Jordan Hayes

Ms. Yeaton
Pre-AP English Period 3
15 November 2017
The Scarlet Letter Analysis
The language used in The Scarlet Letter, a novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, heavily aides
in the characterization buildup of Reverend Dimmesdale. Figurative language becomes the
author’s best friend the more Reverend Dimmesdale becomes consumed by his guilt. The
author’s diction and tone when speaking of him gets darker the more his character changes and
develops. Imagery also becomes a very powerful thing that the author uses to describe
Dimmesdale’s internal and physical suffering. Therefore, figurative language, diction and tone,
and imagery are the main components that Hawthorne utilizes to build Reverend Dimmesdale’s
characterization.
Figurative language has to be the most pivotal role in Dimmesdale’s ascent in character.
Personification creates an embodiment of guilt and its characteristic is set to be the devil on his
left shoulder. As time progresses, he becomes a prisoner of his mind’s embodiment of the devil,
which never misses a chance to find a reminder of the sin that Dimmesdale had committed. This
devil utters phrases like, “A good evening to you, venerable Father Wilson! Come hither, I pray
you, and pass a pleasant hour with me” (Hawthorne 125). “But they were uttered only within his
imagination … the minister discovered … the last few moments had been a crisis of terrible
anxiety; although his mind had made an involuntary effort to relieve itself” through auditory and
visual hallucinations (Hawthorne 125). Along with these hallucinations, he began whipping
himself for penance. The guilt deteriorated his health without him really knowing that it had
physically taken a toll on him. This is a massive change from Dimmesdale’s previous sense of
reality. Before the guilt devoured him and Dimmesdale became suspicious, he was viewed as “an
angel” and “simple and child-like” (Hawthorne 57). Figurative language also contributes to the
darkness of the author’s diction and tone.
Hawthorne’s diction and tone becomes progressively darker as the story goes on. He
begins describing Dimmesdale in a symbolic manner, creating a dreamy tone, which represented
the community’s view of him. Once the guilt started becoming prominent, the text became
disturbed. A spark of depression resided within him and he would stand up for Hester at times,
speaking with great intensity. Possibly a little too much, as Roger Chillingworth had noted it by
saying, “You speak, my friend, with a strange earnestness.” (Hawthorne 95). When the guilt took
over Reverend Dimmesdale, the tone became gloomy. The deterioration of his mental and
physical health began to show within the writing, as the author made the wrote using words as
miserable and mildly threatening as his thoughts. Darkness was typically described with
“phantoms, - in many shapes, of death, or more awful shame, all flocking round about the
clergyman” or other ghouls with correlation to evil or Hell (Hawthorne 117). It is recognizable
that imagery is a big contributing factor towards to darkening of the diction and tone.
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Imagery allows for the comparisons of hellish creatures to come to life and create a
deeper understanding of Reverend Dimmesdale’s misery, as Hawthorne doesn’t utilize it a lot
with Dimmesdale’s character until he becomes consumed by guilt. The most common
hallucinations of these creatures are demons, angels, and phantoms, and the imagery brings a
more haunting aspect to these visions, which allow for an idea of what he may have been feeling.
The best example of this would be, “Now it was a herd of diabolic shapes, that grinned and
mocked the pale minister … a group of shining angels, who flew upward heavily … grew more
ethereal as they rose.” (Hawthorne 121). However, there are points when the guilt isn’t given life
by a hallucination, rather a morbid idea: “So Mr. Dimmesdale, conscious that the poison of one
morbid spot was infecting his heart’s entire substance, attributed all his presentiments to no other
cause.” (Hawthorne 117). Some of the imagery consists of hallucinations of people that
Dimmesdale knows. This typically reveals a truth that he has not owned up to, yet. For example,
“And now, through the chamber … glided Hester Prynne … pointing her finger, first, at the
scarlet letter … and then at the clergyman’s own breast” (Hawthorne 121). This quote indicates
that Hester isn’t the only one who should be wearing the scarlet letter, that Dimmesdale, too,
should be wearing it.
Hawthorne uses figurative language, diction and tone, and imagery to buildup Reverend
Dimmesdale’s characterization. These three components allow for the darkening of his character,
while also allowing for a greater understanding of the evils haunting Dimmesdale, causing him
immense emotional and physical suffering.