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Rhetorical Devices In The Gettysburg Address

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President of the United States, and activist against slavery, Abraham Lincoln, delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863. During the ceremony, Lincoln recognizes the fallen soldiers that were fighting for equality and freedom during the Battle of Gettysburg and praises the soldiers for their heroic actions. President Lincoln implements a tone of reverence, perseverance, and hopefulness to convey to the citizens of the United States of America, that the soldier’s lives would have not been lost for nothing and together they will construct a better future. President Lincoln starts off his speech addressing the citizens with an allusion to the founding forefathers of America and their intent with the new nation. In the line, “… a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are equal,” Lincoln uses a metaphor to convey how the nation is still new and is in the progress of developing into a nation where freedom and equality is a virtue that shall be held in the highest standards (Lincoln). By incorporating this stylistic device, Abraham Lincoln is able to create an analogy to explain the nations room for growing, by secretly comparing it to a newborn growing up with values implemented in its mind (Fox the Poet). …show more content…

Using formal diction, Abraham Lincoln insinuates words such as: “conceived”, “dedicated”, “endure”, “hallow”, “detract”, and “consecrate”, to set a critical tone. Even though many came to remember the fallen soldiers, Abraham believed that this was a testimony to the sacrifices they made in order to be a free and equal nation (Deam). Lincoln uses these words to draw attention to the struggles at hand due to the Civil War, and mention that one cannot honor the fallen and living soldiers if there is a problem that still needs to be

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