How Does Lincoln Use Diction In The Gettysburg Address

Seven score and nine years ago, Abraham Lincoln, our sixteenth President of the United States of America, set off for Gettysburg in order to consecrate Gettysburg National Cemetery. In an uncharacteristically short speech-at least for the 1860s-Lincoln was able to reaffirm the values our Founding Fathers had laid down in the Declaration of Independence as well as the Constitution, and painted a vision of a unified United States where freedom and democracy would be the rule for all citizens. Lincoln utilized various rhetorical devices to make the Gettysburg Address accomplish two tasks in one. The first is to bring remembrance to the principals and morals for which the United States was built upon, second is to honor the brave soldiers who fought and died at Gettysburg and consecrate the land upon which they stood and finally was to sway those attending into giving their “…last full measure of devotion-” to ensure a nation that would remain built upon the concepts of liberty and democracy and continues to gain support for the cause of the war.. Seeking only to honor the dead and inspire the living, Lincoln ended up delivering one of the most powerful speeches in American-if not world-history.

The historian David Blight says that Lincoln’s message in the Gettysburg Address was to help the people recover from the deficit from the Battle of Gettysburg and the casualties that were caused by it. Lincoln simply wants to rebuild the country.

He emphasizes that they are met at “a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live” to show his compassion to those who lost their loved ones as well as to induce empathy among those who did not. He then refers to the men who lost their lives fighting for the belief that all men are created equal and that their sacrifices should not be in vain. President Lincoln then states: “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.” That sentence expresses compassion to the families of those who died and gives them comfort as the actions of the world will never forget what the brave men did. On the other hand, that statement also conveys the message that actions speak louder than words as the world will not remember what is said, but what is done. The purpose of that message is to inspire the audience to take action in ending the

The Gettysburg Address is one of the most famous speeches in American history. The History Place indicates that on November 19, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln went to a battle field positioned in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where three dreadful days of battle occurred called the Battle of Gettysburg. While he was attending the battle field to dedicate it as a national cemetery, he read his speech to the public. After the main orator, Edward Everett of Massachusetts, delivered his speech that lasted about two hours, it was Lincoln’s turn. Everyone was shocked that it only lasted a little over two minutes. The speech talked about the men who fought in the Civil War to help create the nation people have today: that it is only fair to honor them

That was the reason for the visit to Gettysburg. It was a trip with Edward Everett to dedicate a newly created cemetery that was must needed in the country at the time due to all the fallen during the war. President Lincoln followed Mr. Everett’s two hour speech with his two minute speech which was decided in nature to sum up what Mr. Everett just talked about. A key thing to remember in the Gettysburg address was the importance not to forget about the fallen young Soldier’s on the battle field. This is mentioned in the in the second sentence of the second paragraph “ We have come to dedicate a portion of it, as a final resting place for those who died here, that the nation might live”. What the President is talking about is the importance of not just remembering the fallen but also reminding the audience of why they died. They died believing in a cause; weather it’s about uniting the country or making two separate

In the last paragraph of the speech, President Lincoln is telling the American people that the proper way to honor the brave soldiers is to dedicate and devote your life to the country, one which there will be, “a new birth of freedom.” Lincoln points out this government will represent all the people, and will remain forever. President Lincoln, through this speech is trying heal the nation that is divided by the great Civil War, and offering

In the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln concisely stated the message in which our country was founded on the idea that all men are created equal. He states the significance of the battle in were, many made the ultimate sacrifice while standing up for this ideals reminding us that although words can often be forgotten, the actions of those brave ones will never be forgotten. He too mentions the responsibility we all share to continue the legacy of those who died in the battle.

The Gettysburg Address was a speech composed and addressed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, at the time of the political fight in Gettysburg Pennsylvania. At that time, Abraham Lincoln was the President of the United States. He was also the President who led America through the Civil War. During the Civil War, at Gettysburg, some soldiers died protecting the nation. This was mentioned in Lincoln’s speech, which was meant to be dedicated to the soldiers who died defending their people. He spoke of how a piece of land on Earth should be dedicated in their memory in order to show respect for dead soldiers. The Gettysburg Address was an effective way of President Abraham Lincoln communicating with the people of the United States at a time

Repetition is the final key rhetorical device in the address. Two examples of repetition are in the opening statement of the Gettysburg Address which set the repetitious nature of the whole speech. Common expression, such as “we,” “our,” and “us,” is used to tie the entire address together, but this set of repletion is outweighed by the other. The word “dedicated” has been used in the speech to not only tie the entire speech together but to also appeal to pathos, an emotional appeal. The words “I” and “you” are absent from the speech, instead Lincoln uses words such as “we,” “our,” and “us,” to include the people of the Union and the Confederacy to unite both parties as a whole under the one

The reason behind giving the speech was given was to dedicate the ground at, Gettysburg, as a Cemetery and to honor the men who died in Battle.

Lincoln concludes his speech by explaining that even though he would he could dedicate the grounds, it would be remembered not by his words, but by the lives of the young men that fought here. he uses

Repetition is used in the address as well. Two examples of repetition are in the opening statement of the Gettysburg Address which set the repetitious nature of the whole speech. Common expressions, such as “we,” “our,” and “us,” are used to connect the entire address concurrently, but this set of repetition is outweighed by the other. The word “dedicated” has been used in the speech to not only tie the entire speech together but to also appeal to pathos, an emotional appeal. The words “I” and “you” are absent from the speech, instead Lincoln uses words such as “we,” “our,” and “us,” to include the people of the Union and the

Abraham Lincoln is arguably one of the United States greatest presidents and is well-known for writing one of the most iconic literary pieces in American history, the Gettysburg Address. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is an outstanding 272-word oration, meant to have been a “few appropriate remarks” (Wills), yet it is considered to be one of the greatest speeches ever written, and rightly so. However, Lincoln was not the only one that gave a Gettysburg Address at the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, nor was he “the star of the show” (Emberton). Today, many have forgotten the name of Edward Everett and the importance and value of his Gettysburg Address. Edward Everett was chosen as the main speaker at the ceremony and gave a 2-hour oration, preceding Lincoln’s 2-minute dedicatory remarks, that was highly praised among critics and the audience. Everett’s qualifications, his message within his speech, and his overall purpose have greatly contributed to the value of his Gettysburg Address. Today, it is clear to see that Lincoln’s Address has overshadowed Everett’s Address, but that wasn’t the case in 1863. The question left to answer, should Everett’s Gettysburg Address be considered just as valuable and praiseworthy as Lincoln’s speech?

However, he immediately counters this imagery by emphasizing how the U.S citizens cannot mourn and commemorate the dead but het must finish what they began. Lincoln does this by employing the syntactical use of parallelism. Lincoln further demonstrates that even though there was much blood splattered we can not just mourn for them-- “we cannot dedicate -- we cannot consecrate -- we cannot hallow-- this ground.” Through the use of parallelism and the repiton of the phrase “we can not,” Lincoln is immediately enabled to speak on the same grounds as his audience-as a collaborative effort. Although, more importantly, by establishing more credibility through the repetition of the phrase “we cannot” the audience will essentially believe and follow what Lincoln is declaring since the phrase is almost as if Lincoln is ordering his audience. In this case he is ordering the audience not to let these soldiers die in vain. He is also commanding his audience to stay strong, because if the people are then the nation is

​Abraham Lincoln addressed the people of the United States in his writing “The Gettysburg Address.” Lincoln’s speech addresses how our nation dealt with the struggle of equality and humanity. Lincoln’s strong ideas and beliefs on humanity are shown in his speech: “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 last full measure of devotion” (503).