How does Wheatley’s use of imagery contribute to her purpose in the poem

Phillis Wheatley is roundly considered to follow the neoclassical style of Alexander Pope, an early eighteenth-century poet highly regarded in Wheatley's era. She borrowed images from the neoclassical style easily, such as "realms of light," "astonish'd ocean," and "Autumn's golden reign." She also includes references to Greek mythology in her verse; the goddess of Freedom, muses and celestial choirs, Eolus, the god of wind.

Most students see Wheatley's images as quaint, naive relics and are as likely to believe in the nobility of "the unfurl'd ensign" and the "heaven-defined races" as they are to believe in the myth of Atlas holding the world in space on his giant shoulders. And yet, readers still have a faint taste of the heroism that Wheatley tapped into with this poem. Her imagery supports the ugliness of political competition, as the opponents are willing to keep quiet and support the military during times of conflict. America's most recent significant military action, the Persian Gulf War in 1991, made household names out of Generals Powell and Schwartzkopf, and there is every reason to believe that Americans, no matter how cynical, will make heroes out of the next war's generals as well.