Preview

Gettysburg Address Analysis Essay

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1269 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Gettysburg Address Analysis Essay
Yurchenko, Anton
Period 1
Due 11/19/13
Gettysburg Address Analysis

The Gettysburg Address, by Abraham Lincoln has a straightforward meaning, but also a deep, intricate design that conveys the thoughts of our past president. Given on November 19, 1863, this speech was a response to the American Civil War, and was given at the National Cemetery of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania, which was on of the bloodiest and conclusive battles of the war. There were five known copies of the speech, each slightly different from the other, all of which conveyed the same purpose. The Gettysburg Address was written to address the problems of the current and future nation and dedication to equality and the sacrifices made during the war that should be contributed to the nation’s success, not demise. The purpose of the speech is for Lincoln to convey his idea of our nation, to circle the ideas of our founding fathers and for the fallen to not have died in vain. In the text, Lincoln says: “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 measure of devotion-that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain.” The quote translated into a simpler tense encircles the following sentence. It is for us, the living, to dedicate our efforts to finish the task of those who died in their last efforts, to make sure that they did not die for no reason. What he is trying to convey is both the topic of conserving the original idea of equality and to honor those who have died in battle. The last part of the quote directly supports the claim of honoring the ones who have died in an attempt to hold the sense that they have not died in vain. This is supported through the phrases, “…from these honored dead we take increased devotion…they gave [their] last measure of devotion…these dead shall not have died in vain”. The idea of conserving the “proposition

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Although many remember him as the President who ended slavery and preserved the Union, Abraham Lincoln was also a very gifted political prose writer. Lincoln wrote many powerful and memorable speeches, but arguably his most famous speech is the 272-word “Gettysburg Address,” which he delivered at a dedication ceremony for the first national cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Throughout the entire speech, Lincoln masterfully utilizes several rhetorical techniques, especially the use of repetition. He repeats two separate patterns of grammar in his address. For example, to start his third paragraph Lincoln writes, “But in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground,” and to finish that same paragraph,…

    • 195 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    This speech was delivered four months after the Union defeated the Confederacy in the battle of Gettysburg. This speech took place during the American Civil War. “ In just over two minutes, Lincoln reiterated the principles of human equality espoused…

    • 180 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Coming up this month, we commemorate the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address given on November 19th, 1863. This speech is known and considered as one of the most famous speeches in American history. How could a two minute speech be so highly regarded and enough to be one of the most famous? Abraham Lincoln utilized rhetorical techniques to turn just 10 sentences into one of the most famous and most quoted speeches of all time. “The Gettysburg Address,” was given by President Abraham Lincoln at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on the afternoon of Thursday, Nov. 19, 1863, during the American Civil War, four and a half months after the Union armies defeated the Confederacy at the Battle…

    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What would it be like in the Civil War? November 19, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln gave “The Gettysburg Address” speech while the Civil War was still going on “Now we are engaged in a great civil war” (Lincoln, Line 4). The Civil War started on April 12, 1861 and ended on May 9, 1865, during this time the Battle of Gettysburg took place from July 1, 1863 to July 3, 1863. Lincoln gave this crucial speech on the battlefield of Gettysburg to the people of his time so he can urge them to keep fighting. Lincoln wanted those listening to know that it was their duty to finish the war that unfortunately the fallen could not. Additionally he wanted to dedicate land, which would later on become Soldier’s National Cemetery, to honor the fallen Union…

    • 259 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lincoln includes the different ideas that the North and South have about slavery in hopes to bring them together to one. His sorrows for those who died in the war were heard in his speech, but he did not specifically state whether he was addressing the Confederacy or the Union. Through this vagueness, Lincoln wanted to let the people know that all were included. It did not matter whether it was a Confederate or Union soldier that fell; that person was still one of us- an American. Lincoln continues by juxtaposing the living and the dead as he includes the phrases “new birth” and a “perished” nation in his final statement. These words were meant to remind the people of their liberty, and what is America without liberty? Lincoln called on his fellow Americans to put their differences aside and focus on the main aspects of life in America: freedom and unity. Lincoln’s speech is towards an audience with great grief, so he uses methods of pathos by lifting their spirits up and reminding them of their ultimate goal. The words of this short speech touched the hearts of the audience by bringing out their inner patriotism for their country, which stands as a commonality among all…

    • 696 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To truly convince one’s audience to agree, one must make a connection with them. The people were there to hear a speech about the lives lost at the battle and Lincoln did just that while using emotional connections to impact the audience. This is shown in his phrase, “We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives, that the nation might live It is all together fitting and proper that we should do this.” In this phrase Lincoln addressing the lives lost and how important it is the mourn them. Lincoln understood the grief the people were feeling for their losses and affects of the war, he wanted the audience to know that he felt their grief as well. Lincoln appeals to the audience’s grief by telling them that these lives were lost for a reason, for the life of the nation. He made the audience feel that those people’s deaths did not belong to the people that killed them, but their deaths meant something to the good of the nation, that their lives and deaths were worthy. Lincoln also involves the audience in the worthiness of their lives by saying, “It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here.... That we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain.” Lincoln puts it on the audience to continue the war so that those who had died would not have died for nothing.…

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Of the great oral presentations this world has seen, many of them serve as an outlet for individuals to articulate their ideals and beliefs to a greater audience. The way in which great speakers such as Martin Luther King Jr and Abraham Lincoln do this is through speech elements such as rhetoric, language techniques, successful structure and also establishing a relationship with their audience. The speeches I have a Dream, and The Gettysburg Address [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMMzY1KJVeo], although performed to entirely different audiences in different contexts, share similar values and qualities.…

    • 838 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Abraham Lincoln, in the Gettysburg Address, uses his rhetorical skillsets to help dedicate the land to the fallen soldiers, as he uses multiple literary devices. He refers to the colloquial of the founding fathers to this nation and the authors of the Declaration of Independance. He aspires the remaining soldiers, and the local people of Gettysburg to continue to fight for a reason, equality and liberty, the foundation of the United States, as he assures that the fallen will not be in vain. Lincoln uses detailed phrases and strong wording in the short ten sentence speech that is currently recognized and will throughout the future.…

    • 516 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    President Abraham Lincoln delivers a speech at the dedication of the National Cemetery of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania on November 19, 1863. Pennsylvania was the site where the brutal battles of the Civil War were taken place. He was dedicated to the proposition that all men were created equally and soldiers that died for that cause should obviously continue to fight. The sacrifices that were made during the Civil War were the beginning of a new freedom to the land, preservation of the Union, which was created in 1776 and self-government for the most part. However, the boasting of the Union created in 1776 was tested to see if the Union would survive or if it would “perish from the earth” (Lincoln 3). The soldiers that died during the Battle…

    • 516 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    On November 19, 1863 Abraham Lincoln gave a reverent and humbling speech for the soldiers who had given their lives at the battle of Gettysburg for the reform and advancement of the country. He states that the brave men who here gave their last full measure of devotion” should be highly esteemed for the sacrifice they made. Lincoln establishes his ideas through the usage of rhetorical devices such as, an appeal to ethos, parallelism, and juxtaposition.…

    • 282 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    President Abraham Lincoln gave his speech, the Gettysburg Address, on November 19, 1863, at the dedication of a new cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The cemetery contained the soldiers who died in the Battle of Gettysburg, the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. About five months earlier, the Union armies defeated those of the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg. The Gettysburg Address was one of the greatest and most influential speech during the war, because it put forward the idea that "all men are created equal". (1) Lincoln honored the Union dead and gave a purpose to the soldier's sacrifice, when he states "from these honored dead we take increased devotion..."(2) He invoked the principle of human equality from the Declaration…

    • 175 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I Have A Dream Analysis

    • 543 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Overall, both speakers of the “Gettysburg Address” and the “I Have a Dream” speech uses their rhetoric devices to attain their purposes. The purpose of “Gettysburg Address” to urge and give hope to America and “I Have a Dream” to urge America to fight for the equal justice. Their use of rhetoric tools help define both their difference in theme but also helps their theme for unity, freedom, and justice stands for…

    • 543 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The battle of Gettysburg was the turning point of the bloody war between the states in favor of the north. The battle over states rights, mainly the right to keep slaves, had finally peaked in July of 1863. Lincoln knew that he had to say something to inspire his troop to go on. He said that eighty-seven years ago, or as Lincoln affectionately refers to it, four score and seven, the four fathers were dedicated to the idea that all men were created equal, not just white, male landowners. He states that the Civil War tested weather a nation with the standards and principals of the United States would make it. He dedicates the ground that the solders died on the great battle which they had just fought and stated that the solders would not be buried, but instead left were they fell in battle. Lincoln then tell the troops not the let the brave men who died's deaths to have been in vein. He then says that the country shall have a new birth of freedom and that the United…

    • 499 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Gettysburg Address was the most famous speech given by President Lincoln. It was given after the Civil War almost as a way to restore the nation and honor the fallen soldiers. In the speech Abraham starts off by saying “ Four score and seven years ago” which is significant because that was when the Declaration of Independence was signed and when the colonies gained their freedom from Great Britain. He then goes on to say that the founding fathers built the nation on liberty and equality for all men, but years later they are fighting to see if it's…

    • 590 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The “Gettysburg Address” by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War and “I Have a Dream” by Doctor Martin Luther King Jr given during the March on Washington. These speeches both have common themes, freedom and equality and they both have rhetorical devices to emphasize the purpose. The purpose of the “Gettysburg Address” is to tell the people to continue the fight. The purpose of the “I Have of Dream” speech is to tell the people to demand their rights. This paper will analysis the two speeches and how they use rhetorical devices to emphasize their purpose.…

    • 522 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays