Michael Wigglesworth: The Day of Doom (1081 words)

The Day of Doom is a 224-stanza poem about Judgment Day. It was written by Michael Wigglesworth, a New England puritan minister, and printed in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1662. The poem narrates the events of the Second Coming of Christ, the Last Judgment of the living and dead souls, and the departure of the saved for heaven and the damned for hell. While it begins and ends with descriptive passages, the middle of the poem is composed of speeches: a general proclamation of judgment by Christ, followed by dialogues between Christ and various groups of condemned sinners who protest against His verdict and whose objections Christ then answers. The purpose of the poem is to “awaken” readers to consider their own spiritual d…

Morris, Amy M.E.. "The Day of Doom". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 June 2005
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16350, accessed 24 January 2017.]

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