Bilbro, Jeffrey. “Who Are Lost and How They’re Found: Redemption and Theodicy in Wheatley, Newton, and Cowper.” Early American Literature 47, no. 3 (2012): 561–589. doi:10.1353/eal.2012.0054.
Abstract: The article critiques poems which focus on the themes of redemption, theodicy and the African American slave trade, including the poem “On the Death of the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield,” by Phillis Wheatley, “Olney Hymns,” by John Newton and “Charity,” by William Cowper. The relationship between the poetry of Newton, Wheatley and Cowper and the abolition movement is discussed.
