Last Name 1 First Name Last Name Instructor Course Date Human or Object? The Slave’s Voice in “The Negro’s Complaint” “Forced from Home and all its pleasures Afric’s coast I left forlorn, To increase a stranger’s treasures O’er the raging billows borne; Men from England bought and sold me, Pay’d my price in paltry gold, But though slave they have enroll’d me Minds are never to be sold. Still in thought as free as ever What are England’s rights, I ask, Me from my delights to sever, Me to torture, me to task?” (1-12) The system of slavery expected slaves to sacrifice themselves in order to benefit their white masters’ treasuries. Slave owners believed that enslaved people were inferior, non-human even, which allowed the owners to objectify the enslaved as tools. Early abolitionists like William Cowper, however, challenged the idea that enslaved people were inherently subordinate. In the poem “The Negro’s Complaint,” Cowper uses the voice of a slave to question this objectification in order to demonstrate that slaves are humans too. By using the first-person perspective of an enslaved person, the poem demonstrates that the slave is an individual who has his own story to narrate. From the start of the poem, the slave takes control of his story, stating that he was “forced from Home and all its pleasures / Afric’s coast I left forlorn” (1–2). Although the slave recognizes his oppression with the word “forced,” which indicates his lack of power, he asserts his individuality when he says, “I left forlorn.” The Last Name 2 enslaved speaker, in other words, puts his emotional state at the center of his narrative instead of his “forced” departure, the moment that turned him into a slave. Indeed, in referencing that he had a “Home” in Africa, the slave not only reveals he had a past when he wasn’t a slave but that there was also a time when he had the right to possess something. The capitalization of “Home” emphasizes this ownership by turning the common noun into a proper one. Both of these qualities—the speaker’s self-awareness and his ability to own property—make him a someone rather than a something. Along with possessing a home, the enslaved person also possesses feelings, another marker of his individuality. Besides feeling “forlorn,” the slave is capable of feeling “pleasures,” which indicates the range of emotions he owns and feels (1). This emotional capacity suggests the slave is aware of how unfair it is for him to be forced from home to “increase a stranger’s treasure” (Cowper, 3). Even though the speaker acknowledges he is just considered a tool that contributes to the enrichment of his white master, he controls his story by telling it through his own voice. In addition to proving the slave’s individuality, the first-person perspective demonstrates that the slave’s mind is capable of free thought and critical thinking, which enable him to questio ...

1. Last Name 1
First Name Last Name
Instructor
Course
Date
Human or Object? The Slave’s Voice in “The Negro’s
Complaint”
“Forced from Home and all its pleasures
Afric’s coast I left forlorn,
To increase a stranger’s treasures
O’er the raging billows borne;
Men from England bought and sold me,
Pay’d my price in paltry gold,
But though slave they have enroll’d me
Minds are never to be sold.
Still in thought as free as ever
What are England’s rights, I ask,
Me from my delights to sever,
Me to torture, me to task?” (1-12)

2. The system of slavery expected slaves to sacrifice themselves in
order to benefit their
white masters’ treasuries. Slave owners believed that enslaved
people were inferior, non-human
even, which allowed the owners to objectify the enslaved as
tools. Early abolitionists like
William Cowper, however, challenged the idea that enslaved
people were inherently subordinate.
In the poem “The Negro’s Complaint,” Cowper uses the voice
of a slave to question this
objectification in order to demonstrate that slaves are humans
too.
By using the first-person perspective of an enslaved person, the
poem demonstrates that
the slave is an individual who has his own story to narrate.
From the start of the poem, the slave
takes control of his story, stating that he was “forced from
Home and all its pleasures / Afric’s
coast I left forlorn” (1–2). Although the slave recognizes his
oppression with the word “forced,”
which indicates his lack of power, he asserts his individuality
when he says, “I left forlorn.” The

3. Last Name 2
enslaved speaker, in other words, puts his emotional state at the
center of his narrative instead of
his “forced” departure, the moment that turned him into a slave.
Indeed, in referencing that he
had a “Home” in Africa, the slave not only reveals he had a past
when he wasn’t a slave but that
there was also a time when he had the right to possess
something. The capitalization of “Home”
emphasizes this ownership by turning the common noun into a
proper one. Both of these
qualities—the speaker’s self-awareness and his ability to own
property—make him a someone
rather than a something. Along with possessing a home, the
enslaved person also possesses
feelings, another marker of his individuality. Besides feeling
“forlorn,” the slave is capable of
feeling “pleasures,” which indicates the range of emotions he
owns and feels (1). This emotional
capacity suggests the slave is aware of how unfair it is for him
to be forced from home to
“increase a stranger’s treasure” (Cowper, 3). Even though the
speaker acknowledges he is just

4. considered a tool that contributes to the enrichment of his white
master, he controls his story by
telling it through his own voice.
In addition to proving the slave’s individuality, the first-person
perspective demonstrates
that the slave’s mind is capable of free thought and critical
thinking, which enable him to
question his objectification. In line 6, he states that slave
owners “pay’d my price in paltry gold,”
meaning that he realizes he was lowered to the level of objects
that could be “bought and sold”
with “paltry gold” (5). By recognizing this monetary exchange
and how wrong it is, the speaker
interrogates his dehumanization and the self-importance of the
white masters. Yet even though
he was “bought and sold,” the slave still claims some freedom.
As he argues, “But though slave
they have enroll’d me / Minds are never to be sold” (7-8). The
white masters, that is, only
“bought and sold” his body; he is “still in thought as free as
ever” (9). And with this mental
independence, the enslaved speaker fights for his physical
independence when he questions the

5. Last Name 3
legality of his enslavement: “what are England’s rights, I ask /
Me from my delights to sever, /
Me to torture, me to task” (10-12). With this question, the slave
pokes holes at England’s
presumed “rights” to “torture” and “task” him, thereby
undermining the English’s belief in their
supremacy and racial superiority (9). These lines also, once
again, establish the slave’s humanity
because only a person—and an educated and articulate one at
that—can examine England’s
injustice; a mere object doesn’t have the critical capacity to do
so. This final question contributes
to the message Cowper wants to communicate, which is that
enslaved people are as clever,
eloquent, and human as the readers of the poem.
In the poem “The Negro’s Complaint,” Cowper utilizes the first-
person perspective of a
slave to question the practice of slavery and the dehumanization
of slaves. The first-person voice
gives the slave ownership of his story and proves that the slave
is a person who is capable of
emotions and rational thought. The poem thus not only

6. interrogates the treatment of slaves but
also questions English society for allowing slavery to exist. By
demonstrating that he is an
educated person with the ability to think and analyze his lack of
rights in England, the slave in
the poem reclaims his humanity and simultaneously reveals who
the real non-humans are: the
slave owners and slave traders who captured him in the first
place.
Work Cited
Cowper, William. “The Negro’s Complaint”. 1788. The Norton
Anthology of English Literatur e-
The Romantic Period. Vol. D, 9th Ed. 2012, pp. 96-97.
CPSS/420 v2
Relapse Prevention Plan
CPSS/420 v2
Page 2 of 2
Relapse Prevention Plan
Relapse planning is a tool to help you to create a plan that will
help you prepare and prevent relapse from occurring. These
plans should remain fluid and be updated as goals are met and
resources or situations change. Please use the Angel Case study
and the treatment plan you created in week four to complete this
Relapse Plan from Angel’s perspective.
Please include 3 evidence-based strategies and 2 references (and

7. the in-text citations) that support how this would be an effective
plan.
Goal Identification
What would you like to continue to focus on improving? (i.e.,
losing weight, saving money to buy a car, finding a better job.)
What encourages you?
What outcomes of the changes motivate you? (i.e., fitting into
your clothes, working out in the gym, gaining computer skills)
Difficulties you might encounter...
What difficulties might you encounter? These could be triggers
that may challenge you. (i.e., going to the old neighborhood,
relational break ups, losing a job)
My coping skills
These are skills and tools used to cope and maintain sobriety
(i.e., calling my coach/sponsor, regularly going to meetings,
mindfulness playing the tape to the end)
Relapse Prevention Action Steps
These action steps are put in place to prevent relapse from
happening. (i.e., building sober support system, giving back to
the community through service, attending faith-based
community activities, exercising, thinking before acting.)
My self-care plan
Identify how you will grow your life by taking care of your
mind, body and spirit. (I.e., acquire new skills, chair a meeting,
stretch, attend workshops, gain faith-based or spiritual insight)
Sober people who support me
Who are the sober people who support you, are your cheer
leaders and want you to succeed? (i.e., parents, spouse, siblings,
sponsor/coach, pastor.)

8. I will stay accountable by these consequences
If I have a lapse or don’t meet my goal, I must keep myself
accountable. (i.e., I will fine myself $10.00 a day, I will
volunteer for additional service to my community, 1 hour for
every day I was short of my goal.)
I am grateful for
Daily expression of the things in life we are grateful for
reminds us of how far we have come and who has helped us
along the way.
Copyright 2021 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.
Copyright 2021 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.
CPSS/420 v2
Relapse Prevention Plan
CPSS/420 v2
Page 2 of 2
Relapse Prevention Plan
Relapse planning is a tool to help you to create a plan that will
help you prepare and prevent relapse from occurring. These
plans should remain fluid and be updated as goals are met and
resources or situations change. Please use the Angel Case study
and the treatment plan you created in week four to complete this
Relapse Plan from Angel’s perspective.
Please include 3 evidence-based strategies and 2 references (and
the in-text citations) that support how this would be an effective
plan.
Goal Identification
What would you like to continue to focus on improving? (i.e.,
losing weight, saving money to buy a car, finding a better job.)
What encourages you?
What outcomes of the changes motivate you? (i.e., fitting into

9. your clothes, working out in the gym, gaining computer skills)
Difficulties you might encounter...
What difficulties might you encounter? These could be triggers
that may challenge you. (i.e., going to the old neighborhood,
relational break ups, losing a job)
My coping skills
These are skills and tools used to cope and maintain sobriety
(i.e., calling my coach/sponsor, regularly going to meetings,
mindfulness playing the tape to the end)
Relapse Prevention Action Steps
These action steps are put in place to prevent relapse from
happening. (i.e., building sober support system, giving back to
the community through service, attending faith-based
community activities, exercising, thinking before acting.)
My self-care plan
Identify how you will grow your life by taking care of your
mind, body and spirit. (I.e., acquire new skills, chair a meeting,
stretch, attend workshops, gain faith-based or spiritual insight)
Sober people who support me
Who are the sober people who support you, are your cheer
leaders and want you to succeed? (i.e., parents, spouse, siblings,
sponsor/coach, pastor.)
I will stay accountable by these consequences
If I have a lapse or don’t meet my goal, I must keep myself
accountable. (i.e., I will fine myself $10.00 a day, I will
volunteer for additional service to my community, 1 hour for
every day I was short of my goal.)
I am grateful for
Daily expression of the things in life we are grateful for

10. reminds us of how far we have come and who has helped us
along the way.
Copyright 2021 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.
Copyright 2021 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.
8/13/2020 In an Artist's Studio by Christina Rossetti | Poetry
Foundation
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/146804/in-an-
artist39s-studio 1/2
In an Artist's Studio
B Y C H R I S T I N A R O S S E T T I
One face looks out from all his canvases,
One selfsame figure sits or walks or leans:
We found her hidden just behind those screens,
That mirror gave back all her loveliness.
A queen in opal or in ruby dress,
A nameless girl in freshest summer-greens,
A saint, an angel — every canvas means
The same one meaning, neither more or less.
He feeds upon her face by day and night,

11. And she with true kind eyes looks back on him,
Fair as the moon and joyful as the light:
Not wan with waiting, not with sorrow dim;
Not as she is, but was when hope shone bright;
Not as she is, but as she fills his dream.
C O N TA C T U S
N E W S L E T T E R S
P R E S S
P R I VA C Y P O L I C Y
P O L I C I E S
T E R M S O F U S E
P O E T R Y M O B I L E A P P
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Chicago, IL 60654
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