How might awareness of the fragility of life have affected people's receptiveness to this sermon?

This awareness of the fragility of life most likely made people more afraid of the afterlife, and in consequence, more receptive to Edward's sermon.

dickinson punctuation and lines in her poems to establish a rhythm. each reader will naturally find themselves reading the poem in the same way. she uses the repeating question marks and exclamation points to convey the passion in her words. shelley uses punctuation to paint a picture in the reader's mind. for example, the ellipses after "stand in the dessert" evoke a silence, as it would feel in a deserted, old place.