Genre
Religious text. Diary. Martyr non-fiction.
Setting and Context
Carthage. Third century.
Narrator and Point of View
First-person narrators.
Tone and Mood
Daring, passionate, steadfast, and captivating.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Saints-Protagonists. Emperor Septimius Severus-Antagonist.
Major Conflict
The saints’ maltreatment which is ascribed to their faith (Christianity).
Climax
The martyrs’ ultimate ill-fated executions.
Foreshadowing
The ladder in Perpetua’s dream foreshadows the anguish that she will withstand going forward due to her unwavering devotion.
Understatement
N/A
Allusions
Religious allusions such as the serpent, Devil, the angels, and the Garden.
Imagery
The torture of Perpetua and her peers typifies absolutism and religious bigotry. Their fortitude is a warrant for them to be made saints.
Images of angels confirm that the course of martyrdom is worthwhile in God’s eyes.
Paradox
The day of persecution is described as “the day of their victory,” yet they are tortured to death. The paradoxical victory refers to the triumph of their faith in God/ Christianity, which is not hampered by the pressures of martyrdom.
Parallelism
The experiences, anguishes, and chronicles of the saints are parallel.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The devil denotes Satan.
Flesh denotes a human being.
The Spirit denotes the Biblical Holy spirit.
Personification
Beasts are personified to signify the repressive tormentors.
