From Preface To God's Determination By Edward Taylor

Then God said, "Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years.” God created all from none so that his people could praise him eternally. Edward Taylor uses allusion, simile, and rhyme in “From Preface to God’s Determination” to relay his message that there is a higher power that created all.

Edward Taylor’s background of living in a district noteable for its cloth making and weaving is very evident in this poem. His background is made evident by his word choice that connects so closely with sewing. His background as a Puritan preacher is also evident in the poem as he shares many of his puritan views and beliefs. The strongest being predetermination and the belief that

Taylor does this because he is now finished with his rhetorical questions and he is ready to relay is point. He has slammed the reader with rhetorical questions and if they have not understood the poem, this is where the reader comprehends what he is talking about. During these two lines Taylor uses an alliteration. He does this to contribute to the rhythm of the poem. Since Taylor is no longer using end rhyme, he uses this alliteration to keep the rhythm going. This use of an alliteration also speeds the poem up so that Taylor can slow down where he really needs to, in line twenty. This is important because line twenty is arguably the most important line in the poem. Taylor gets his point across with saying “It’s Only Might Almighty this did do.” Taylor was setting the reader up with numerous rhetorical questions to give he or she a hanging feeling. This hanging feeling is taken away for a brief moment, but quickly instilled back into the reader by the final line. “His Glorious Handiwork not made by hands…” Taylor does not use a rhetorical question this time, but instead he uses an ellipsis. By using an ellipsis the poem leaves a lingering feeling in the reader’s