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Lincoln's Inaugural Address Rhetorical Analysis

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• What stylistic devices are used? The first stylistic device that Lincoln used in his speech is anaphora. “…we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot this ground” (Lincoln). We notice the repetition of the phrases “we cannot” in the part of speech that represents anaphora (Brenda). Secondly, Lincoln uses antithesis or the double contrast when he says, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here” (Lincoln). The phrases “remember” and “forget” provides double meanings in a single statement. Thirdly, Lincoln also uses allusion by referencing a verse from the Bible, “The days of our years are threescore years and ten” (Psalm 90: 10). Lincoln states that “Fourscore and seven …show more content…

By employing anaphora, the speaker adds more emphasis on the message that the people gathered at that point were not the important ones instead the dead soldiers were the real heroes. The double contrast in the speech contradicts the set of ideas stating that the world can forget Lincoln’s words but always remember the sacrifices made by the fallen soldiers. Ironically, he was wrong because years to come these words will continue to be recognized. Lastly, the allusion adds more emphasis that all men were created equal by referencing from the Bible, a strong belief that the audience held. • How does the speaker achieve rhythm, clarity, and vividness? One device that Lincoln uses to achieve the three is repetition when he says, “…government of the people, by the people, for the people…” (Lincoln). He clarifies that the current government owes to the dead soldiers. There is also the use of alliteration by repeating the consonant “f” when the speaker says the words field, final, for, and fitting within a short succession. The use of anaphora is also a powerful technique that contributes to the rhythm and clarity of speech. • What elements of Lincoln’s speech make it well adapted to an oral

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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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At the beginning of Abraham Lincoln’s second term as the president of the United States, he was confronted with a severely split nation fighting in the bloodiest battle in American history. Lincoln had hoped that, by fighting the South and having them rejoin, he could keep the Union together. Although the Union troops eventually managed to force the Confederates to surrender, a cultural divide remained as the Confederate states were forced to reunite with the North and the North became more hesitant in their determination to subdue the South. Since governing a country in this state would be nearly impossible, Lincoln decided to address both the North and South in his speech by asking them to set aside their disagreements so that the split nation could be repaired. His speech, despite being very brief, connected with both sides through the use of ethos, logos, and pathos which helped him achieve his goal of keeping the

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The “ Gettysburg Address,” by Abraham Lincoln was his most famous and compelling speech. It is for this reason it is most compelling as he uses many rhetorical devices. His use of rhetorical devices perfectly to persuade the reader to flowl the legacy of the fallen soldiers at the battle of Gettysburg, and that they all died for a better country, so follow in their footsteps. One of many rhetorical device was he used was diction.

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Soon after Lincoln took office as the 16th president of the United States, the country became involved in a great Civil War,Two years later the war was still raging, bringing death and destruction across our country, tearing the country apart, pitting neighbor against neighbor, and sometimes brother against brother. On November 19, 1863, President Lincoln, at the dedication of a battlefield, gave his speech known as the Gettysburg Address, using rhetorical devices and resources of language to create unity in the country and hopefully bring an end to the Civil War. One of many rhetorical devices Lincoln uses is repetition. The most common word the is the most obvious is the word “we.” Lincoln Repeats “we” to show not only to his audience at the time but for others to hear about the famous speech later in time that as people of the United States, we are one.

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The speech Abraham Lincoln gave on March 4th, 1865, titled the ‘Second Inaugural Speech’, was mainly political theology, in which he sought to address the major issues in which he would face in his presidency. His voice was very strong and clear, and he used diction, a passive voice, and a very well mannered tone in order to achieve the full purpose of his speech to the ‘fellow countrymen’. He achieves this effect very well, while speaking to both the North and the South about binding up the nation’s wounds that have stricken them in the core. The diction that Lincoln chooses to use displays that he is very educated, and that he wished to establish that he was speaking to both divided parts of the country, the north and the south, and that he planned on bringing the two together in his words.

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The repetition of consonant sounds in a phrase is known as alliteration and used by John F. Kennedy. When giving such an important oral speech good deliverance and timing are imperative; alliteration provides an avenue through which one can stress timing. For instance, in the twenty eighth paragraph Kennedy says, “let us go forth to lead the land we love.” The imagery provided in this alliteration rouses a citizens patriotism resulting in service for one’s country.

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In the first sentence, Lincoln uses a juxtaposition to highlight the difference between the

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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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Using the previously defined rhetorical devices, Loudenslager analyzes three monumental speeches given by Lincoln for the effectiveness of Lincoln’s persuasive abilities. These three speeches are his Peoria, Illinois speech, his “House Divided Speech”, and his address at Cooper Union. The first speech he analyzes is Lincoln’s Peoria speech. Here, Loudenslager identifies some key characteristics in his speech such as his uncanny ability to turn Stephen Douglas’s own argument against him. Then, Lincoln uses repetition and theme to drive home the importance of the ideals of the Declaration of Independence and how the Kansas-Nebraska Act violated those ideals.

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He uses several types of rhetorical devices such as repetition, allusions and metaphors to portray this message most clearly. The occurrence of repetition in this speech is

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And made the audience believe what he was saying, by using certain keywords to appeal to them. Lincoln’s use of consonance is strong within the speech with the letter “f’” in words such as: For; fathers; forth’ field; battle-field; etc. This use of repetition

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Lincoln also uses the rhetorical device, personification, during the the beginning of the speech when he talks about the founding fathers. “ Our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty…”(464). In the excerpt, Lincoln is discussing the past and how it relates to America after the Civil War. Lincoln also uses personification later in his speech when he talks about the world.

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Referring to such a defining moment in history were just one of the reasons why President Lincoln’s speech was so successful. The Gettysburg Address, one of the shortest, most quoted, and successful speeches in U.S. history was all due to the way President Lincoln was able to use ethos, logos, and pathos while presenting his speech to the audience at the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Firstly, of the three modes of persuasion President Lincoln used his first was ethos. Ethos, are used to convince the audience with the author’s reliability or ethics.

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In “The Gettysburg Address”,Abraham LIncoln implements alliteration, parallelism, and repetition throughout his writing to remember the men that died at Gettysburg, and to motivate the people of the United States to continue the work of the dead, and to give the dead meaning. In his speech, Abraham Lincoln utilizes alliteration, in his first sentence, “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth”, he uses the same sound in “Four score”, “fathers”, and “forth”, he does this to reinforce the meaning, it unifies his ideas, and helps him introduce the topic he is going to talk about. He talks about what the country was founded on, which is equality.

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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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