Phyllis Wheatley

Through out the course of American literature many authors have used poetry as their means of expressing feelings and emotions. Edgar Allan Poe and Phillis Wheatley wrote during two different centuries, Wheatley during the eighteenth century and Poe during the nineteenth century. They both used poetry as their form of expression. Both authors were considered neoclassical poets. Neoclassicism is considered a revival of classicism. The dictionary definition for classicism is, a set of aesthetic values …

…writers; the only difference is that they were from two different centuries. Wheatley wrote in a tone in which she took the time to emphasize on reason and understand her surroundings. Poe’s writing emphasized on feelings and emotions. These were two writers shunned due to circumstances that they could not control. Work Cited The American Heritage Dictionary, 3d ed. (1994) , s.v. “Houghton Mufflin” Lauter, Paul, ed. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Houghton Mufflin, 1998