An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals Literary Elements

An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals Literary Elements

Genre

Philosophy

Setting and Context

18th Century

Narrator and Point of View

David Hume is the narrator.

Tone and Mood

Critical, deliberation, analytical, and philosophical

Protagonist and Antagonist

Sentimentalists versus Pragmatists

Major Conflict

Controversies regarding the basis of morals. Reasoning versus Sentimentalism binary.

Climax

Hume’s definitive conclusion about the foundational role that sentimentalism plays in the establishment of morals.

Foreshadowing

Timon tells Alcibiades, "Acquire the confidence of the people: you will one day, I foresee, be the cause of calamities of great calamities to them." The foreshadowing underscores the inherent maliciousness in the nature of humanity.

Understatement

Hume understates the implication laws that govern societies; “Such laws are, in a great measure, though not altogether capricious and arbitrary.” Laws are not utterly perfect. There are instances they are frivolous.

Allusions

Philosophical (such as Plato), historical and allegorical allusions.

Imagery

Hume presents contrasting imageries of melancholy versus joyfulness in section VII.

Paradox

Hume writes about ‘the banished statesman’ who states, “With what regret must I leave my friends in this city, where even enemies are so generous.” The generosity of enemies is a paradox that underscores the statesman’s preference for the city.

Parallelism

Titles for the subheadings of various sections begin with the preposition “of.”

Metonymy and Synecdoche

Men denote humankind.

Personification

N/A

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