Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address

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Rhetorical Analysis Assignment

Table of Contents

Print and actively read second inaugural speech (5 pts.)
Quick paragraph/analysis outline (5 pts.)
One-page analysis (60 pts.)
Primary Sources (Required):

http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres32.htmlLinks to an external site. (Required reading)

Lincolns Second Inaugural AddressLinks to an external site.

Secondary Sources (Optional):

http://www.history.com/videos/gilder-lehrman-second-Links to an external site.inaugural#gilder-lehrman-second-inauguralLinks to an external site.

http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/american-civil-war/resources/president- lincoln%E2%80%99s-second-inaugural-address-1865Links to an external site.

http://www.studymode.com/essays/The-Syntax-Of-Abraham-Lincoln’s-Second-145196.htmlLinks to an external site.

http://www.sjusd.org/schools/lincoln/downloads/Lincoln%E2%80%99s_Second_Inaugural.student_sam ples_.pdfLinks to an external site. (optional)

 

After carefully reading Lincoln’s second inaugural address (see instructions on active reading in Course Docs), write a one page rhetorical analysis of how the address is generally thought of as a good example of successfully using ethos in appealing to and trying to persuade a partially hostile audience (who was resentful at losing the civil war) that it was time for the country to come together as one. What could President Trump or all future presidential candidates and elects take from Lincoln’s generosity to his opposition? Give detailed examples from the speech to support your claims.

 

Aristotle identifies THREE aspects of the speaker’s character (ethos) that help to persuade an audience.
a) Good Sense:
* does the speaker seem to have intelligence, expertise, authoritativeness?
* does he appear to know what he is talking about?
b) Good Moral Character:
* does the speaker seem to have a virtuous character?
*does he appear trustworthy?
c) Good Will (towards audience):
* do we have the feeling that the speaker cares about us?
* this involves:

*empathy (can he see things my way?)

*understanding (does he know about and care about my concerns?)
*responsiveness (is he willing to respond to my needs?)
http://www.molloy.edu/sophia/aristotle/r…

 

 

Sample Solution

1th Century Scotland was deemed a very much patriarchal society. There was a clear concept of hierarchy in society, which Shakespeare demonstrates at different points within the play. The witches have been said to represent women’s attempt to gain power in a society that’s set up to give power only to men. In Jacobean society, women would have been towards the bottom of the Chain of Being and certainly below men. Similarly to Lady Macbeth in act 1 scene 5, the Witches endeavour to make appear increasingly manly in an attempt to acquire more power. Shakespeare gives the characters of the witches beards (You should be women, yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so’) to symbolise this desire. Macbeth’s hallucinations, or visions present the impact of the supernatural. One example of a hallucination is when Macbeth asks, ‘Is this a dagger which I see before me’. The fact that Macbeth is seeing a floating dagger, in his mind is another demonstration of the supernatural. Here, the supernatural is essentially pressing Macbeth to murder Duncan. Shakespeare could be purposefully highlighting how evil the supernatural is as it is not only telling him to kill – but commit the act of regicide, which in the 11th Century, was possibly the worst crime anyone could commit, along with communicating with the supernatural. During Macbeth’s soliloquy he questions if the dagger is just ‘a dagger of the mind’ or a ‘false creation’. This causes Macbeth to question his own psychological state and whether the dagger is just a hallucination, caused the pressure of Duncan’s homicide and the pressure placed on him by his manipulative and cunning wife, Lady Macbeth. The audience at the time will have been shocked by this as Jacobean society saw king’s as almost holy since they respected the divine right of kings. Furthermore, here, Shakespeare is displaying the power that the supernatural has over events in the play since Macbeth has been driven to insanity by a supernatural prophecy.

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