The Rhetoric of Conversion in English Puritan Writing from Perkins to Milton
Ebook
This rhetorical study of the persuasive practice of English Puritan preachers and writers demonstrates how they appeal to both reason and imagination in order to persuade their hearers and readers towards conversion, assurance of salvation and godly living. Examining works from a diverse range of preacher-writers such as William Perkins, Richard Sibbes, Richard Baxter and John Bunyan, this book maps out continuities and contrasts in the theory and practice of persuasion.
Tracing the emergence of Puritan allegory as an alternative, imaginative mode of rhetoric, it sheds new light on the paradoxical question of how allegories such as John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress came to be among the most significant contributions of Puritanism to the English literary canon, despite the suspicions of allegory and imagination that were endemic in Puritan culture.
Concluding with reflections on how Milton deploys similar strategies to persuade his readers towards his idiosyncratic brand of godly faith, this book makes an original contribution to current scholarly conversations around the textual culture of Puritanism, the history of rhetoric, and the rhetorical character of theology.
This is a rhetorical reading of English Puritan writing, exploring how Puritan preachers employed appeals to reason and imagination to convert their readers. Examines work from a variety of writers including Milton and Bunyan.
Examines work from both lesser-known writers and preachers such as Perkins and Sibbes in addition to more widely studied figures, such as Milton and Bunyan
Deploys a rhetorical reading to provide an innovative approach to the study English Puritan writing
Unpacks how allegories such as Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress came to be among the most significant Puritan contributions to the English literary canon, despite their suspicions of allegory and imagination
Introduction: The Rhetoric of Conversion and the Conversion of Rhetoric
Chapter 1: A Passionate Logos: The Persuasive Practical Divinity of William Perkins and Richard Sibbes
Chapter 2: Divine Excess: The Ethos of the Radicals
Chapter 3: Light and Weight: Richard Baxter's Exhortations and Meditations
Chapter 4: Direction by Diversion: John Bunyan's Imaginative Persuasion
Chapter 5: 'By winning words to conquer willing hearts': John Milton's Redeemed Rhetoric
Bibliography
Index
Readable and engaging ... It will benefit a range of general readers interested in literature, church history, and theology. Most importantly, for those who have ears to hear, it will help in the ongoing rekindling of the fires of imagination that have always carried the church.
Rich, scholarly, and impressively wide-ranging.
Parry's study deals with complexities of Reformed and Calvinist theology in a highly readable way ... The book's careful explanation and measured exploration of intricate concepts and ideas mean that, it is likely to find a readership among those with an interest in methods and modes of preaching, as well as to seventeenth century literary historians.
The Rhetoric of Conversion in English Puritan Writing from Perkins to Milton' reexamines the evolving rhetoric of England's godly – from Perkins and Sibbes, through Baxter and the Quakers, to Bunyan and Milton. It shows how in developing a rhetoric of conversion they also effected a conversion of rhetoric, reshaping English literature with singular invention and creativity.
As a whole, Parry's study is a useful addition to the discourse of early modern rhetoric. With rhetoric being such a foundational element of early modern education, his method provides a succinct approach for future studies to explore either broad or narrow rhetorical approaches in religious texts.
- Title: The Rhetoric of Conversion in English Puritan Writing from Perkins to Milton
- Authors: Mark Knight, Emma Mason, David Parry
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
- Print Publication Date: 2022
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781350165168, 9781350280625, 1350280623, 1350165166
- Resource ID: LLS:9781350165168
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-04-09T05:23:25Z
David Parry is a member of the Department of English and Film at the University of Exeter, UK.