full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Charita Gainey: How Phillis Wheatley captured the attention of the world

Unscramble the Blue Letters

This moving tribute found an audience in both the US and England. And since the piece was published with a note identifying the author as an enavlsed wmaon, many readers were as fascinated with the poet as they were with the poem. In 1773, Phillis traveled to London, where her collection of “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral” became the first book of poetry published by an African-American woman. It was fleild with poronufd meditations on life, death, and religion, as well as Biblical and classical references. In “A Hymn to huaimtny,” wleeathy linked these temhes to her own creative growth, portraying herself as a muse smiled upon by heavenly bodies.

Open Cloze

This moving tribute found an audience in both the US and England. And since the piece was published with a note identifying the author as an ________ _____, many readers were as fascinated with the poet as they were with the poem. In 1773, Phillis traveled to London, where her collection of “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral” became the first book of poetry published by an African-American woman. It was ______ with ________ meditations on life, death, and religion, as well as Biblical and classical references. In “A Hymn to ________,” ________ linked these ______ to her own creative growth, portraying herself as a muse smiled upon by heavenly bodies.

Solution

  1. filled
  2. profound
  3. enslaved
  4. themes
  5. wheatley
  6. humanity
  7. woman

Original Text

This moving tribute found an audience in both the US and England. And since the piece was published with a note identifying the author as an enslaved woman, many readers were as fascinated with the poet as they were with the poem. In 1773, Phillis traveled to London, where her collection of “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral” became the first book of poetry published by an African-American woman. It was filled with profound meditations on life, death, and religion, as well as Biblical and classical references. In “A Hymn to Humanity,” Wheatley linked these themes to her own creative growth, portraying herself as a muse smiled upon by heavenly bodies.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

Important Words

  1. audience
  2. author
  3. biblical
  4. bodies
  5. book
  6. classical
  7. collection
  8. creative
  9. death
  10. england
  11. enslaved
  12. fascinated
  13. filled
  14. growth
  15. heavenly
  16. humanity
  17. hymn
  18. identifying
  19. life
  20. linked
  21. london
  22. meditations
  23. moving
  24. muse
  25. note
  26. phillis
  27. piece
  28. poem
  29. poet
  30. poetry
  31. portraying
  32. profound
  33. published
  34. readers
  35. references
  36. religion
  37. religious
  38. smiled
  39. subjects
  40. themes
  41. traveled
  42. tribute
  43. wheatley
  44. woman