Gettysburg Address Rhetorical Analysis Essay

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During the dedication ceremony on November 19th 1963, Abraham Lincoln gave one of the most famous speeches today. Lincoln gave the short speech “Gettysburg Address” to dedicate land to any fallen soldiers, calling it the Soldier’s National Cemetery. He wanted to remind the listeners what they were fighting for, and to give a definite intended audience. The American Civil War started 1861, when southern states seceded from the Union to continue practicing slavery. In early 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by Lincoln to free slaves in the Confederate States. The Battle of Gettysburg was a three-day battle. It went from July 1-3rd 1863. Just months after the Battle of Gettysburg, Lincoln gave this speech at a dedication ceremony. Lincoln spent a lot of time with different kinds of Rhetorical Appeals. He included the three: logos, pathos, and ethos throughout his short speech. He used logical explanations and research in the …show more content…

He used parallelism to show the soldiers actions, pronouncing how noble they are. He also opposed himself when he spoke, “But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate…we can not consecrate… we can not hallow this ground.” But, in the paragraph right before said, “We have come to dedicate a portion of that field…” He showed his intended audience by dedicating the ceremony to the brave men who fought. The Rhetorical Appeals pathos could also be found throughout the speech. This is what will appeal to emotions, like using language that is emotionally charged or personal stories. He shows pathos by honoring the soldiers. There was already a very strong tension from the war, so he really tried to show a lot of compassion for the fallen soldiers of Gettysburg. To show unity, he repetitively used ‘we’ throughout the passage. “Now we are engaged… We are met… We have come…” he quoted, being very deep and real with the