When Edwards talks about the idea that all men and women basically deserve to go to hell, that it is only by God's grace and mercy that he doesn't allow us to descend there, Edwards says that, "the devil is waiting for [men], hell is gaping for them, the flames gather and flash about them, and would fain lay hold on them and swallow them up." This description contains a great deal of visual imagery: it...
When Edwards talks about the idea that all men and women basically deserve to go to hell, that it is only by God's grace and mercy that he doesn't allow us to descend there, Edwards says that, "the devil is waiting for [men], hell is gaping for them, the flames gather and flash about them, and would fain lay hold on them and swallow them up." This description contains a great deal of visual imagery: it focuses on the sight of the flames and flashes. Imagery is the description of concrete, sensory information; it can be visual (sight), auditory (hearing), tactile (touch), olfactory (smell), or gustatory (taste).
Further, Edwards describes the "glowing flames" of God's wrath and "hell's wide gaping mouth," where we have nothing to stand on or hold us up except God's pleasure. There is nothing between us "and hell but the air." Again, the visual imagery is quite strong here in the description of a giant, fiery mouth, and I think tactile imagery exists here as well: it seems as though we can feel the heat of this hellish mouth and hot air around us.
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