Bacon created this essay with interest in understanding the reasoning of intentional delay. Although he relates delay with danger, he accepts the fact that certain situations can be viewed with different priority and weigh the intensity of the delay. The purpose of this essay was to analyze the natural responses and results of delays to enlighten an audience. By deciphering the human psyche, Bacon attempts to define the standard for the results of delay and …showed first 75 words of 424 total…

…showed last 75 words of 424 total…chooses diction for this essay that will exemplify his intent to convey hyperbolic contrasts. On several occasions Bacon uses opposing terms to display the sides of a situation; for example he states, “The ripeness, or unripeness, of the occasion (as we said) must ever be well weighed…” In this example he presents both sides to an example by using a metaphor and its exact opposite and therefore showing the consequences of a decision regarding delay.