SOURCE: "A Classic Case: Phillis Wheatley and Her Poetry," Early American Literature, Vol. 31, 1996, pp. 103-32.
In the essay that follows, Watson examines the neoclassical blend of conventional diction and imagery in Wheatley's poetry. She argues that the innovative use of these elements becomes a "weapon of racial memory," despite the critical considerations of her work as imitative of or subordinate to Western literary traditions.
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