Comparison of Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" and Pericles' "Funeral Oration"

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Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” and Pericles “Funeral Oration” are both speeches that clearly portray similar and diverse components.
To begin, Lincoln and Pericles both express tone in similar ways. In order to encourage his frazzled and hopeless soldiers and families, in addition to emphasizing the deceased, Lincoln needed to state his tone in an explicit and benevolent approach in the “Gettysburg Address”. To do this, Lincoln begins his speech with “Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the position that all men are created equal.” Because the exact opposite was enduring at that time, Lincoln states this to remind the soldiers of what they are fighting for. Likewise, using a solemn tone, Pericles also attempts to grasp attention by introducing the past. He attempts this by extoling the ancestors of Athens. Which is obvious because he begins with the words “I shall begin with our ancestors”. In the second paragraph he states that they dwelt in the country from time to time without failure, and for this reason is it proper for them to have the first mention at a time of honoring the fallen.
Additionally, throughout the “Gettysburg Address” and “Funeral Oration” several types of rhetorical devices are found. In the “Gettysburg Address” Lincoln employs many rhetorical devices such as repetition, alliteration and metaphors. He introduces repetition twice in the speech. First, he introduces it with the words “we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground.” With the duplication of the word “cannot”, Lincoln states that they are not able to dedicate, consecrate or in other words hallow the ground a...

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...es the audience that they should fight for their freedom.
To conclude, “The Gettysburg Address” and the “Funeral Oration” have comparable components such as tone, forms of rhetorical devices, and both similar and diverse themes. They take place in different places as well as different time periods. Also they have different purposes of getting to the point of continuing the war. Although, they have different ways of convincing, they both have an urge to continue the war, because it must be won. It absolutely must be won, in order for the countries in either time period to live freely, without fear of enslavement. Both also state the purpose of honoring those who accepted the risk of dying, so that we could be free and live in liberty. As Thomas Jefferson once said the natural progress of things is for liberty to yield, and for the government to gain ground.

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