Rhetorical Strategy in Cowper's poems

William Cowper's use of rhetorical strategy in his two poems, "The Negro's Complaint" and "Pity for Poor Africans," coupled with specific literary devices, regarding form, demonstrate his intentions to appeal to different classes in British Society. "The Negro's Complaint," with it's short phrases and the pace of a drinking song, is meant to appeal to the lower classes of British society. Because they are not participants in the slave trade, due to their low incomes, he needs to use the Negro's experiences as a means of convincing them to support abolition. Because they are the lowest class of society, they could see the Negro's plight as a future plight for them. They are just one step away from slavery and by demonstrating what could potentially happen to them if African slaves "run-out," so to speak, they are more likely to join the abolitionist's cause. In direct contrast, "Pity for Poor Africans" takes on the persona of a "middle of the road" noble to demonstrate to other "middle of the road" nobles the mentality behind their own apathy. When he writes, "what could we do without sugar and rum?" he is directly appealing to the wealthy classes because the poor would know nothing of sugar and rum (Cowper, 7). Additionally, his metaphor of a child stealing apples provides a biblical link to appeal to their religious devotions. Nobles who were well-read in King James' Bible would understand the link between their own "desires" for sin and Eve's fall from grace.