Lord Chesterfield Analysis

In his letter to his son, Lord Chesterfield reprimands his son’s behavior and nature. While doing this Chesterfield explains how he believes his son should act, ultimately revealing his values in life. He uses a stern tone to convey this message to his son.
Chesterfield opens his letter by emphasizing the importance of his son heeding and listening to his advice. While doing this, he displays his values of respecting wisdom and knowledge. Chesterfield tells his son that he does not wish him to think that “I mean to dictate as a parent,” but rather “as a friend, and an indulgent one too.” He then continues to tell his son to not “apprehend that I mean to check your pleasures,” desiring to “be the guide, not the censor”. Chesterfield’s use of god terms such as “guide” and “friend”, as well as devil terms such as
“censor” and “parent”, allow him to not only better convince his son to heed his advice, but also reveals his value of wisdom. Chesterfield goes on to tell his son to “let my experience supply your want of it, and clear your way” from “those thorns and briars which scratched and disfigured me in the course of mine”. This use of personification and symbolism provide a strong argument to heed his advice, as well as greatly emphasizes his value of wisdom and experience in …show more content…
Chesterfield tells his son that he has “no womanish weakness” for him, that his “merit must, and will, be the only measure” of his kindness to him. This not only drops the hammer to Chesterfield’s son, but also identifies his value of toughness and integrity by speaking of his son’s merit. Chesterfield then uses sincere diction, telling his son “I am convinced that you will act right, upon more noble and generous principles”. This exemplifies Chesterfield’s value of integrity and generosity in life. These rhetorical devices in the heart of Chesterfield’s letter further exemplify his