LITERARY ANALYSIS ESSAY

Literary Analysis : The Gettysburg AddressNameCourseProfessorDate

This world will little note , nor long remember , what we say here ' begins The Gettysburg Address , authored and delivered by Abraham Lincoln on November 19 , 1893 . Modern scholars still discus whether Lincoln understood the brevity of his words on that day in Gettysburg Pennsylvania . Written well over a hundred years ago , The Gettysburg Address is still used as a prime example of highly effective and efficient writing . In just under two hundred and seventy words Lincoln managed to do what most orators only dream of . He embodied

the great American spirit of nationalism coupled with the country 's immense sacrifice and loss due to war - expressing in words what many American citizens simply did not know how to . Speeches , like the Gettysburg Address , differ very little from other forms of writing and use the same literary devices found in fiction

Word choice is extremely important in all types of writing . Lincoln 's word choice in the Gettysburg Address allows his speech to be both emotional and accessible to his audience . Many of the words are only one syllable , and the entire speech is plain talk ' Lincoln writes Now we are engaged in a great civil war . We are met on a great battlefield of war ' and continues but it can never forget what they did here ' Lincoln is careful to write and speak in such a way that makes his audience feel comfortable . He is not speaking to a room full of scholars but to the mothers , wives , and families of men who gave their lives in war . Lincoln makes sure his word choice will be understood by those who are listening

Lincoln also makes good use of repetition . In the final sentence of the Gettysburg Address , he writes and that government of the people . by the people . for the people . shall not perish from this earth ' Repetition leads to remembrance . The rhythm of not only the Gettysburg Address but the way Lincoln delivers it , is almost hymn like Alliteration can be seen in the use of words beginning with p The audience can easily remember what they have heard , and bring a piece of history and perhaps comfort home with them

The Gettysburg Address is concise and to the point . Lincoln realized the emotional nature of dedicating a cemetery to the hundreds of men that died in battle . He understands loss , and knows that no matter what he says he will not be able to bring back the dead . In knowing this he speaks directly to the audience , offering them hope and solace that their loved ones did not die in vain . Lincoln is humble and grateful to the sacrifice that his American citizens have made . It is Lincoln 's sincerity combined with a natural word choice , and use of repetition that makes The Gettysburg Address , unforgettable . Works Cited

Lincoln , Abraham "The Gettysburg Address " 19 Nov . 1863 . The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln . Ed . Roy

. Basler . New Brunswick , NJ Rutgers UP , 1955 . Abraham...