“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan EdwardsEmotional Appeal Analysis

Example: The pit is prepared, the fire is made ready, the furnace is now hot, ready to receive them; the flames do now rage and glow…

Analysis: Edwards uses the image of hell being a pit that is prepared as a furnace with flames and fire metaphorically to create fear within the audience. Hell is not something that is going to be prepared, but something that is already waiting for us as sinners. This creates a sense of urgency within the audience.

Example: The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you…his wrath toward you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire…

Analysis: The image of a sinner being held over a pit of hell creates a sense of powerlessness in the audience and fear. Edwards uses the simile of sinners being like a spider or insect being held over a fire to also create a sense of powerlessness and also make the audience feel ugly. Edwards repeats the word fire to create a sense of fear and urgency.

Example: …singing for joy of heart, hearts filled with love

Analysis: Edwards repeats the word heart and personifies it by having it filled with love and having one sing to bring it joy to create a sense of hope and peace within the audience. What makes this have more impact on the audience is the fact that he uses the images of fire, hell, and spiders/insects when speaking to and about the audience previously.