Functions of key metaphors in early Quaker sermons, 1671–1700

Abstract

For seventeenth‐century Quakers, metaphor transcended its traditional function as ornament and became the conceptual underpinning of discourse. This essay focuses on how metaphors were used in Quaker sermons. The first part of the essay describes, illustrates, and analyzes five key metaphor clusters found in Quaker sermons: (1) the Light/Dark cluster; (2) the Voice cluster; (3) the Seed cluster; (4) the Hunger/Thirst cluster; (5) the Pilgrimage cluster. The second part of the essay argues that the metaphors functioned in three ways: (1) as means of summarizing a world that made psychological and theological sense to speakers and hearers; (2) as means of elaborating the implications of Quaker beliefs; (3) as inventional tools readily adapted to the impromptu mode of delivery.