Rhetorical Analysis Of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

Civil War President Abraham Lincoln once said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” More than a century later Lincoln’s speeches, addresses, and letters—still remembered and studied—are useful examples of how to write. But why (20)? Perhaps one of the most renowned writers, Lincoln uses multiple stylistic techniques to deliver his messages. Through his use of contrasting parallel structures, repetition, and balanced sentences in his Second Inaugural Address, Lincoln conveys his hope of healing the country before, after, and during the Civil War.

On March 4, 1865 Abraham Lincoln delivered his second Inaugural Address. At the point of history where the Civil War was rearing its end. His speech mainly focuses on how both the North and the South were at fault, he shows this by using rhetorical devices and two rhetorical appeals logos pathos. Of the two rhetorical appeals Lincoln used logos had to be more dominant that pathos the other that he used. I say this because Lincoln used logos the whole speech while he only used pathos in the last paragraph.

Utilizing rhetorical devices such as formal diction, allusion, and repetition, Abraham Lincoln’s “The Gettysburg Address” successfully expresses the importance of coming together as a nation during the Civil War. Lincoln portrays himself professionally and speaks to his audience in a strong, firm manner by using formal diction. Instead of making his speech casual and more personal, in a sense, the author makes sure that his words are to be heard and respected by using the word choice he did. For example, in the thirds paragraph, Lincoln talks about the soldiers stating, “It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have this far so nobly advanced.” The specific word choice

Even though many separate wars, and almost a hundred years separated Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, both leaders had to deal with the America that had split because of it; in their speeches of persuasion, addressing the breaking land, the men used similar literary devices. Despite being born over a century apart, and coming up from vastly different upbringings, both men inspired their countrymen though their inauguration speech. Lincoln, having no proper schooling in his childhood, would teach himself from books he borrowed. There, he learned about literary devices and the art of writing. Even though he campaigned for an idea that half of america hated, and was thought that the people's attention to his speeches would be transient,

This creates a sense of importance and appeals to their need to create a legacy. Lincoln does this to call on people's need to leave behind a legacy by emphasizing the importance of the event which will allow the populace to focus on the future they are building rather than the events of the

Grown Up Fairy Tales President Lincoln utilizes rhetorical strategies, hoping to emphasize his idea of an auspicious future. At the time the address was given the war has come to a close. In his address, Lincoln attempts to try and reconcile the North and the South through allusion, parallel structure and diction. Allusion is one of the many logical techniques found in Lincoln's discourse .

In the Gettysburg Address delievered by Abraham Lincoln he shows a strcit tone of how the Civil War was a lesson especially the Battle of Gettysburg showing them how they will remember the fight and they will live on. He uses repetition and anthesis. Lincoln used repetition to get his message from the speech implimited into the audience head. Such as repeating "...of the people, by the people, for the people... " This repetition stresses the point on how a new birth of freedom and government will all be decided by the people and only the people.

His speech comes in a variety of statements ranging short to long and contains 3 paragraphs. However, the second paragraph takes up the majority of the speech and contains many the different sentences. In the begging Lincoln states straight short fact but as he continues his conversation the tone switches to a religious one. As the subject of God and the Bible is brought into perspective the sentences start to receive a longer length, questions are being asked, and Lincoln starts showing his frustration toward the subject. This structure is important because Lincoln starts off with the facts and then discusses the topic if he were to do it any other way the audience would be left confused and wouldn’t understand his overall purpose toward the fight.

Furthermore, Lincoln is shining light on the power of a group over a single person and the conflict that comes along with divide. In his conclusion, Lincoln utilizes parallel sentence structure justifying, “that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to the cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain… and that the government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth” (par. 3). Here, Lincoln recognizes the duty laid upon the people to unite their nation and ameliorate the bridges. He repeats his structure within this paragraph to create impact on the audience. Also, he repeats the world people when describing the government to emphasize the power

Rhetorical Analysis In 1863 at the Gettysburg National Cemetery, President Abraham Lincoln gave one of the most prolific speeches of all time. The speech was called “The Gettysburg Address” hence where it was delivered. During this time of 1863 was the civil war and Lincoln was trying to unite the North and South colonies together to stop fighting during the civil war. After a very long one hour speech, Lincoln delivered a powerful 10-line speech that resonates with many people even today as one of the greatest speeches delivered of all time. President Lincoln’s speech “The Gettysburg Address” while trying to unite the North and South colonies together uses rhetorical devices, tone/diction, and the rhetorical triangle to attract his audience.

Abraham Lincoln used the rhetorical strategies of anaphora, repetition, opposites, and pathos to convey the importance of honoring the deceased soldiers by maintaining the war effort until the equality of all men is achieved. The first rhetorical strategy used by Lincoln was an anaphora. The lines “we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate — we can not hallow” show us that he is looking looking past the audience surrounding him emphasizing that we are not the important ones. It helps us visualize the greater aspect of the Gettysburg Address, igniting a drive in us to push forward and defend the values that the nation was founded upon.

Rhetorical Analysis Exercise #4 Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, designed to motivate his audience to work together, fight for what’s right, and honor the fallen soldiers, uses repetition and antitheses to emphasize the importance of winning the war. Throughout the speech, Lincoln repeats many words to reiterate his ideas. His repetition of “we” unifies the audience, which helps them unite against their enemies. They are motivated by his words to work together and honor the men who have lost their lives here by winning the war. Lincoln also repeats “nation” many times in the address.

Abraham Lincoln wrote “The Gettysburg Address” to remind the audience that they’re fighting the war to unite the nation and give equality to everyone. He uses rhetorical appeals to develop and support his purpose. Throughout his speech, he uses ethos by alluding to the Declaration of Independence, an example being in the first paragraph when he states, “all men are created equal”. By using ethos, he establishes that he is credible by referencing a trusted document that supports his purpose of equality. Another way he develops his purpose is by using logos when he claims that it’s “fitting and proper” that they should dedicate part of the battlefield to the people who died fighting (2).

The use of ethos and repetition instills a great sense of togetherness to show that the entire country should stand without division. He also repeats the word "here" throughout the speech to emphasize that this point in time has proven to be a crucial turning point in the Civil War. He uses "here" as a term to define the position of America rather than the physical location. Through repetition, Lincoln is able to create a speech that maintains cohesiveness. The Gettysburg Address has always been one of the most important speeches throughout history.

On March 4, 1865 in Washington, D.C., President Abraham Lincoln gave his second inauguration address to the nation. In his address to the nation he stated what he would do for the nation during his presidency and tried to prepare the nation for the end of the civil war and slavery. President Lincoln used figurative language, allusion, parallel structure, logos and pathos to express his theme that both sides are at fault and need to come together as one. Lincoln uses the rhetorical appeals pathos and logos during his second inauguration speech.