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Literary Devices In The Divine Imagery

Decent Essays

“For thousands of years mankind has had a spiritual need and yearning. Man has lived with his trials and burdens, his doubts and questions, including the enigma of death. Religious feelings have been expressed in many different ways as people have turned to God or their gods, seeking blessings and solace” (Why 7). Romantic poet William Blake questioned this human practice in his poem, “The Divine Image,” through use of personification, Biblical allusion, repetitive diction, and parallelism. Using these literary devices, Blake conveys a cynical tone towards the idea of religion in general. A foremost example of personification and Biblical allusion is found in lines 5-6, where the speaker states:
“For…Love
Is God” (Blake).
This alludes to 1 …show more content…

Repetitive diction minimizes the importance of religion. Finally, parallelism is used to claim that religion is used for the self-glorification of man as a god. All these aspects combine to create a cynical tone toward God and religion. It is interesting to note that this cynical attitude toward religion is shown in the Bible as a saying originally uttered by Satan the Devil, as recorded Job 1:9,10, and 2:4 . In particular, note Job 1:10, quoted in the footnote. The Devil claimed that Job only served God for the blessing, and then extended that claim to all men in Job 2:4. Since the Bible also says that “the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one” at 1 John 5:19, it is not surprising that the same view was expressed centuries later …show more content…

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New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. 2013th ed., Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, 2013. Watchtower Library.
New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. 2013th ed., Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, 2013. Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY, wol.jw.org/en/wol/l/r1/lp-e?q=Gen+1%3A26.
“Why Be Interested in Other Religions?” Mankind's Search for God, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, 1990, pp. 5–18. Watchtower

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