In an essay of approximately 300-400 words, analyze and evaluate Lincoln's use of stylistic language in his speech at Gettysburg. As Dr. Zaretsky says in Chapter 12, Lincoln's speech had "plainness of structure, the simplicity of wording, and even brevity" (p. 280) - but it was not simply and easy; pay particular attention to the artistry of Lincoln's language.

In your essay, you should discuss specific language choices Lincoln makes to express his ideas. Be sure to use specific examples in your essay to illustrate your claims.

- What stylistic devices are used?
- How do they add to or detract from the message?
- How does the speaker achieve rhythm, clarity, and vividness?

Read the address out loud and think about the chapter's discussion of oral versus written style.

Works Cited

Leff, Michael, and Jean Goodwin. "Dialogic figures and dialectical argument in Lincoln's
rhetoric." Rhetoric and Public Affairs (2000): 59-69.

Wilson, Douglas L. Lincoln's Sword: The Presidency and the Power of Words. New York:
Vintage, 2007. Internet resource.

These solutions may offer step-by-step problem-solving explanations or good writing examples that include modern styles of formatting and construction of bibliographies out of text citations and references. Students may use these solutions for personal skill-building and practice. Unethical use is strictly forbidden.

The unique rhetoric of Lincoln’s Gettysburg address is to address objections before they are brought up and “answer to the same” (59). The objection Lincoln addresses includes why should men die for such a thing called freedom. His answer is that “these dead shall not have died in vain” because their bravery on the battlefield is an of consecrating the ground they died. Lincoln argues that we “shall have a new birth of freedom” even though the causality of war has taken the lives of brave men, the words of the constitution will, then, have new meaning. Lincoln uses the word “consecrated” in the speech because he wants to show that his words do not consecrate the ground where the men dead, but their acts raise the concept of freedom to a new level that his words cannot achieve....