- Home
- ACADEMIC
- Literary Studies
- British and Irish Literature
- The Rhetoric of Conversion in English Puritan Writing from Perkins to Milton
The Rhetoric of Conversion in English Puritan Writing from Perkins to Milton
The Rhetoric of Conversion in English Puritan Writing from Perkins to Milton
You must sign in to add this item to your wishlist. Please sign in or create an account
Description
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.
Table of Contents
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
Product details

Published | 30 Dec 2021 |
---|---|
Format | Ebook (PDF) |
Edition | 1st |
Extent | 288 |
ISBN | 9781350165151 |
Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic |
Illustrations | 1 bw illus |
Series | New Directions in Religion and Literature |
Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
About the contributors
Reviews
-
When he is most in tune with his subject matter, Parry is at his best, and there is clear energy derived from an understanding that faith is upheld by the power of a trained ministry using holy rhetoric.
Bunyan Studies
-
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.
Christianity Today
-
Rich, scholarly, and impressively wide-ranging.
The Seventeenth Century
-
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 Glass
-
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.
Professor John Coffey, University of Leicester, UK
-
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.
Travis J. Knapp, Milton Quarterly

ONLINE RESOURCES
Bloomsbury Collections
This book is available on Bloomsbury Collections where your library has access.