Tuesday, 25 September 2012

Abraham Lincoln: The Gettysburg Address

 
Post notes for the speech. Consider all 5 points in the rhetorical pentagram and write a brief evaluation of the speech in which you account for the use of predominant rhetorical features.

1 comment:

  1. Lincoln speech:

    Circumstances:

    -Civil war
    -Immediately after the battle of Gettysburg
    -The union has just won the battle

    Audience:

    -Stunned by the violence
    -Have lost people dear to them/relatives

    Topic:

    -The fight for freedom equality
    -The Declaration of Indepence

    Intention:

    -A rallying cry for freedom
    -To honor the dead
    -That their sacrifices should not be in vain

    Language:

    -Unifying the people (by using "we")
    -Formal

    Speaker:

    -Leader of the union
    -Fighting to abolish slavery

    ---

    He starts by using sponsorship by referring to the founding fathers (all men are created equal). Then he goes on unifying the audience by using anaphora (we, we, we ...). He uses pathos when honoring the dead and rallies the living to fight on. Much antithesis is used - when speaking about life and death - to emphasize the purpose of the speech.

    Quotations to note:
    "Four score years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation ... "

    " ... that government of the people, by the people, for the people ... "

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