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How Does Lincoln Use Diction In The Gettysburg Address

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Abraham Lincoln inspires hope with the morning citizens at Soldier’s National Cemetery by using diction in The Gettysburg Address. Lincoln addresses his audience by using the word “we.” This connects everyone in his audience and mainly unifies the people. Lincoln mentions in the second paragraph that they are there “to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who gave their lives that that nation might live.” He specifically says how “it is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.” Lincoln uses this quote to portray how everyone has this duty to uphold. The duty to honor those who died. Lincoln accomplishes this, all while unifying those in front of him. Later in the address, Lincoln talks about the …show more content…

To be specific, Lincoln uses epizeuxis. This repetition of one word throughout a piece can easily achieve what Lincoln wants. The main word repeated throughout the address is “dedicated.” Lincoln rallies the Nation by explaining how “it is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the full measure of devotion.” The definition of dedicated is to devote to a particular task or purpose. Thus the word devotion in the address can be swapped out for dedicated. This makes it even more evident that Lincoln is inspiring hope, and telling his audience to not give up. As mentioned before, Lincoln wants his audience to not be worried about the fate of the Nation and the legacies of those lost protecting it. This message comes up again in this quote from the terms task and dedicated. The word task can be seen as the duty of the American people to uphold the Nation’s ideas, while dedicated can be seen as honoring those who have fallen, by supporting their cause. Overall, Abraham Lincoln generates hope after the Battle of Gettysburg in The Gettysburg Address by using specific diction and

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