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.