Question

In this excerpt from Phillip Freneau's poem "American Liberty," the speaker describes being "slaves and minions to a parliament." What is the intended meaning of this hyperbole? And should we now when spread thro' ev'ry shore, Submit to that our fathers shunn'd before? Should we, just heaven, our blood and labour spent, be slaves and minions to a parliament? Perish the thought, nor may one wretch remain, Who dares not fight and in our cause be slain;

Answer 1

Answer:

To show how unfairly the colonists were treated by the British

Explanation:

According to the excerpt from Philip Frenau's poem, the speaker bemoans how badly he and others are being treated and laments that they find themselves doing things their fathers shunned before, and then he crowns his lamentations by saying that they were "slaves and minions to the parliament" which refers to the British government.