Preface To God's Determinations By Edward Taylor Essay

According to The Washington Times, thirty-two percent of the world’s population identifies themselves as a Christian. That’s over 2.2 billion followers of Christ! Everyday, these Christians glorify God and the absolutely incredible things that He can accomplish. Edward Taylor reveals his love for God and the importance of his religion through his poems. Taylor was considered one of the most significant poets to appear in America in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In Preface to God’s Determinations, Edward Taylor uses rhetorical questions, incredible imagery and metaphors, and near-rhyme to illustrate the almighty power that God possesses.

Taylor’s use of rhetorical questions in Preface to God’s Determinations was rather brilliant. Some examples include: “Who made the Seas its Selvedge, and it locks/Like a Quilt Ball within a silver Box?” and “Who hung the twinkling Lanthorns in the Sky?” These rhetorical questions emphasized two key points, all that God can execute with his power and where the human species would be without God. All of the breathtaking landscapes, the multiple universes in outer space, and all the diverse creatures in existence come from our mighty creator. Taylor is pointing out God’s importance because without God,

nothing would exist. There would just be eternal darkness. Edward Taylor, by starting every other line with “Who?” trying to show the readers the impact that God has on each person.
When most writers construct his/her pieces, the main goal is to paint a picture in the readers’ minds. Edward Taylor achieves this goal. In the lines “Who Laced and Filleted the earth so fine/ With rivers like green Ribbons Smaragdine?”, the readers can visualize the curves of the hills and valleys, as well as, the chartreuse coloring of the rivers that God constructed. Metaphors assist the readers in capturing the overall meaning of Preface to God’s Determinations. For example, the line “Who blew the Bellows of his Furnace Vast?”, metaphorically compares the gates of hell to a fiery, scorching furnace. When the readers understand this metaphor, they realize the theme of the poem; religion. The vocabulary Taylor added creates an astounding depiction of the strength of God’s abilities.
In a majority of poems, rhyming occurs.

In Preface to God’s Determinations, most of the lines rhyme. Although, the first four lines of the poem use near-rhyme. The lines are “Infinity, when all things it beheld/ In Nothing, and of Nothing all did build/ Upon what Base was fixed the Lather wherein/ He turned this Globe, and riggaled it so trim.” These lines demonstrate a different structure than the rest of the poem. The majority of the poem, after these four lines, all consist of a parallel structure. Taylor purposely added the off-rhyme to emphasize these lines. These lines act as a sort of “introduction” to the poem. The readers can interpret these lines as the “Introduction of Creation”, before any one thing

existed.
The poem, Preface to God’s Determinations, contains many key literary devices. Rhetorical questions aided the readers in recognizing the two key points of the poem, everything God can achieve and how nothing would exist without God. Imagery and metaphors assist readers in creating a brilliant mental image and understanding intangible ideas as tangible objects. Near rhyme emphasizes the meaning of the beginning of the poem and aids to the reader’s understanding. Edward Taylor’s Preface to God’s Determinations contains fantastic literary terms that reiterates our thankfulness for having God in our lives.