Rhetorical Analysis Of Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God

Garrett Walshe Professor Joycelyn Bell RHET 1302.008 2 October 2017 Edwards â€Å"Sinners† Rhetorical Analysis Imagine you are a Puritan, it is the Great Awakening, and one of the most well-known preachers of the time is telling you that there is a good chance you are going to hell. Without some serious skills in persuasion, this statement wouldn’t mean anything. Jonathan Edwards Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God speech was extremely effective in persuading the Puritans to take their religious beliefs more seriously due to his use of many rhetorical devices such as: figures of speech, repetition and sound, syntax, and the triangle of rhetoric - ethos, pathos, and logos. The people were getting distracted by things other than religion†¦show more content†¦Next, we see Edwards use of repetition and sound. He used polysyndetons - the use of coordinating conjunctions in a rapid succession. He uses the word â€Å"and† to keep the attention and focus on due to how many ands there are, there could be a multitude of outcomes that could result. â€Å"The waters are constan tly rising, and waxing more and more mighty; and there is nothing but mere pleasure of God, that holds the waters back† (Edwards 6). He also uses anaphora – the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses. â€Å"[N]othing to lay hold of to save [themselves], nothing to keep the flames of wrath, nothing of [their] own, nothing that [they] ever have done, nothing that [they] can do† to save them from anything God wants to happen to them (Edwards 6). His use of the word â€Å"nothing† burns into the Puritans’ brains that no matter what they do, they cannot change what God decides should happen. He also uses sound to his advantage. â€Å"[T]he fiery floods of the fierceness and wrath of God† focuses and highlights the meaning of what is being said (Edwards 6). Syntax is another profound way to emphasize a point. Parallel structure, rhetorical questions, and isocolons are found throughout the speech. â€Å"But, alas! ins tead of one, how manyShow MoreRelatedRhetorical Analysis Of Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God915 Words   |  4 Pagesin his sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (July 8, 1741), claims that the unconverted are hanging from the hands of God, and can be dropped off to the eternity of hell, his sermon is used to make the sinners be afraid and understand how the power of God is saving them, but it is only for his pleasure, unless if they return to Christianity. Edwards strengths his argument by using metaphors and imagery of a wrathful God to make the unconverted people afraid of being sinners and encourage themRead MoreEdwards : Not The King Of Emotion?1433 Words   |  6 Pageslongevity of that effect. In terms of influence, both the sermon â€Å"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God† by Jonathan Edwards and â€Å"Letter From Birmingham Jail† by Martin Luther King Jr. contributed to major religious and political movements of their times. Jonathan Edwards, a w ell-educated and respected Puritan preacher, contrived the peak of the Great Awakening--a movement in the 1740s toward old, pious Puritan ways. He brought the raw fear of God back to the communities of colonial America. Similarly, MartinRead MoreJonathan Edwards Essay Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God2232 Words   |  9 PagesSinners in the Hands of an Angry God Rhetorical Analysis Essay Jonathan Edwards, a famous preacher in pre-colonial times, composed a sermon that was driven to alert and inject neo Puritanical fear into an eighteenth century congregation. This Bible based and serious audience sought after religious instruction and enlightenment. Through the sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Edwards offers a very harsh interpretation to humankind. Edwards utilizes various rhetorical techniques toRead MoreStudy Guide Literary Terms7657 Words   |  31 Pages AP Literary and Rhetorical Terms 1. 2. alliteration- Used for poetic effect, a repetition of the initial sounds of several words in a group. The following line from Robert Frosts poem Acquainted with the Night provides us with an example of alliteration,: I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet. The repetition of the s sound creates a sense of quiet, reinforcing the meaning of the line 3. allegory – Where every aspect of a story is representative, usually symbolic