Custom «Abraham Lincoln» Essay Paper Sample

Pathos, logos and ethos are the three rhetoric proofs that exist daily in a different situation, and one evident proof is in the Abraham Lincoln Gettysburg Address that incorporates all the three proofs.

Although the war situation was emotional Lincoln’s Gettysburg address appealed to the emotion of the audience. He acknowledges this state of emotion by touching on the difficulty the nation was facing “conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal”. Lincoln uses this state of emotion in inspiring hope in the same audience by encouraging them to fight on for the sake of the American’s who sacrificed their lives. He further uses the phrase “ resting place” which carries a lot of emotion because the people present were standing in the same battlefield where so many lost their lives.

The Gettysburg Address also contains honorific language that adds to the emotional appeal; included in his dedication reference and the repeated consecration in words such as “hallow”, “devotion” and “honored”. Lincoln insisted on the importance of the audience continuing with the great task that “the brave men, dead and living, who struggled” the effectiveness of his imploring comes out vividly through this pathos. Lincoln insisted on the audience because he wanted them to be aware of the weightiness of the task. Therefore, he prompted them into feeling proud and grateful of the sacrifices made by their fellow American’s in the war (Armentrout, Armentrout & Lincoln, 2005).

The second rhetoric proof Lincoln established in that address was ethos. His presidential position lent him situated ethos though his address did highlight that. Lincoln understood the subject he was speaking about by using “we” collectively in his speech he closed the gap between the audience and him, making them feel persuasively the sense of belonging. His use of little words in the eloquent speech ensured they all understood and created a sense of strong will that contributed in building his ethos.

The president used logos to limitedly in his address when he called upon the sense of logic and reason of the audience through quoting on the common beliefs held. Most people would argue on the degree of consecration of the battlefield and the task ahead. However, through deductive reasoning Lincoln asserted that liberty and equality were worth the fight and honorable thing to do. His main goal expressed in the address was perseverance in the struggle for equality and freedom.

Conclusively, Lincoln’s address portrayed his persuasiveness-using ethos, logos and pathos he appealed to the audience emotions and reason in fighting for their beliefs. Lincoln poetic element and literary style stood out in his Gettysburg address; through his logical relation of ideas in his message and expressive, emotional support for the audience.