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Alliteration
Definition of Allusion
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals, historical events, or philosophical ideas... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to... read full definition
Part 2. Application
Explanation and Analysis—Sodom:
Edwards concludes his sermon by calling for his audience to repent from their sinful ways:
Let every one flee out of Sodom: "Haste, and escape for your lives, look not behind you, escape to the mountain, lest you be consumed."
Sodom is a city in the Bible that God violently destroyed (at the same time as neighboring city Gomorrah) because its denizens were sinful. The sin that the city of Sodom was punished for is still a subject of theological debate today; historically, Sodom was connected to homosexuality (and is the root of words such as "sodomy" and "sodomite"). However, Sodom was both historically and biblically connected to all sorts of sin, including rape and inhospitality. We can safely assume Edwards's entire audience would have been familiar with this story, which is why Edwards can allude to it briefly yet effectively.
Edwards’s quote is a paraphrasing of the Biblical passage in which God’s angels tell Lot and his family to escape Sodom without looking back. Famously, Lot’s wife looks back and turns into a pillar of salt.
This allusion to the sinful city not only emphasizes again the danger the audience is in, but also the brief opportunity they have for escaping that danger. In other words, just like Lot and his family, the congregation must run from sin immediately, and they must not look back. The people living in Sodom were warned of their imminent destruction and did nothing to save themselves; Edwards's allusion exhorts his hearers not to repeat Sodom's error.
Related Themes:
