
Why this passage
The poem begins in first person, but the final couplet addresses “Christians” directly and repeats the racist language used to judge Black people. By placing that language beside Christian salvation, Wheatley forces the audience to confront a contradiction inside its own professed belief.
Write
Write a short evidence-based response. Use at least two details from the assigned passage and explain how they support your interpretation.
Student tasks
Close
Name the single detail that most changed or sharpened your interpretation, and say why.
Mark
Underline first-person references in the opening. Circle the moment the poem addresses “Christians.” Box the words describing racial judgment. Star the final claim about salvation.
Notice
Who appears to be speaking about whom in the first half? What changes when the poem directly addresses Christians? How does the final religious claim answer the racial judgment quoted before it?
Think
Answer provisionally: How does Wheatley use the poem’s closing turn to challenge the racial judgment named earlier in the poem?
Write
Write a short response using at least two pieces of evidence from this passage.