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A Dialogue, Entitled, The Kind Master and Dutiful Servant

A copy of "An Evening THOUGHT," a 1760 poem by Jupiter Hammon (Newsday Photo/Bill Davis / )

THIS POEM IS Jupiter Hammon's artistic zenith. It is a dramatic exchange between a dictatorial slaveholder and a clever Servant whom the Master thinks he owns. Hammon created personae who were stereotypical of the eighteenth-century slaveholder and slave. On the surface, the slave feigns placid obedience to the Master. Yet beneath the poetic line, the slave (or "Servant,'' as Hammon prefers to call him) articulates subtle rebellion against the Master's position. The Master, on the other hand, overtly represents the typical interests and beliefs of his aristocratic class. Both profess Christianity, but their views of God and theology differ vastly.

1
Master.

Come my Servant, follow me,
According to thy place;
And surely God will be with thee,
And send thee heav'nly grace.

2
Servant.
Dear Master, I will follow thee,
According to thy word,
And pray that God may be with me,
And save thee in the Lord.

3
Master.
My Servant, lovely is the Lord,
And blest those servants be,
That truly love his holy word,
And thus will follow me.