Rhetorical Devices Used In The Gettysburg Address

Seven score and nine years ago, Abraham Lincoln, our sixteenth President of the United States of America, set off for Gettysburg in order to consecrate Gettysburg National Cemetery. In an uncharacteristically short speech-at least for the 1860s-Lincoln was able to reaffirm the values our Founding Fathers had laid down in the Declaration of Independence as well as the Constitution, and painted a vision of a unified United States where freedom and democracy would be the rule for all citizens. Lincoln utilized various rhetorical devices to make the Gettysburg Address accomplish two tasks in one. The first is to bring remembrance to the principals and morals for which the United States was built upon, second is to honor the brave soldiers who fought and died at Gettysburg and consecrate the land upon which they stood and finally was to sway those attending into giving their “…last full measure of devotion-” to ensure a nation that would remain built upon the concepts of liberty and democracy and continues to gain support for the cause of the war.. Seeking only to honor the dead and inspire the living, Lincoln ended up delivering one of the most powerful speeches in American-if not world-history.

In the last paragraph of the speech, President Lincoln is telling the American people that the proper way to honor the brave soldiers is to dedicate and devote your life to the country, and offering everyone the hope that America will be a better country in which there will be, “a new birth of freedom.” Lincoln points out this government will represent all the people, and will remain forever. President

Abraham Lincoln states that “all men are created equal,” to show that this war was to put out the image that every man should not be treated differently from one another. Lincoln uses the quote to show that he believes in equality and unification because those men who went to fight in the war came together to gain freedom and equality and the citizens should not let the people who fought die in vain. He also proclaims “and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth”, which discloses the fact that the people who fought

In the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln concisely stated the message in which our country was founded on the idea that all men are created equal. He states the significance of the battle in were, many made the ultimate sacrifice while standing up for this ideals reminding us that although words can often be forgotten, the actions of those brave ones will never be forgotten. He too mentions the responsibility we all share to continue the legacy of those who died in the battle.

He states that the Civil War tested weather a nation with the standards and principals of the United States would make it. He dedicates the ground that the solders died on the great battle which they had just fought and stated that the solders would not be buried, but instead left were they fell in battle. Lincoln then tell the troops not the let the brave men who died’s deaths to have been in vein. He then says that the country shall have a new birth of freedom and that the United

Lincoln’s speech also contains a balanced syntax to highlight the idea of a united and balanced nation by using a combination of long and shot sentences in his speech. An example of a long sentence would be one like, “While the Inaugural Address was being delivered from this place, devoted altogether to saving the Union without war, insurgent agents were in the city seeking to destroy it without war, seeking to dissolve the Union and divide effects by negotiation”, and an example of a short sentence would be one like the following: “All dreaded it, all sought to avert it.” The

Repetition is the final key rhetorical device in the address. Two examples of repetition are in the opening statement of the Gettysburg Address which set the repetitious nature of the whole speech. Common expression, such as “we,” “our,” and “us,” is used to tie the entire address together, but this set of repletion is outweighed by the other. The word “dedicated” has been used in the speech to not only tie the entire speech together but to also appeal to pathos, an emotional appeal. The words “I” and “you” are absent from the speech, instead Lincoln uses words such as “we,” “our,” and “us,” to include the people of the Union and the Confederacy to unite both parties as a whole under the one

President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address clearly shows the cause for which the Union soldiers and officers bravely fought. The equality and freedom they fought for are easily misunderstood but not by President Lincoln. The equality he spoke of does not mean that each individual is completely the same, making their capability equal. Instead, it means that no individual is valued more than another because every citizen has the same value under God.

The Gettysburg speech was short, sharp, powerful and one to remember. Still to this day it remains to a well known, well respected speech.

Repetition is used in the address as well. Two examples of repetition are in the opening statement of the Gettysburg Address which set the repetitious nature of the whole speech. Common expressions, such as “we,” “our,” and “us,” are used to connect the entire address concurrently, but this set of repetition is outweighed by the other. The word “dedicated” has been used in the speech to not only tie the entire speech together but to also appeal to pathos, an emotional appeal. The words “I” and “you” are absent from the speech, instead Lincoln uses words such as “we,” “our,” and “us,” to include the people of the Union and the

In his speech, Lincoln first sets the topic of how not that long ago that all men are created equal. This statement was said after the civil war that killed about ten thousand Americans. At this time that meant a lot because the civil war was at its worst. Lincoln continues by discussing that even though this civil war was one of the worst but that it needed to be fought.

In "The Gettysburg Address," Abraham Lincoln's purpose is to honor the dead, and end the war by accomplishing the unfinished work that those who died, died for. Abraham Lincoln delivers his speech with an inspirational and motivational tone. The usage of the elements repetition and parallelism establish his devotion for his determination. Throughout Abrahan Lincoln's speech, he introduces variety of repetitions to assist his goal.

In President Abraham Lincoln's Speech, The Gettysburg Address, 1863, he uses rhetorical devices to convey an overall message. For instance, Abraham uses the rhetorical strategy of repetition throughout his address. By using repetition he shines a light on his overall message that the country must unite and dedicate themselves for the well being of the country just as the men who died. Abraham states the phrase "we" around ten times. The use of we creates an emotional appeal of unity. He illustrates the well being of the nation is a group problem not an individual one. To add on to the idea of unity, he repeats the phrase "dedicate" and "nation." These two phrases illustrate that the nation must come together and dedicate themselves

Lincoln was very careful about the words he chose to speak. He had spoken the wrong words then the war might have started again, so Lincoln thought deeply about his oratory that he would give in front of many families, and friends, of the men who lost their lives at Gettysburg. During is speech he says, “Now we are engaged in a civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure”. When Lincoln spoke these words he was saying that not even he was sure if America as a nation would be able to survive the civil war. This is where the way he actually presented his speech come into

During the time of the address, Abraham Lincoln was President of the United States. This essentially established his credibility from the start. During this time there were deep political lines drawn, but Lincoln’s supporters were proud of his deliverance, and praised him in their reviews (Cornell University). Lincoln’s opening sentence helped to support his credibility. Lincoln was able to create a timeline for listeners by saying “Four score and seven years ago” ("Our Documents - Transcript of Gettysburg Address (1863)"), and followed it with historical facts and knowledge. This helped develop his credibility by showing his listeners that he possessed knowledge of the nation’s past.