What Are The Rhetorical Devices Used In Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

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In President Lincoln second inaugural address, he uses parallelism, religion, and a rhetorical question to express the gruesome effects of the civil war and his vision on our nations future. " All dreaded it, All sought to avert it." This use of the word all in the sentence creates parallelism, which emphasizes the fact that Americans did not want war. Lincoln's constant referral to religion appeals to one's pathos. "The Almighty has his own purposes." "Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invoked his aid against the other." Ultimately, we should not pray to harm or hinder one another; even if we cannot come to a compromise. Lincoln also suggest that God is the most powerful and he will do what he knows is scrupulous.

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