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Rhetorical Devices In The Gettysburg Address

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Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” is an eminent source of American literature. The principles of human equality and civil war sacrifices are highlighted in his speech. Throughout his address, he invokes the principle of equality contained in the Declaration of Independence, a document made 87 years prior to his speech, that declared equal rights to all people in America. To strengthen his speech, he consistently uses rhetorical devices in order to powerfully convey his gratitude to the soldiers that fought during the civil war and his hope for a national rebirth. Overall, his speech is a true devotion to his desperate need to sustain the union and to give thanks to the soldiers. Lincoln substitutes many words in his speech to represent what they actually mean, metonymy. For example, he states “that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom”(465), but in reality, he actually means the nation from this point will have a fresh new start. When someone is born, it signifies the start of a new life, which is exactly what he wants for his nation. In addition, “full measure of devotion” (465) is stated as he describes the dedication of the soldiers during the civil war. When …show more content…

In the text, he states: “that we can not dedicate-we cannot consecrate-we cannot hallow-this ground”(464). In this sentence, he constantly repeats “we can not” to stress his belief that his country needs change. He also repeats “that” toward the end of his address to unify his beliefs. For instance, he says “It is rather...to be dedicated to the great task before us-that...devotion-that we here highly resolve that…-and that the government...shall not perish from the earth”(465). Lincoln uses anaphora to connect his ideas, display his concern for the America, and explain the actions it will take to fulfill the desires he has for the

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The entirety of Lincoln's speech is based on a specific quote from Matthew 12:25 in the Bible, in which Jesus says, "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand." By doing this, Lincoln hopes to establish credibility in the rest of his speech, because it's basis is the Bible. However, Lincoln does not use the quote in the way that is expected of a straightforward quote from the Bible. The quote could have easily been used to put the message that if the country doesn’t resolve its’ issues on slavery then the country will be consumed by chaos and the country will fall, but Lincoln immediately says that he does not expect or want the Union to end. He makes it seem

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Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States of America gave his 2nd inaugural address a month before the intense civil war’s end. In this address to the Union, he provides strong facts while also giving them the actual examples of the crime the confederates has committed. He is staggering the audience while also surprising them with a short speech rather than a lengthy one. In this speech, he uses several rhetorical strategies like his manipulation of diction, tone, and syntax in order to achieve his purpose. Lincoln’s use of diction is very informative, he uses uniquely uses big words which he mixes with quotes, imagery and other things to strengthen his statements.

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He uses strong, inspirational language like, “great task”, “devotion”, “freedom”, etc. This further serves to motivate the audience. By saying, “last full measure of devotion”, Lincoln employs more poetic words than just, “gave their lives”, which shows the soldiers gave everything they had and the audience needs to complete their mission of uniting the nation. Lincoln includes an allusion to the Pledge of Allegiance with the words, “under God”, to return to the idea of the beginning fundamentals of the country and how they brought us together. He again employs asyndeton with, “of the people, by the people, for the people”, which also shows unity as a country.

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Fighting for equality was a relevant theme in early America; however, fighting was only half the struggle, once you won what happened next was up to the leaders of the new system. In Abraham Lincoln’s speech “ The Second Inaugural Address”, America is nearing the end of the civil war and Lincoln explains what should happen next as their victory approaches. Through the use of rhetorical strategies such as diction, allusion, and syntax the audience connects to Lincoln and his statements while understanding the great capability of America. Throughout Lincolns Speech he often times alludes to references the general population knows about so they can connect to him and his statements while receiving a greater knowledge of his purpose.

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Lincoln begins his address by establishing the distinct time in which his inauguration arrives. Lincoln, using ethos, acknowledges that “public declarations have been constantly called forth… The progress of our arms…is as well known to the public as to myself” (7-11). Lincoln establishes that he has already been transparent with the country about the progress of the war, employing the collective pronoun “our arms” and communal identifies such as the “public” (4-6). Lincoln continues to use more inclusive language as he revisits the growing factionalism of the nation during his first inaugural address: “four years ago, all thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war.

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" Lincoln's speech is a masterpiece of rhetorical persuasion. He uses ethos by referring to the founding principles of the United States, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution. By referencing these foundational documents, Lincoln established his credibility as a leader and a statesman. He uses logos by arguing that the Civil War was a struggle to preserve the Union and to ensure that "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." Finally, he employs pathos by calling on the emotions of the audience.

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Abraham Lincoln once gave a speech so riveting that any member of the press present neglected to record the speech, as they were so transfixed by his message. This is referred to as “Lincoln’s lost speech” because there are no known recordings of it. It is widely considered by historians to be a brutal condemnation of slavery. This speech is in direct contrast with his second inaugural address. In his lost speech, he shocked his listeners almost into submission by delivering such a powerful message about the evils of slavery; but in his inaugural address, he is all for reconciliation with the very organization which sponsored slavery in the first place.

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The first line of the speech Lincoln reminds the addressees that our relatively new nation designed to uphold civil liberty and of the immortal declaration. Earlier that year Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation and it is evident by his tone throughout the discourse was meant to embellish a truly free America. Lincoln’s intention was seeking the greater good in a period thought to be so grim. In the body of the speech, Lincoln refers to the sacrifices made “The brave men, living and dead” (Lincoln, A) but that they should not be dwelled on and instead used as motivation to succeed in hopes of a better future. One of the most powerful and captivating lines “we here be 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” (Lincoln, A) which directly pulls at the conscious of American liberty.

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Lincoln also refers to the Declaration of Independence in hopes of the audience remembering the importance of being free and what we gave up to make America, the land of the free and the home of the brave. He says that “it is for us the living,rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.” Lincoln uses an ethical appeal to convince the audience that we don’t need to dedicate, we need to be dedicated. We need to be committed to America. By him using an ethical appeal, it brings out a sense of debt we have to repay, for all the men who had fought and died for us.

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He makes very specific word choices and phrases like using “conceived in liberty”, “dedicated”, and “proposition” (Lincoln Abraham Lincoln Online). He uses these words as very powerful and much more deeply meant than what someone would first think. He also uses “consecrate” and “final resting place” to illustrate how this site of the battle wasn’t going to be remembered as where he made his speech, “nor remember what we say here”, but as where so many men lost there lives for something that they believed in (Lincoln Abraham Lincoln

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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," 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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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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Lincoln makes a reference to our founding fathers at the start of his speech to remind his audience of how our nation started. Giving a description of the origin of our country depicts the purpose of America's existence. A place that was once united against one cause has become a place that is divided and against each other. Lincoln also states, "that all men are created equal" in the same area he mentions the founding fathers to position his opinion on

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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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