Declaration Of Independence Rhetorical Analysis
Declaration of Independence
On June 28, 1776 a draft of the Declaration of Independence(1) was presented to the Continental Congress by a committee led by Thomas Jefferson, who had worked on the document over the preceding fifteen days. In a little over two weeks Jefferson had created the most important political text in the modern history of the Western world. Not only did it bring into existence the most powerful political and economic force of the last century, but it defined a nation and encouraged its people, setting them apart from the traditions and values of their former colonial masters. But Jefferson’s text goes further than merely stating a political purpose. It is not only a declaration of belief, but the enactment of that belief; few texts have such an existence and few writers enjoy the privilege of their writing also being an act of will. The Declaration is also significant in literary terms, from its rhetorical forcefulness to the elegance and seductiveness of its rhythms and cadences. Explicit political purpose does not always sit easily with literary quality, especially when it slips over into didacticism, but when high idealism, political conviction, and literary skill converge as they do in Jefferson’s Declaration, entire civilizations are written into existence. When …show more content…
In Jefferson’s hands the rhythm and building pressure to the revelation of its three central human rights elevate the political necessities to heroic ideals. In fact the Declaration proved so stirring that Washington ordered it read to the American troops. Stephen E Lucas, in his essay “The Stylistic Artistry of the Declaration of Independence”(3) notes that Jefferson turned to the writing of Milton, Pope, and Shakespeare, among others, and that he wrote “for the ear as well as for the
On June 28, 1776 a draft of the Declaration of Independence(1) was presented to the Continental Congress by a committee led by Thomas Jefferson, who had worked on the document over the preceding fifteen days. In a little over two weeks Jefferson had created the most important political text in the modern history of the Western world. Not only did it bring into existence the most powerful political and economic force of the last century, but it defined a nation and encouraged its people, setting them apart from the traditions and values of their former colonial masters. But Jefferson’s text goes further than merely stating a political purpose. It is not only a declaration of belief, but the enactment of that belief; few texts have such an existence and few writers enjoy the privilege of their writing also being an act of will. The Declaration is also significant in literary terms, from its rhetorical forcefulness to the elegance and seductiveness of its rhythms and cadences. Explicit political purpose does not always sit easily with literary quality, especially when it slips over into didacticism, but when high idealism, political conviction, and literary skill converge as they do in Jefferson’s Declaration, entire civilizations are written into existence. When …show more content…
In Jefferson’s hands the rhythm and building pressure to the revelation of its three central human rights elevate the political necessities to heroic ideals. In fact the Declaration proved so stirring that Washington ordered it read to the American troops. Stephen E Lucas, in his essay “The Stylistic Artistry of the Declaration of Independence”(3) notes that Jefferson turned to the writing of Milton, Pope, and Shakespeare, among others, and that he wrote “for the ear as well as for the