Rhetorical Analysis Of The Gettysburg Address

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The “Gettysburg Address,” by Abraham Lincoln is considered one of the most renowned speeches of all time delivered by one of the most prominent presidents the United States has ever had. The address reminds me of the Declaration of Independence. In fact, it’s the focal point of the “Gettysburg Address.” Just consider the opening statement, “Four score and seven years ago…” (a score is twenty years) The “Gettysburg Address” was written in eighteen sixty-three, four score and seven years ago is eighty-seven years which takes you back to seventeen seventy-six, the year the Declaration of Independence was written. Lincoln also refers back to all men being created equal throughout his address and remarks, “that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom,” Lincoln is alluding to the abolition of slavery. I especially love …show more content…

He’s promoting that the colonial secession was inspired by a devotion to liberty and equality. Southern Independence is being opposed for that same very reason and he does an incredible job of utilizing the words of Thomas Jefferson to make it clear. I discovered how majestic Lincoln’s use of literary/rhetorical devices was and his use of the English language through imagery. He uses repetition or anaphora to emphasize the points he made not in lack of vocabulary. The use of allusion is substantially dependent on the Declaration of Independence as I talked about before, but he also refers back to the Bible as well. As Lincoln transpires toward the end of his speech he calls the people of America to action. He’s asking them to fulfill the Declaration of Independence’s mission through the Gettysburg address. He uses the term "new birth of freedom," as a metaphor referring to the nation’s founding fathers basically “giving birth to the

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