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Rhetorical Analysis Of The Gettysburg Address

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Former president Abraham Lincoln acknowledges the horrors of the battle at Gettysburg in his speech, the Gettysburg Address, as a gain in American freedoms rather than a defeat. Lincoln’s purpose was to inform American citizens that the war was not to be remembered for it’s body count but rather for the effect it had on American society. He writes in a sentimental tone as to catch the attention about the great outcomes of the war throughout every American citizen. The Gettysburg Address was written from emotion using artful diction and a complex syntax. Lincoln initiates his speech by alluding to other great writings in American history that show that America has and will be a great nation even if they struggle at times. Though still in shock, he is able to find connections to America’s past to comfort it’s citizens now. Using text from the Declaration of Independence, he states that the United States of America was “...dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” At the end of his speech, Lincoln alludes to the Pledge of Allegiance by stating that we should feel pride in “…this nation, under God…”. In this time of …show more content…

He uses a strong choice of diction and syntaxes to appeal to the emotions of his audience. Pieces of his speech such as, “...testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated. can long endure,” and, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here,” show his overwhelming feeling towards what he is speaking about. The civil war left a deep impression on Lincoln and he let that shine through as he gave the Gettysburg Address. Using the ethos style in his speaking let the audience know that he was going through as rough of a time as they were during and after this hard time in American

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