Genre
Philosophical fiction
Setting and Context
As this is a nonfiction there is no setting.
Narrator and Point of View
Kierkegaard narrates the book in the third-person.
Tone and Mood
The tone is complex; the mood is powerful.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Kierkegaard is the protagonist; despair is the antagonist.
Major Conflict
The major conflict of the book occurs when Soren Kierkegaard begins his argument of the parallels between despair and sin.
Climax
The climax of the book is reached when the definition of sickness unto death is given to the reader as a spiritual death and despair.
Foreshadowing
The power that death creates is foreshadowed by the opening statement made in the book.
Understatement
The significance of spiritual guidance is understated throughout the book.
Allusions
The book alludes to Kierkegaard's own beliefs about what despair really includes in the world around us.
Imagery
The imagery of suffering humans is present in the novel.
Paradox
N/A
Parallelism
There is a parallel between the similarities of despair in Christianity and the arguments made in the book.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
Personification is not used as a technique as it is a nonfiction book.
