Great Speech Teardown: The Gettysburg Address
Lincoln’s 271-word speech is a masterpiece of political rhetoric and linguistical refinement. Let’s read it between the lines.
On the afternoon of November 19, 1863, four-and-a-half months after the Union victory at the Battle of Gettysburg, where 23,055 American and 28,000 Confederate soldiers were wounded or killed, President Abraham Lincoln delivered a short address to commemorate the event. In as few as 271 words, Lincoln orated one of the most influential speeches in American history, and undoubtedly a masterpiece of political rhetoric.
Lincoln’s style is incomparable in its straightforwardness, its delicacy, and its ability to stimulate the minds and the hearts of his listeners. Biblical in its construction and ambitions, his discourse always strikes a balance between literary and common English, between intricate figures of speech and raw, powerful political language.
Analysing speeches and reading between their lines is always a fascinating endeavour. Doing so, one learns as much about the speaker as about oneself, for everybody sees something specific that another might miss.
Without further ado, let’s tear down the Gettysburg Address.
