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How is parallelism used in Jonathan Edwards's "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"?
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Parallelism is used in Jonathan Edwards's “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” to strengthen the force of the sermon's argument. In one passage where parallelism is used, Edwards tells his audience that even if their strength were ten thousand times greater than it is, they would still not be able to withstand the wrath of God.
Parallelism is a useful literary device in sermons and other persuasive works. Because of its rhythm and balance of grammatical structure, as well as its repetition of ideas, parallelism produces a powerful and lasting impression upon the listener. Jonathan Edwards makes use of this literary device in his emotionally stirring sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God."
In his sermon, the Reverend Edwards employs parallelism, lending his words power as all phrases are equal in their importance and impact. Here is an example from an early part of his sermon:
The devil is waiting for them [the sinners], hell is gaping for them, the flames gather and flash about them.
This use of parallelism strongly emphasizes the idea that sinners live on the brink of hell, as well as describing some of the horrors that await them. Further in his sermon, the Reverend Edwards describes hell...
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in more frightening terms, again using parallelism:
That world of misery, that lake of burning brimstone, is extended abroad under you....
There is the dreadful pit of the glowing flames of the wrath of God; there is hell's wide gaping mouth open....there is nothing between you and hell but the air...
Although the Reverend Edwards addresses respectable, church-going people, he uses parallelism to impress upon them that they are, nevertheless, "abominable" in God's sight. In his sermon, Edwards's graphic descriptions and parallel structures that repeat and emphasize ideas help to exaggerate his views of the dangers of eternal damnation. Such rhetorical devices strengthen his efforts to sway his audience.
How does Jonathan Edwards use imagery in "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"?
Jonathan Edwards's use of imagery in "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is primarily intended to make his message more striking and urgent. Edwards achieves this by using simple objects and situations with which his hearers would have been familiar and building metaphors and similes from them. He describes God holding the sinner over the pit of hell as being like a person who is about to throw a spider into a kitchen fire. This is a vivid, clear comparison which drives home the message of how precarious the sinner's position is, since it is far more likely that someone holding a spider over a fire will let it fall into the flames than it is that they will have a change of heart and decide to rescue it.
The same effect is accomplished by the image of divine justice setting an arrow to a bowstring and aiming it at the sinner's heart. The image is a familiar one, and the sense of danger is palpable. The archer aiming at a target hardly ever decides not to shoot after all unless something unusual happens. By far the most likely outcome is that the shot will be fired, and divine justice will not miss the mark.