ipl-logo

Rhetorical Devices In Abraham Lincoln's The Gettysburg Address

1154 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Rhetorical analysis of Gettysburg Address

Former 15th U.S. President and one of the best-known in American history, Abraham Lincoln in his speech, The Gettysburg Address, a speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldier’s National Cemetery, a cemetery for Union soldiers killed at the Battle of Gettysburg during the great Civil War. The audience is people attending the ceremony, supporters of the union, and those who are wavering in the war. The purpose of the speech is to honor the fallen the fallen soldiers that fought in the Civil War and to emphasize equality, freedom and unity. The tone of the speech is noble, reverent, honorable, and respectful. Lincoln employed many rhetorical devices in his artistry with words, but his mature speeches are especially characterized by: antithesis, alliteration and repetition. The voice in the Gettysburg Address is not a first-person singular individual. The address is filled with first-person references, but everyone is plural. Lincoln uses the plural “we” ten times and “us” three times. The “speaker” is for Americans and Unionists, not the president. In the first paragraph of the Gettysburg address just sets a time and place to establish the set and is referenced to the …show more content…

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom; and that this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth (Lincoln).” The first line of the paragraph empowers the audience to take inspiration from the deeds of the dead and continue the struggle for

Show More
Related

Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address Rhetorical Analysis

642 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis Essay On The Gettysburg Address

645 Words | 3 Pages

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

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis: The Gettysburg Address

869 Words | 4 Pages

Everyone, at some point in their lives will read, The Gettysburg Address, as it is one of the most popular speeches in the United States. However, taking a deeper look into the speech, it is pure rhetorical genius. Lecturing on the human condition and transcendent issues make it a brilliant literary work. Although written in 1863, when the speech was given it was pragmatic for the time period. Addressing the audience with emotion and a sense of belonging, Lincoln, used rhetorical strategies to call his people to action.

Read More

The Gettysburg Address Rhetorical Devices

272 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More

Rhetorical Devices In The Gettysburg Address

581 Words | 3 Pages

Lincoln ties the loss of life to a noble cause, and then, appeals to the grief of the listeners. Lincoln requests that those listening honor the fallen by committing themselves to furthering the cause that they died for. Concluding his speech Lincoln

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis Of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

799 Words | 4 Pages

President Abraham Lincoln uses a variety of rhetorical strategies in his Second Inaugural Address to pose an argument to the American people regarding the division in the country between the northern states and the southern states. Lincoln gives this address during the American Civil War, when politics were highly debated and there was a lot of disagreement. Lincoln calls for the people of America to overcome their differences to reunite as one whole nation once more. Lincoln begins his Second Inaugural Address by discussing the American Civil War and its ramifications.

Read More

Ethos In The Gettysburg Address

591 Words | 3 Pages

One of the most famous speeches in the history of the United States is the Gettysburg Address, delivered by Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The speech is directed to the American citizens and the soldiers to gain their support; Lincoln also wanted to lead the people to peace and prosperity. The main focus of the speech was to honor the soldiers that fought in the Battle of Gettysburg and to emphasize the importance of liberty. The tone of the speech is extremely hopeful in such a way that he hopes the audience will live a peaceful life.

Read More

'A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Gettysburg Address'

1388 Words | 6 Pages

The “Gettysburg Address” is a creature in itself that is a representation of the goals of our nation. The “Gettysburg Address” was a speech exercised by President Abraham Lincoln in a time where our nation was as divided as ever. In 1863 our country was emerged in the strain upon itself provided by the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln expressed the dire need of change in our country to prevent demolishment of our values. He spoke about how too many had given their lives to preserve our country, and how we need to finish the work they put so forth.

Read More

Anaphora In Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

649 Words | 3 Pages

Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, the third shortest inaugural address in US history, was delivered on March 4, 1865 in front of the US Capitol. In just over a month, the Civil War would be over. Already the Thirteenth Amendment has abolished slavery, and only Generals Lee and Johnston with a small force stand against a Union army 280,000 strong. Despite an inevitably victorious North, President Lincoln’s speech is somber and speaks only of the wounds rendered in this great nation, suggesting that slavery had offended God and that the war acted as a form of divine retribution. Through rhetoric, Lincoln heeds the American people to reunite and move past their disagreements.

Read More

The Gettysburg Address And Emancipation Proclamation

638 Words | 3 Pages

The Gettysburg Address is known to be one of America’s greatest speeches made by the 16th President, Abraham Lincoln. The Gettysburg Address and Emancipation Proclamation made a significant contribution to history by recognizing all humans as equals, redefining the nation at the time, and changing the course of American history by abolishing slavery. There was strife between the North and the South of America, because of slavery. The South had already seceded from the Union and Abraham recognized that he cannot change the laws of slavery. ““My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery.”

Read More

Rhetorical Devices In Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

585 Words | 3 Pages

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

Read More

Alliteration In The Gettysburg Address

286 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More

Coach Boone Gettysburg Speech Analysis

454 Words | 2 Pages

Gettysburg Speech In 2000 at Gettysburg, Coach Herman Boone presented his football team with a heartwarming, pathos speech about a historical war event to cause his players to fathom the importance of acting as a team. Coach Boone’s Gettysburg speech was a mesmeric allusion to President Lincoln’s famous dedication, and provoked a comparison between one of the hardest fought battles of the civil war and the need for teamwork. His morning practice speech is meant to inspire by arousing images, to appeal to their emotions, on the consecrated field of one of the most difficult times in American History. “Anybody know what this place is?”

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis Of The Gettysburg Address

502 Words | 3 Pages

The use of ethos and repetition instills a great sense of togetherness to show that the entire country should stand without division. He also repeats the word "here" throughout the speech to emphasize that this point in time has proven to be a crucial turning point in the Civil War. He uses "here" as a term to define the position of America rather than the physical location. Through repetition, Lincoln is able to create a speech that maintains cohesiveness. The Gettysburg Address has always been one of the most important speeches throughout history.

Read More

Metaphors In The Gettysburg Address

808 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout the speech, Lincoln seldom utilizes dividing diction such as “you”, “I” or “them” that implies that the people, and even the speaker, are separate from one another. Instead, he utilizes unifying terms, such as in “We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live”(Lincoln, #). Numerous times throughout this section the term “we” can be seen, which Lincoln used specifically as it is a unifying term. The term brings together the speaker and the audience as one, leaving no room for

Read More

More about Rhetorical Devices In Abraham Lincoln's The Gettysburg Address

Open Document