Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address: A qualitative content analysis
Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863, during the dedication ceremony for the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It is a historically significant and well-known speech in the United States.
A qualitative content analysis of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address reveals numerous crucial linguistic and rhetorical characteristics that add to its historical significance:
Conciseness and Precision:
Lincoln employs concise and precise language, condensing complex ideas into memorable phrases, such as "Four score and seven years ago" and "new birth of freedom."
The brevity enhances the speech's impact and memorability.
Historical Context and Imagery:
The opening reference to "Four score and seven years ago" places the speech in a historical context, emphasizing the establishment of the nation.
Imagery, such as "great civil war" and "final resting place," vividly portrays the challenges and sacrifices faced during the war.
Parallel Structure:
The use of parallel structure, seen in phrases like "dedicate," "consecrate," and "hallow," adds rhetorical symmetry and emphasizes the solemnity of the occasion.
This rhetorical device enhances the overall rhetorical effectiveness.
Antithesis and Repetition:
Lincoln contrasts the dedication of the living with the consecration by the brave men, emphasizing the distinct roles.
Repetition of the phrase "we can not" reinforces the idea of the limitations in dedicating the ground compared to the sacrifices of those who fought.
Appeal to Emotion and Common Purpose:
The emotional appeal is evident in phrases like "last full measure of devotion" and "new birth of freedom," evoking a sense of sacrifice and hope.
The speech fosters a common purpose by urging the living to continue the work of those who sacrificed their lives.
Inclusive Language:
The use of "we" and "us" emphasizes collective responsibility and shared commitment.
Inclusive language reinforces the idea that the nation is a shared project and responsibility.
Religious Undertones:
References to God, such as "under God," add a religious dimension, providing a moral foundation to the commitment for a new birth of freedom.
This appeals to shared values and beliefs.
Timeless Themes:
The enduring themes of equality, freedom, and government by the people contribute to the speech's timeless relevance.
The emphasis on a "new birth of freedom" speaks to ongoing struggles for justice and liberty.
In conclusion, Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address exemplifies linguistic and rhetorical brilliance, using brief language, historical imagery, parallel structures, and emotional appeal to convey a compelling message of dedication and shared responsibility in a national calamity.
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. 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 full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
-- Abraham Lincoln
(Wikipedia)
