Rhetorical analysis essay examples provide models that students can follow to write their essays. However, you should ensure that the model you follow is written well.
To make sure that the essay you’re using as an example, you should study the basic principles of writing proper rhetorical analysis. Check out this previous article to learn about writing a proper rhetorical analysis essay: How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis Essay.
If you are preparing for the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay, you should consult the sample essay from the College Board. It would be best to download and print them out as they are scanned versions of essays in the actual handwriting of students who took the exam. Check out the rubric and sample essays here: AP English Language and Composition 2021.
In this article, I will provide a brief rhetorical analysis essay using Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address to create the prompt.
Copy of the Gettysburg Address (November 19, 1863) |
[1] Fourscore 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.
[2] 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.
[3] 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.
Rhetorical analysis of the Gettysburg Address |
The Gettysburg Address by Lincoln connects the sacrifice of Union soldiers in the U.S. Civil War to a greater cause — namely, the democratic founding principles of the US, which was antithetical to the concept of slavery. The speech was delivered by President Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery. It was given in commemoration to Union soldiers who died fighting in the Battle of Gettysburg — a battle that was fought from July 1 to July 3, 1863, and which became a turning point in the Civil War. This battle was one of the bloodiest in the conflict, with an estimated 51,000 casualties, including over 7,000 soldiers killed, 33,000 wounded, and many captured or missing.
The speech relies primarily on pathos and repetitive rhetorical devices. Lincoln completely rejects the use of ethos in the speech and instead humbles himself in the presence of “the honored dead.” He goes as far as saying “The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.” Instead, in his appeal to pathos, Lincoln portrays the soldiers as models and examples for the rest of the country to follow in fighting for the democratic values of freedom.
Lincoln, in this short two-minute speech, uses a wide range of rhetorical devices. The most memorable is epistrophe (i.e., repetition at the end) in the famous phrase, “government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.” However, there are several others. He uses a combination of anaphora (repetition at the beginning) and polysyndeton (a lack of conjunctions) in the following sentence: “But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow, this ground.” The repetition and lack of conjunctions service to give power and energy to the speech, especially after the opening of the speech, which is somewhat subdued.
Another noteworthy sentence is the following: “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.” The rhetorical device used here is symploce (i.e., repetition at the end with a small change in the middle). The symploce is used here to compare and contrast the magnitude of the contribution of the soldiers who fought and died in battle with the relatively insignificant contribution made by combatants. This should be paid attention to as Lincoln is preparing the way to say that all citizens of the U.S.A. have a role to play in promoting Democratic values, even if it doesn’t include combat roles.
Lastly, Lincoln makes skillful use of polyptoton (repetition of a variation of the root of a word). with variations of the word dead and connects it to the wider theme of a collective national rebirth that is introduced in the second paragraph of the speech. At the start of the speech, Lincoln uses a subtle metaphor describing the cemetery as a portion of a great battlefield. This sentiment is extended where the cause that the soldiers fight for is a national struggle that all should participate in.
Lincoln says, “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.” The polyptoton with the word “die” can be seen as a transition from death to the theme of rebirth. Lincoln first mentions the noun form of the word “dead.” Then, it changes to the active verb form “died,” before ending with a reference to “a new birth of freedom.”
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Cite this EminentEdit article |
Antoine, M. (2024, November 20). Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example. https://www.eminentediting.com/post/rhetorical-analysis-essay-example |
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