English 1 1302H 2/20/08 Essay 1: Literary Analysis of Jonathan Edwards During the middle 1700s, religion was a hot topic and everyone was continually reminded of the repercussions of sinning. In 1741, Jonathan Edwards delivered one of the most famous sermons ever that caught the attention of the Puritans of early America. In "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," Edwards used numerous rhetorical methods to make his sermon effective. Every piece of literature has a tone, and this tone is how the author views what he or she is writing about. Authors communicate their tones to the audience by using an array of rhetorical strategies. In "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," Jonathan Edwards uses imagery, metaphors, and repetition to demonstrate his sharp tone. His cautious choice of words among the vivid descriptions allows him to clearly develop his intense tone. The style of writing in "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" also helps indicate the author's tone. Edwards's purpose seems to be implanting fear and bringing about a response among those facing damnation from God. The abrupt tone of this sermon was formed early and it set the stage for the remainder of the message. Edwards uses imagery to create an intimidating picture of everlasting punishment for those who are unsaved. His vivid description of Hell as a "bottomless pit" (Edwards 328) describes the agony and fear awaiting sinners when they arrive. This has an extraordinary effect on his readers because he scares them into believing what he is preaching. Edwards also uses imagery to give his congregation an imaginative illustration of God holding sinners over the pit of Hell, "much as one holds a spider" (330). At this point, the audience already has a lot of fear, but this mental picture shows that there is actually a light at the end of the tunnel from God's
2 forgiveness and blessing. Furthermore, Jonathan Edwards paints an image of sinners as "dry stubble before devouring flames" (329). The author's scare tactics also have a positive connotation in that God will save those who do not sin from eternal damnation. His use of imagery is powerful because it was able to infiltrate the minds and pierce the hearts of those who were in attendance. The uses of figures of speech in "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" are very prevalent. They are used to compare hypothetical ideas of God's wrath and the sinner's evil to frequent happenings. Edwards's use of metaphors, some as long as a paragraph, makes his sermon easier to understand. "The bow of God's wrath is bent, and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood" (331) shows that God could release his anger at any moment but his compassion saves them. Although the theme of this work is mainly to inform his listeners of God's wrath, Edwards also acknowledges that God is a loving God and will save you if you do not disobey him. This back and forth series keeps the reader tuned in to what God might do next. Additionally, sinners are compared to creatures like serpents that are generally abhorred by most humans, just like sinners are despised by God. The comparison of sinners to serpents can be traced back to the Bible because it was a serpent that created the temptation to Adam and Eve to commit the first sin. These metaphors demonstrate to the unconverted audience how unsatisfactorily God envisions them. The use of repetition is also important to convey a stern message. During his sermon, he continually uses the word "wrath." This repetition displays God's anger with his people. Edwards repeats this word in essence to show that all people are sinners in God's eyes. "Their foot shall slide in due time" (330) is repetitious in order to set the theme of future destruction.
3 This stresses the importance of the so; statement, in this case, it permits the readers the illustration of descending violently into the bottomless pits of Hell. Arguably, the most important feature of Jonathan Edwards's sermon was the structure. He starts with a series of short points, with each one building upon the previous. As the points increase, the explanations become larger. The first point says, "one that stands in slippery places is liable to fall," (329) which promptly leads to his next point: "The reason they do not fall is that it is not God's appointed time" (332). These first two points in combination lead to the final point of the sermon which says "There is nothing which keeps wicked men out of Hell, but the mere pleasure of God" (335). These series of points are in a logical structure, which is important because it keeps a steady flow to the preaching and helps the audience keep up with the sermon. Edwards structured his sermon as a staircase, with each point building up the suspense, leading to the dramatic culmination. Another part of structure involves syntax. Syntax talks about how a sentence is formatted. "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" has a segmented syntax demonstrating the minimal authority the speaker has. Edwards used God as the higher power in order to acquire the audience's attention. Edward's intricate sentence structure accentuates the abominable state of hell during their "everlasting destruction" (330). In the 4th point of the sermon, the syntax begins to slide. The fearful and threatening manner in which this sermon was displayed allowed Edwards to embrace each and every person's emotion and saturate them with fear. The articulate word choice deeply embedded inside the speech creates an authoritative sentence that captivates the concentration of the reader with interest in what the speaker has to say. When he describes Hell as a "bottomless pit" (328), his characterization is very elaborate, causing the use of
4 multiple semicolons. This only adds to the complexity of the sentences, which in turn relates to the syntax of the piece. A final rhetorical element used in "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is diction. Edwards uses negative diction to enhance the persuasion in his sermon. His effective verbs with negative connotations help the reader to comprehend the criticalness of the circumstance. Diction is used in this situation to stress the inauspicious allegations as well as the aspiration stated near the end. The minister terrifies the reader at first by articulating how extreme the wrath of God is, but in the end, explains how benevolent God is with "the door of mercy wide open" (336). His diction was meant to diffuse uneasiness among his listeners, in order to keep them on the edge of their seats. Edwards's diction, likewise, helps in developing the imagery discussed earlier that fuels the evolving sensation of the work. Grammatically speaking, there are many exclamation points and overuse of several words; nonetheless, the tone is still seen as powerful because of the specific diction. Edwards's careful word choice and vivid descriptions help create a commanding mood. "There is the dreadful pit of the glowing flames of the wrath of God and nothing can save you but the pure mercy of God" (337) sums up the whole sermon. This intense statement shows how dangerous Hell is, but how compassionate God is. He picks and chooses his words carefully in order to garner the most attention out of his readers. "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is the utmost fire and brimstone sermon. Jonathan Edwards uses vivid imagery of divine displeasure to evoke repentance out of fear. The eloquent approach to his speaking allows his listeners to follow the speech with great ease. His utilization of several rhetorical techniques made this sermon one of the classics of all time.
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