The Gettysburg Address: Most Powerful, Emotional, And Poetic Speech

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The Gettysburg Address was the most powerful, emotional, and poetic speech ever said. The first reason how the Gettysburg Address was the most powerful, emotional, and poetic speech ever said was that it was short and sweet. Abraham Lincoln delivered his short speech for the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery on November 19, 1863. Lincoln delivered perhaps the most powerful speech in United States history in under two minutes and under 300 words. Lincoln’s speech puts the Civil War in perspective as a test of success of the American Revolution. The nation founded on equality was in the midst of a war to determine whether such a nation could continue to exist. He said that they were gathered to formally dedicate ground hallowed by the men, American citizens, who died there, but his speech turned the event into a rededication of the living to the war effort to preserve a nation of freedom. Sometimes when people delivered speeches, they were long, boring and people sometimes even lost interest in what the person was saying. Speeches that get too lengthy often lose its effect on the people and it begins to lose its purpose. Lincoln, however, delivered his heartfelt speech in under…show more content…
Lincoln showed his inner poetic skills while addressing the crowd at Gettysburg. Lincoln’s address contained many common day poetic elements such as: alliteration, allusion, rhetorical devices, parallelism, and repetition. Lincoln used these poetic elements to deliver his address with more effect and reminded everyone about the underlying meaning of the Civil War, the Civil War was to purify the ethics and morals of the United States and to uphold the idea, “all men are created equal.” Poetic devices make speeches flow better and enjoyable to listen to. Lincoln used poetic elements throughout his speech and did a great

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