• Home Page
  • Literary Devices In The Gettysburg Address By Abraham Lincoln

Literary Devices In The Gettysburg Address By Abraham Lincoln

Decent Essays
Show More
The “Gettysburg Address” delivered on November 19, 1863 by Abraham Lincoln was a dedication speech to the brave men who fought in the Gettysburg battle. The “Gettysburg Address” was given at the dedication ceremony of the Gettysburg memorial, made to honor those who had died fighting in the Civil War, trying to unite a nation that had split between the north and south. After three revisions, and hours of work, one of the most influential president’s in history delivered an articulately written speech. A speech that has gone down in history as an eloquent example of the rhetorical devices, and the execution of the rhetorical triangle created a connection amongst the audience and the President. The 16th President of the United States of America, who led America through a brutal Civil War, only to emerge the nation as a united and free land was a pronounced speaker. Abraham Lincoln was a seasoned politician, and President for 2 years. As the leader of a nation embroiled in a bloody civil war, his respectable manner and authoritative courage made him a formidable force that the nation rallied to. The articulate diction and literary devices, especially the use of the rhetorical triangle is evident in the “Gettysburg Address” and will be analyzed in this essay.
President Abraham Lincoln established his literary skills in previous …show more content…
More importantly it is also directed at the families of those wounded and slain at the Gettysburg battle, and also the soldiers still fighting across the country. The tone and mode that the speech is delivered is important. The Presidents goal is to use empathy, and patriotism, in order to not only honor the sacrifice of the soldiers, but also to speak in a broader sense and boost the morale of the nation. Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States of America used the “Gettysburg Address” to appeal to the ethical, logical, and empathetic response of the

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    Lincoln's Rhetorical Argument
    • 71 Words
    • 1 Pages

    Lincoln's Rhetorical Argument

    Leff, M., & Goodwin, J. (2000). Dialogic Figures and Dialectical Argument in Lincoln's Rhetoric. Rhetoric and Public Affairs, 3(1), 59-69. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/41940199 Zarefsky, D. (2014).…

    • 71 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Thomas Flournoy's Struggles During The American Civil War
    • 1133 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Thomas Flournoy's Struggles During The American Civil War

    The Gettysburg Address was a motivational speech that delivered the unification that America needed to put itself back together. It questioned whether or whether not the initial union created in 1776 would once again be secure. He also made it so that the people of America, although divided, realize things needed to be fixed one way or another and that those who died did not die for nothing. Lincoln closed his address…

    • 1133 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address Rhetorical Analysis
    • 633 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address Rhetorical Analysis

    A Rhetorical Analysis Of Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address was a speech Abraham Lincoln created and delivered on March 4, 1865. Lincoln wrote this speech for his election day where he would be chosen as America’s new president. The speech’s topic revolves mainly around how Lincoln proposes his plans for how the war, which is currently being faced at the time, should be dealt with. The war is between the Union, or the North, and the Confederates, or the South over a dispute where the Confederates wanted to be an independent nation, but the Union didn’t allow this to happen and the situation escalated to become America’s famous Civil War.…

    • 633 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address
    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

    Lincoln achieved his purpose when giving the Second Inaugural Address and surprised his audience with it. He used many rhetorical strategies when giving this address. He discusses the difference between the North and South, and how they also compare (Examples: difference is how the North did not have slaves and the South did. Then compared is how both sides saw God the same way). Lincoln talks about the effects of the Civil War and how God is the answer for ending the war and ending slavery.…

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address Rhetorical Analysis Essay
    • 476 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address Rhetorical Analysis Essay

    Alternatively, he inaudibly reflects on the mutual suffering of both North and South and calls on all Americans to put their piquancy and acrimony past them in order to come together as one. " With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations." After the brief but remarkable speech Lincoln affected a lot of country-men and plenty of the them had negative thoughts about his speech. Abraham Lincoln pulled through and showed that he was able to make such a powerful speech and not only focus on the separation between the North and South but by including allusions about God and using a pleura of rhetorical…

    • 476 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Abraham Lincoln's Inaugural Address
    • 859 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Abraham Lincoln's Inaugural Address

    Strategic or Reactive: The transformation of Lincoln’s rhetoric during his presidency From an Illinois lawyer, to the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln is one of the most celebrated historical and political figures of all time. He led the United States through its civil war and paved the way to the abolition of slavery. Not only a proficient politician, but also an amazing rhetorician, Lincoln is the author of some of the most memorable speeches and letters in the American history such as: the Gettysburg Address, Emancipation Proclamation, his first and second Inaugural Addresses and so on. His distinct writing style has a restrained, legalistic, calmed tone and most importantly, passive. David Herbert Donald, an American historian, two times Pulitzer Prize winner and best known for his biography of Abraham Lincoln, argues mainly about this aspect of Lincoln’s rhetoric.…

    • 859 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Civil War: Edward Everett's Gettysburg Address
    • 992 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Civil War: Edward Everett's Gettysburg Address

    Thursday, November 19, 1863, I traveled to pay my respects for all of the great soldiers of the Union that had died on this field in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The reason I chose to go four-and-a-half months after the Union had the victory is because I heard that Edward Everett was going to speak. Even though I went to see Edward Everett speak, I found President Lincoln’s Gettysburg address made much more of an impact on the people of the Union. Although Edward Everett’s two hour long speech was a great speech, it nowhere near made as much of an impact as Lincoln’s 272 word speech.…

    • 992 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis Of John Locke's Gettysburg Address
    • 1131 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis Of John Locke's Gettysburg Address

    In America during the Civil war, people were killing their own brothers based on their allegiance. Everybody during that time did not believe the effects it may have after the war was over. Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States knew about these effects, though the work of John Locke goals of democracy. Lincoln Speech “Gettysburg Address” not only gives hope to the union soldiers but, something much more. Through the speech, Lincoln believes that if the Union loses the war against the Confederates they will not be given a democratic government and through this all countries will be lost regardless if established now or later because of John Locke’s ideas of democracy through the use of imagery, symbolism and antithesis.…

    • 1131 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Pathos In The Gettysburg Address
    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Pathos In The Gettysburg Address

    “Four score and seven years ago….” (Lincoln 27), is the beginning to one of the most well-known speeches by one of our nation’s presidents, Abraham Lincoln. During Lincoln’s terms as President, America was fighting in the Civil War. President Lincoln used pathos, repetition and allusion in the Gettysburg Address, to persuade Americans to keep fighting and to carry on the fight that their loved ones lost their lives for. In this speech, you will hear President Lincoln use pathos to explain his emotions such as sorrow, disappointment, etc., towards the Civil War.…

    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Literature And Social Inequalities In America
    • 295 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Literature And Social Inequalities In America

    Abraham Lincoln’s famous “Gettysburg Address” is one of the most influential speeches in American history. He talked about the Declaration of Independence and how we have to go back to what this country was founded upon. Through that speech, the idea of slavery was not demolished,…

    • 295 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Gettysburg Address Diction
    • 795 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Gettysburg Address Diction

    The Battle of Gettysburg is remembered as one of the bloodiest battle in American History and cost almost 50,000 lives. The Union came out as the victors, yet as Lincoln stood before the crowd at Gettysburg no one rejoiced over this turning point in the war. Grief filled the nation and nationalism decreased as the war dragged on. Abraham Lincoln appeals to war patriotism and inspires his audience by highlighting the beliefs of the nation and the work that needs to be completed by the living in order to preserve democracy and the country. He uses urging tone and tactical diction that shift and work together to encourage the people of America to preserve the union.…

    • 795 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Abraham Lincoln's The Gettysburg Address
    • 1045 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Abraham Lincoln's The Gettysburg Address

    The Gettysburg address delivered on November 19, 1863 by Abraham Lincoln was a dedication speech to the brave men and women who fought in the Gettysburg battle. After three revisions, and hours of work, one of the most influential presidents in history delivered an articulately written speech. A speech that has gone down in history as an eloquent example of the rhetorical devices. The execution of the rhetorical triangle, by the President, created a connection amongst the audience and the speaker.…

    • 1045 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Abraham Lincoln's First Inaugural Address
    • 1038 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Abraham Lincoln's First Inaugural Address

    Abraham Lincoln is well-known for being one of the most successful presidents of all time. Because of the time period that he was president in, he was forced to deal with a very challenging issue: handling slavery and the civil war. Throughout Lincoln’s presidency, he delivered numerous speeches on the topic of slavery and tried his best to keep the United States together. Two of his most famous speeches came during his two inaugural addresses when he became president. Although his tone and purpose were different for each of his inaugural addresses, both conveyed similar ideas and used similar rhetorical devices.…

    • 1038 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address
    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

    Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address was a seminal document in our nation’s history. Lincoln used the opportunity to try and bring a wounded nation back together, employing several rhetorical strategies in his speech. Lincoln wrote his Second Inaugural Address himself. He had already been president for one term and had just been re-elected. He could have used the speech to celebrate himself and his efforts in the war, which was nearly over.…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Great Essays

    Rhetorical Devices In Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address
    • 1544 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Rhetorical Devices In Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

    President Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, only seven-minutes long, enthralled the American public. President Lincoln’s captivating speech, presented on March 4, 1865 in Washington D.C., became the unifying force to rebuilding the nation which had previously been torn apart by a civil war. The purpose of the speech was for the nation to march forward in unity; to achieve this goal, Lincoln utilized rhetorical elements such as figurative language, diction, syntax, persuasive appeals, and tone to reach his audience both present and future. President Lincoln consistently alludes to biblical quotes to not only appeal to common religious knowledge of the North and South, but to equally condemn both sides.…

    • 1544 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
    Read More

Related Topics

Ready To Get Started?
Discover
Company
Follow
©2024 Cram.com
Privacy Policy |  About Ads |  Site Map |  Advertise  | 
  • Cookie Settings