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Gettysburg Address Rhetorical Devices

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On November 19, 1863 Abraham Lincoln, America’s sixteenth president, gave the most memorable and renowned speech of the Civil War from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, after the Battle of Gettysburg, which later went on to become known as the “Gettysburg Address”. This speech impacted both the Union and the Confederacy with both sides respectively opposing and praising the speech that only lasted two minutes of ten sentences containing 272 words, yet was so impactful at this critical turning point in the war. Lincoln used several rhetorical devices, with a reverent and humble tone as well as a solemn hopeful mood, to emphasize how paramount it was that the Union should win and that America should continue into the future as a singular entity while …show more content…

This speech that he gave was critical to not only the war, but also the whole future that followed, therefore with this in mind Lincoln made thorough use of rhetoric when and where he could in his speech. The speech starts with “Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” (Lincoln, 1), a rather simple single sentence which sets up the whole exposition for the speech. This sentence does not make much use of rhetoric because of its simplicity, it is easy for all to understand which may have helped Lincoln win favor of the slaves in the South further advancing the Union’s agenda. Yet with the lack of use of rhetoric, Lincoln was able to get across the foundations of his tone and establish the mood. Both the Union and the Confederacy …show more content…

The first notable use of rhetoric in the second paragraph is the repetition of the word “we” within every sentence as the subject. Lincoln used the word “we” because the word helps unite the people of the Union and even somewhat closes the gap between the Union and the Confederacy. Upon that Lincoln uses pathos in saying that “We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives” (Lincoln, 2) where he shows the citizens of, both the Union and Confederacy that no one deserved to die on that battlefield and that those who did will have a portion of the field they fought and died on dedicated to

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Abraham Lincoln delivered “ The Gettysburg Address” in response to The Battle of Gettysburg. Over 51,000 casualties on both sides in the course of 3 days makes it the bloodiest battle of The Civil War. The Union won the battle, but Lincoln’s speech focused on uniting the country, not the victory itself (“Battle of Gettysburg”). His speech has remained popular due to its brevity and effectiveness.

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To begin, President Lincoln strengthens his points by using parallel structure in paragraph by exclaiming “All dreaded it, all sought to avert it”. By stating this, Lincoln brings together the two very distinct viewpoints by showing that both wanted to advert and stray from the war, knowing neither could due to previous circumstances. Parallel structure entails unification of the two sides of the battle, uniting them through a relatable idea and overall accomplishing the goal of his inaugural address, bonding the confederacy and the union back together. Another example of his use of parallel structure includes his expansion upon the idea that neither side wanted to start the war: “Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict may cease…the conflict itself should cease.” Lincoln indicates that he understands both

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Lincoln was willing to employ different policies in order to establish a stronger force to reach his primary goal. Nearly a year after employing the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg address which was a pivotal point in the Union’s support and motivation for the war. This incredible speech reinforced the moral of human equality and revitalized the Union participants’ interest in “the great task remaining before us.” This

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During the history of the United States there have been very respectable speakers Martin Luther King Jr. John F. Kennedy but perhaps no greater leader in American history came to addressing the country like Abraham Lincoln. In his Second Inaugural Address, Lincoln gave a short speech concerning the effect of the Civil War and his own personal vision for the future of the nation. In this speech Lincoln uses many different rhetorical strategies to convey his views of the Civil War to his audience.

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However, the animosity between the two sides simmered beneath the surface of this exhaustion, and neither group felt entirely ready to abandon arms in light of peace. Thus, in his second inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln compels the ravaged people of the United States to abandon their animosity and use their shared sorrows as a source of unity. Lincoln highlights the similarities between the Union and the Confederacy to show them that unification overpowers separation. When appealing to the public, Lincoln exclusively uses indefinite pronouns, compelling both the Union and Confederacy to consider their shared characteristics. He clarifies that “all” had not only dreaded the war, but “sought to avert it,” partially absolving the Confederacy of complete blame for the Civil War.

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Some of these include phrases such as “great battle field”/”great civil war”, “so dedicated”/”come to dedicate”, “we cannot”, “we are”, and “to be dedicated”/”to be here dedicated”. The use of the repeated phrases “great battle field”/”great civil war” and “so dedicated”/”come to dedicate” are used for political purposes. The phrases beginning with “we cannot” is Lincoln’s way of starting with the negative first in order to get the audience to agree with him when he brought in the positive phrase “we can”. And finally, “to be dedicated”/”to be here dedicated” is a repetition similar to the first, however this time he uses the phrases of dedication to reiterate his

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The president also recalls that the audience is gathered together to dedicate the field for the soldiers who gave their lives. Lincoln juxtaposes life and death to the audience to demonstrate the soldier’s ultimate sacrifice by dedicating the field for those who “gave their lives that that nation might live” (Lincoln). The soldier’s died fighting for what they believed so that others might live on to fight another day. He dedicates this field to the fallen soldier’s by juxtaposing in order to emphasize just how dedicated it takes to be a soldier, how willing and brave you must be to risk your life for others and your beliefs. The juxtaposition of this paragraph creates the somber tone of his speech.

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Abraham Lincoln used the rhetorical strategies of anaphora, repetition, opposites, and pathos to convey the importance of honoring the deceased soldiers by maintaining the war effort until the equality of all men is achieved. The first rhetorical strategy used by Lincoln was an anaphora. The lines “we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate — we can not hallow” show us that he is looking looking past the audience surrounding him emphasizing that we are not the important ones. It helps us visualize the greater aspect of the Gettysburg Address, igniting a drive in us to push forward and defend the values that the nation was founded upon.

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The Great Speech Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863 delivered one of the most iconic speeches in American History. His delivery infuses us with such raw power and emotions that poured out from the bottom of his heart will change the hearts and minds of Americans for ages to come. Abraham Lincoln did not just write one speech he made five different copies with different sentence structure and paragraph structure, to show how important the layout of the message and how it needed to be simple and to the point. Dissecting “The Gettysburg Address” we begin to understand Abraham Lincoln’s heart lies, he reminds everyone about our past and that we should honor those who fought for our freedom; he tells us “All men are created equal” only to show us what we need to work on as people in the present, he spreads hope for the future and encourages us to grow together

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In "The Gettysburg Address," Lincoln has a main focus on the soldiers who died, his statements and views of the nation's future all state that Lincoln strongly thinks that actions are far more important than words. Over four months after the Union defeated the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg, On November 19, 1863 President Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address that being over four months after the Union defeated the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg. He gave the soldiers a different way of viewing things on the war and also something to fight for. Before the Gettysburg Address, the Civil War was only based on states’ rights. Lincoln’s speech has the important qualities of America and the thinking that were put into the Declaration

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In "The Gettysburg Address," Abraham Lincoln brings his point across of dedicating the cemetery at Gettysburg by using repetition, antithesis, and parallelism. Abraham Lincoln uses repetition in his speech to bring a point across and to grab the audience attention. For example, President Lincoln states, "We can not dedicate--we can not consecrate-- we can not hallow-- this ground." Abraham Lincoln is saying the Gettysburg cannot be a holy land since the ones that fought there will still be remembered, and Lincoln is assuming that the dead and brave that fought would still want Gettysburg to improve on more.

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The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln signaled the ending of the Battle of Gettysburg and the American Civil War. The Gettysburg Address has dedicated to our nation the freedom that all men are equal. The brave soldiers who have risked their lives so that our new nation could be conceived in liberty will forever be remembered. Abraham Lincoln used literary devices like alliteration, repetition, and personification to produce a special effect in his speech. He stated his speech off with an allusion.

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Gettysburg Address Rhetorical Devices In Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” he is speaking to the very emotional nation after many people had just died during the Civil War, he needed to speak to nation to remind them that the sacrifices made by those in the Civil War will not be forgotten and that they must continue with what the war was fought for. He first starts off by referring to how the nation was started then continues to discuss the losses that have occurred from the Civil War and why they should move on while still remembering what the war was fought for. His strong use of rhetorical devices emphasises the goals they must aim for and reassures the nation that they are together in reconstruction by referring to events from the war to

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Rhetorically analyzing the speech, Lincoln uses many literary tactics to engage the audience in taking action in restoring America's unity. He utilizes shifts, comparisons, and repetition to create a speech that connects with the

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On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln gave a speech that, unbeknownst to him, would become one of the most recognized speeches in the history of the United States. The empowering speech was given in the midst of the gruesome civil war that began between the north and the south over the long-conflicted morality of slavery. Through one of the most highly remembered speeches of our history, The Gettysburg Address, Lincoln commemorates the dead and wounded soldiers at the site of the battle in Gettysburg through references to history, unificating diction and metaphors of life and death to unite the nation in a time of separation and provide a direction for the future of the country. Lincoln begins his essay utilizing historical references in order to illustrate to the public the basis of what the nation was founded upon. Through this, he reminds Americans the morals and ideals that the people are willing to spill blood for.

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