Luther's conception of language: Forms of religious expression in late medieval and Renaissance Europe

The essay intends to highlight the hidden constellations of ideas within the work of Martin Luther. The point of departure of the investigation is the relation between style and content in Luther's writings. His style, especially his use of metaphor, provides significant but often overlooked clues to the purpose of his work and to his standing in history. His writings sought an engagement with their audience on the basis of the resonant poetic interplay between formal appearance and secret meaning. The metaphorical opposition in Luther's writings between light and darkness, for example, leads the reader to his understanding of the paradoxical qualities of human existence; on the basis of these images one may trace the degree of Luther's transformation of high and late medieval thought. In affinity with Renaissance writers, though in a religious context, Luther reasserted the force of temporality in framing one's view of oneself and the world. By attending to the different levels of meaning in style the essay uncovers--to cite one instance--a concept of fate and predestination in Luther's work that is based upon the coincidence of the opposites of time and eternity.