Abstract

Abstract Martin Luther's early writings and sermons contain the frequent use of a stylistic feature I call doublets. While there are several variations possible, doublets usually connect two words of the same grammatical form— finite verbs, adjectives or adverbs, and substantives—with a coordinate conjunction. Rather than necessarily diffusing audience attention, as one contemporary scholar suggests, or typically sacrificing vivacity, as is the concern of an eighteenth‐century theorist, Luther's doublets—when we examine them in context—are an effective tool for consolidating mental focus and strengthening adherence to a thesis. The medieval practice of enarratio, his familiarity with the parallelism and doubling in scripture, and his work with bible translation all probably contributed to Luther's tendency to use doublets.