Imagery refers to an author’s use of detailed language to evoke a specific feeling or concept in the reader. Hawthorne relies on religious imagery to illustrate the theme of The Danger of Strict Religious Beliefs. When the lady sees the vision of the church service, she is afraid of the “unprovoked wrath which blazed up like the spontaneous kindling of flames” (Paragraph 15). The lady may be afraid, but she is not shocked or confused because that is how Puritan church services were conducted. Since she was raised in such a strict religious environment, she did not have the emotional or spiritual support she needed to deal with her child’s terminal illness. The old woman refers to the church service as a “madhouse” (Paragraph 16). At this time, the word “madhouse” was a disparaging word for a psychiatric hospital. Instead of being a safe, calm place, the church is a place filled with chaos and strife, unable to provide the lady with the support that she needed.

Diction refers to the author’s intentional choice of words in a narrative. The diction used in the story contributes to the story’s ominous