After reading "The Negro's complaint" and
"Pity for Poor Africans" I found it fascinating how he approached
each poem. The first poem, he takes on a different perspective by writing as a
black man who is trying to understand why he is a slave, why it exists and why
there has to be suffering so that other people can profit. In "Pity for
Poor Africans" is another character who lets the reader know that slavery
is bad, yet doesn't want to change it since it's so beneficial to society. I'm
just curious as to how the readers of the time took each of these poems
concerning slave trade, because they are both so powerful. And also, it seems as
though Cowper was almost nontraditional in a sense by displaying such concern
for free trade and slavery issues.
While I can't be certain, I don't think that the character in "Pity for Poor Africans" feels that slavery is beneficial to society. The dialogue in the second half of the poem, about stealing apples, I believe is meant to suggest that the logic of slavery is similar to the character's absurd reasoning for joining his friends to steal, even though he is aware that it will hurt the man that owns the orchard. It's like he's suggesting that the group mentality (society's acceptance of slavery at the time) provides people with an excuse to participate in slave trading.
ReplyDeleteI read, "Pity for Poor Africans" as Cowper mockery and sarcastic polemic against those who feel sorry or pity for the African slaves, yet do nothing to change society (usually justifying themselves by saying it's an impossible feat or that it's too hard).
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