from THE WONDERS OF THE INVISIBLE WORLD

In his work The Wonders of the Invisible World, Cotton Mather attempts to give an objective account of the Salem witchcraft trials. Mather chose his style to be plain and journalistic in an effort to inform the reader of the causes and outcomes of the trials. His diction not only provides justification of the trials, but also gives the reader a clue that he was writing from a biased point of view.

Mather's style is normally "...characterized by his use of ornate, elegant language and his frequent use of allusions." (The American Experience, p. 76) In The Wonders of the Invisible World, however, it is evident that Mather strayed from his standard in an effort to simply inform his readers about the subject. His choice was made well, for if he had filled the account with allusions and other elaborate writing tools, his audience would read the material as if it were a fictional story.

Mather's diction (or the author's choice of words) was obviously an attempt to justify the witchcraft trials. In the portion concerning the trial of Martha Carrier, Mather outlines eleven separate testimonies that were aimed against the accused witch. If a testimony in support of Carrier existed, Mather omitted it possibly to strengthen his justification. Mather also refers to Carrier as "a rampant hag" and "queen of Hell," blatantly displaying his biased view of the woman.

The final product is one in which compels the reader to believe that Martha Carrier was, in fact, a witch who caused pain, injury, and grief to many people. In addition, his direct style is such that the reader perceives the account as if it were fact rather than opinion. Lastly, his diction suggests his biased attitude toward witches (Carrier in particular) and gives several testimonies to justify his opinion and prove the guiltiness of Carrier.