TO show the lab'ring bosom's deep intent,
And thought in living characters to paint,
When first thy pencil did those beauties give,
And breathing figures learnt from thee to live,
How did those prospects give my soul delight,
A new creation rushing on my sight?
In this line of the poem Phillis Wheatley shows what a pencil is in the eyes of the artist. When she states “Thy pencil did those beauties give” it shows how the artist and the pencil are one. The pencil will never be able to show what it could do without the artist. The artist is what creates the “beauty” with the pencil. Phillis Wheatley is showing to her readers how amazing art is and how amazing the pencil is to the artist that is using it to create their form of beauty.
To S. M. a young African Painter on seeing his Works