Rhetorical Devices In The Gettysburg Address

Abraham Lincoln, Walt Whitman, and Pericles are all significant figures whose carefully crafted words reach people's hearts and minds giving a lasting impression. The Gettysburg Address, O Captain! My Captain!, and Pericles’ funeral oration all have elements and themes that heavily contribute to the event taking place. The rhetorical situations used throughout these three compositions have abounding similarities and differences.

These three passages are about highly important events in history. The Gettysburg Address was a speech given by Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War, which began on April 12, 1861, on November 19, 1863. The battle was between the Union States and the Confederate States, in which both sides experienced a significant

As the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln was responsible for conducting the Civil War. Walt Whitman was an American poet, who admired Lincoln and often incorporated the nature of American experience into his work. Pericles was an eminent and influential Greek politician and general in Athens. Lincoln and Pericles both discuss the importance of honoring the brave men that fought for their nation and encouraged the remaining to keep fighting. They also address the audience in the first plural to signify that they need to work together as a nation. Moreover, these three writers collectively used the rhetorical device, repetition, to connect with the audience. Lincoln constantly referred to the idea of the Declaration of Independence in which all men are created equal, while Pericles continuously emphasizes the value of a soldier’s death. Whitman’s recurring phrase “my captain” indicates the personal relationship between him and

The Gettysburg Address was written for both sides of the war, similarly to Pericles’ speech, while the poem was written for the people of the United States who recently lost an important leader. In all of these pieces, the audience was called to take action. In the Address, they were asked to create a nation that truly possesses freedom for all. Pericles asked the audience to procreate a future generation that will serve Athens. The audience for the poem was encouraged to “Exult O shores, and ring O bells!” in celebration for their victory (...). Another similarity between the audiences is that they are all experiencing an emotional disarray as someone valuable, whether they are a loved one in the military or a devoted commander, is