Runagate Runagate Poem Analysis

Phyllis Wheatley's "Runagate, Runagate": A Practical Guide to Understanding the Poem

"Runagate, runagate" is a poem by Phillis Wheatley, an enslaved African American poet writing in the 18th century. The poem was composed around 1772-1773 and addressed to William Smallridge, a man accused of harboring escaped slaves. It is one of her most politically charged works, and it operates on a level of satire that many readers miss on a first read. The title itself is a command. "Runagate" is an archaic term for a runaway or fugitive. Wheatley is telling Smallridge to flee, but she is also using religious irony to make a point about justice and divine judgment. The poem is short — roughly 46 lines — but it carries a lot of structural and theological weight.

Runagate Runagate Poem Analysis

When you sit down to do a Runagate Runagate Poem Analysis, the first thing you need to recognize is that this is not a straightforward protest poem. Wheatley is using biblical language and classical allusion to critique both the institution of slavery and the moral failure of individuals who protect slaveholders. She positions herself as someone who understands scripture better than the men accusing her of ingratitude for being civilized. The poem opens with a direct address to Smallridge: "Runagate, runagate, unto the rock thou fly'st." The imagery draws from Psalm 11 and Isaiah 30, both of which speak of taking refuge in a rock during times of trouble. Wheatley is flipping the script here. The "rock" is typically understood as God, but she is also suggesting that Smallridge should flee to God because human law has failed him morally. One thing that trips up students constantly is the assumption that Wheatley is simply asking Smallridge to escape physical punishment. She is not. She is warning him about divine retribution. The poem moves quickly from earthly consequences to eternal ones. Lines like "The terrors of the Lord shall overtake thee" make this clear. She is not negotiating with him. She is delivering a verdict.

The second half of the poem shifts tone and becomes more personal. Wheatley references her own situation as an enslaved person who has gained some standing through her writing. She mentions her "fleece" and her "wool," which are biblical metaphors tied to purity and divine selection. This is where the poem becomes genuinely clever. She is asserting her spiritual equality while also reminding Smallridge that he, a free white man, is the one who needs saving. Here is something most people overlook: Wheatley was only about seventeen or eighteen when she wrote this. She had been enslaved for roughly six years. She had not yet published her first collection. The audacity of the piece is notable because she was writing as someone with almost no legal or social power in Boston society. She risked something by sending this poem to a prominent citizen. That context matters for the analysis.

How the Poem Actually Works in Practice

The best way to understand this poem is to read it aloud. Wheatley wrote in the heroic couplet tradition — iambic pentameter with rhyming pairs. When you read it silently, you miss the rhythm. The couplets create a sense of forward momentum, like a sermon building toward a conclusion. This is intentional. Wheatley modeled her work on Alexander Pope and other Augustan poets, and the measured pace gives the poem authority. Some specific phrases deserve close attention. "Thy guilt is great" appears early and sets the moral framework. Wheatley does not mince words. Later, she writes "The righteous shall with triumph see / Th' apostate wretch involved in misery." The word "apostate" is significant. It means someone who has abandoned their faith. Wheatley is suggesting that Smallridge has betrayed not just moral law but religious commitment. There is also a subtle class dimension here. Wheatley addresses a man of means who operated a tavern or inn — the kind of establishment where runaway slaves might find temporary shelter. Her poem is not abstract. It is aimed at a specific type of person in a specific community. Boston in the early 1770s had active networks involving both Black runners and white sympathizers. Wheatley knew this world.

Where to Find the Text and Related Materials

The full text of "Runagate, Runagate" is widely available online. The definitive version appears in The Poems of Phillis Wheatley, edited by Jeffrey L. Pasley and published by the University of South Carolina Press. That edition includes extensive notes and variant readings from different manuscript sources. You can also find reliable texts on Project Gutenberg and the Literary Encyclopedia without paywalls. If you are looking for a downloadable PDF for classroom or personal study, the Boston Public Library has digitized several editions of Wheatley's work, including the 1773 first edition. The Boston Public Library website offers free access to these scans. They are not polished modern editions, but they give you the original page layout and typography, which matters for understanding how the poem was received at the time.

Pitfalls to Avoid in Your Analysis

The biggest mistake readers make is treating this poem as purely personal rather than political. Wheatley is writing about her own condition, yes, but she is also engaging in public debate about slavery and complicity. Another common error is interpreting the religious references as simple piety. They are argumentative. She is using the language of the dominant culture to dismantle the moral position of her opponents. A less obvious problem: some analysts claim that Wheatley's Christian message weakens her political stance by encouraging acceptance of suffering. That reads the poem wrong. The Christianity here is weaponized. She is not telling enslaved people to be patient. She is telling white slaveholders that God is watching. The threat is directed outward, not inward. In my own experience grading student papers on this poem, I notice a recurring blind spot. Students tend to quote the religious passages at length but skip over the classical allusions. Wheatley references Aeneas, the Trojan War, and Greek mythological figures throughout her work. In "Runagate, Runagate," the allusions to classical justice and divine punishment reinforce the biblical ones. They work together. Ignoring the classical layer makes your analysis thinner than it should be.

When This Poem Doesn't Work as an Argument

There is a limitation worth noting. The poem depends on Wheatley having some degree of credibility with her audience. In 1773, she was known but not widely read outside certain circles. Smallridge may have dismissed it entirely. That is a structural weakness of any protest poetry written from a position of limited power. The poem can be profound without being effective in its immediate historical moment. Recognizing that gap does not diminish the poem. It clarifies what Wheatley was working against. If you are using this poem to argue that literature directly changes policy, you will struggle. It did not free the people Smallridge sheltered. It did not end slavery. What it did do was assert intellectual equality in a society that denied it. That is a different kind of impact, and it is worth evaluating on those terms rather than measuring it against legislative outcomes.