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What Are The Rhetorical Devices In Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God

729 Words3 Pages

Braylen Murth
Mrs. Martin
English 3 - Period 2
18 January 2023
Rhetoric in “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
In 1741, in Connecticut, Johnathan Edwards delivered a powerful and terrifying, yet effective sermon directed at those that are “…out of Christ,” (87). Edwards’ sermon lasted nearly 6 hours and persisted the idea that God is all powerful and wrathful. In Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Edwards uses repetition, imagery, and personification in order to scare and threaten people to conform to a life with Christ.
Edwards uses repetition a number of times in order to further stress his ideas. Throughout the sermon Edwards continues to warn the listeners of “The wrath of God…” (88). The purpose of repeating this phrase is to over stress the concept that God has the ability to cause mass harm at will. The wrath is said to not be unleashed out of sheer pleasure by God. Because of this God must be feared and respected, especially since he is angry. Furthermore, Edwards repeats the word “nothing” often during the sermon. For …show more content…

An example of personification in the sermon is when he states, “The world would spew you out, were it not for the sovereign hand of Him…” (88). This quote uses personification and imagery to continue the idea that God is all powerful. The word “…spew…” is used because this verb has a negative connotation, thus, adding to the negative tone and showing the great power that God possesses. Likewise, Edwards uses the phrase “Your damnation does not slumber…” (90) to create a chilling feeling, and to express that being banished to eternal hell is always possible. By using the verb “slumber”, it expresses that this method of punishment is always keeping you accountable for sinning, and never turning a blind eye to sinful actions. In other words, the use of personification helps to continue to instill fear by giving harsh qualities to non-living

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