By Isla Sadzak
Our memories are what shape our identities, and therefore, what we remember and share with others holds great significance. One important figure from Hartford, Connecticut during the 19th century was Ann Plato, a remarkable young Black woman who was an educator, an essayist, and a poet and one of the first Black women to publish a book in the US. Although her work has been criticized for not focusing on slavery, which was a major topic for Black writers at the time, Ann Plato should be remembered because she highlights a unique perspective of the Black experience and emphasizes the value of remembrance. One of her works that illustrates this is “The Natives of America,” a poem which celebrates the beauty of Native American culture and recognizes their resilience while lamenting the loss of their way of life. It emphasizes the importance of remembering the past and appreciating those who came before us.
What makes “Natives of America” a good story is the use of its language and how it is delivered to the audience. The poem uses multiple sound elements and rhymes to form a consistent rhythm to draw the readers in as well as making it feel as if the story is being told to them. Plato demonstrates the use of alliteration and assonance in the third stanza, “We were a happy race/When we no tongue but ours did trace’’ (15-16), and “Our dress was suited to the clime” (23). These lines are one of the many examples of repetition throughout the poem not only to create a flow but to also convey the feeling of reminiscence of something now long gone. The poem also makes use of rhyming to convey Plato’s father’s love for his country and his people as well as his sadness to tell the story of its destruction. The end rhymes in the third stanza “peace” and “release” (18-19) as well as the sixth stanza “oppress” and “possess” (39-40) provide a sort of continuity in the poem as well as evoke an emotional response in the reader. Overall, the rhythm and powerful sound of the poem helps draw in the audience to convey the message of the importance of remembering Native American culture.
Poems often use imagery to further immerse the readers into the idea they are trying to convey. The poem “The Natives of Americas” uses this element to express both the beauty and downfall of the Native American way of life due to European colonization. In the lines 22 -26 her father recounts the details of his past:
We join’d and took each other’s hand;
Our dress was suited to the clime,
Our food was such as roam’d that time,
Our houses were of sticks compos’d;
No matter,—for they us enclos’d.
The father uses blissful and harmonious imagery to reminisce about a time when his people lived in peace, dressed for the season, ate foods native to their location, and lived in humble abodes. In contrast, he also uses imagery to show how the arrival of the Europeans disrupted and drastically changed the life of the Native Americans. The imagery the father describes is now intense and shocking: “Wars ensued. They knew the handling of firearms” (37), and “Into the dark, dark woods we rush’d” (42). The Europeans were more advanced than the Natives and used firearms to their advantage to kill and get rid of the Native Americans from their own land. The natives who had no chance of winning had to flee. The imagery then turns into one of sorrow as he tells young Plato at the time, “My daughter, we are now diminish’d, unknown” (44). This encapsulates the feeling of loss from her father as now his people and culture are fading away and the people who lived through this are no longer telling their stories. The vivid and powerful imagery is significant because not only does it create a powerful story, but it also keeps the history of the Native Americans alive.
Symbols go beyond face value and represent deeper concepts. The poem uses symbols to portray the contrast between the blissful past and the harsh present. The times of peace before the colonization are shown by the description of the Native Americans living in harmony by describing them holding hands and being happy. This is then contrasted by the oppression of the European colonizers, who are symbolized by the coming of Columbus and the Europeans. Furthermore, the poem symbolizes the loss of this culture and people by stating, “We altogether moved in foreign hands” (36) and “When my brothers were shrouded in night” (49). The lines describe the selling of the lands and how the silent voices of his people are slowly erasing history. However, all is not lost, because, despite all of this persecution, Plato’s father keeps his history alive by telling it to her. Plato’s father tells her, “Now daughter dear I’ve done/Seal this upon thy memory; until the morrow’s sun” (58-59). This poem is a promise fulfilled by Ann Plato to keep her father’s and culture’s memory alive. It serves to describe the history of the Native Americans but also as a way to do what her father had done and share their story.
Ann Plato’s writings represent her own perspective on the experience of a young Black woman. Plato published her only book titled ”Essays: Including Biographies and Miscellaneous Pieces, in Prose and Poetry” in 1841, which is said to be one of the first collections of poetry written by an African American woman. The book is a compilation of poetry and essays about how to act as a young woman, how to devote oneself more to God, her Native American background, and the people she was closest to. One of her big influences during the time was Lydia Sigourney, who was also a Connecticut resident whose works inspired Plato’s (Action-lab.org). Despite being a Black woman living in the early to mid-1800s she, against all odds, learned the importance of education and encouraged people to attain knowledge. Little is known about this educator and author, however according to the article Black Heritage, Ann Plato was born in 1824 and she was both Black and Native American (Freeman-Johnson, et al). Her Native American origin inspired her poem “The Natives of America,” and because she lived during the period of Western Expansion, the poem represents the oppression and brutality faced by her people at that time. Overall, her experience as a young Black and native American woman whose devotion to God and focus on education gives insight into her perspective and her writings.
In conclusion, Ann Plato’s poem “The Natives of America” is a powerful poem about the Native American way of life and how it was taken away by European colonization. It also symbolizes Plato’s way of keeping her father’s memory and history alive by writing it and sharing it with the world. Ann Plato is an important figure that we need to value today due to her being an inspiration towards young Black women and the many children she taught. Despite all else, she learned the value of an education and wanted to inspire others to also pursue knowledge. Just like Ann Plato wrote to keep the memory of her closest ones alive, we should also return her the favor.
WORKS CITED:
Freeman-Johnson, Aliyah, et al. “Black Heritage: Liberal Arts Action Lab, Spring 2020.” Black Heritage, Trinity College, 5 May 2020, https://action-lab.org/black-heritage/.
Plato, Ann. “The Natives of America.” Essays Including Biographies and Miscellaneous Pieces, in Prose and Poetry, Oxford Univ. Press, New York, 2009.
Course: ENG 102
Assignment: Poem analysis
Instructor: Jeff Partridge
Instructor’s comments: Isla Sadzak’s essay is a cogent discussion of the poet Ann Plato and her poem about Native Americans published here in Hartford in 1841. Isla’s essay explicates the formal qualities of the poem in a way that brings out its subtleties and implications, and she makes a strong case for keeping the memory of this forgotten poet alive.
Photo credit: Derek Bluff (Creative Commons)
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