Dissecting The Greatest Speech Of Them All
If something is still studied 150 years later, it's probably worth a look why that's the case
Despite being British, I have always been fascinated with the history of America.
From an early love of the Western genre to studying the political scene of the country from 1945-1990 as part of my history course, it is a country that has kept my eyes fixed and my mind curious.
Today, I want to pay homage to that fascination, as well as providing you with something that I believe can elevate your writing to the next level.
In my time cruising the highway of American history, I remember distinctly coming across the Gettysburg Address.
I’d heard about its prominence on Twitter. Curious, I headed to YouTube. I found someone reciting the speech and was mesmerised without hesitation. One can only imagine the potency of the speech when it was recited by Old Abe during the zeitgeist of the era it encapsulated.
But it isn’t just the time period. It isn’t just the message.
It is a perfect construction of writing.
In 3 minutes, one of the most beautiful assemblies of the English language was put forward into the world.
Today, I want to help break it down for you. I want to show you the reason why the words you hear in their specific order cause us to fall into a trance when we hear it recited. I want you to be able to take those ideas and run with them in your own writing, so you too can create hypnotic pieces.
Let’s take a look:
Repetition
A cornerstone of the Address is Lincoln’s repetitive use of the word ‘We’.
In the midst of a chaotic civil war, Lincoln made sure to place emphasis on the subject pronoun ‘We’. This was a nod to the notion that, despite being divided on a major issue, the country remained unbroken and united.
Some examples:
Now we are engaged in a great civil war,
We are met on a great battle-field of that war.
We have come to dedicate a portion of that field
Lincoln drives home this use of repetition with a specific method at the start of the second paragraph…
Anaphora
This kind of repetition is when you specifically repeat a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses. Each one follows the other.
For the same reason people go to the club and put on parades of awkward dancing until 6 in the morning, the mind adores repetition in writing. It’s because we become familiar with the word or phrase — we know what to expect.
This is that beautiful example Lincoln uses to open the second paragraph:
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground.
It is no wonder that this technique finds its way into every great speech in history.
Just look at this example from Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have A Dream’
“Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality”
However, we don’t have to restrict ourselves to purely the beginning of clauses to use repetition…
Epistrophe
We can also use repetition to end clauses as well.
The final line of the Gettysburg Address employs this rhetorical device to drive home the point being made.
“- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Check out another cool example from the film ‘The Breakfast Club’, when John is venting:
“Don’t you ever talk about my friends!
You don’t know any of my friends.
You don’t look at any of my friends.
And you certainly wouldn’t condescend to speak to any of my friends.”
Be it at the beginning, end or in the middle of a clause, repetition drives home any crucial point you wish to make in your writing.
Back to the Address…
Contrast
We love repetition. But another thing we love is contrast.
When you create contrast, it opens up a 3 dimensional element to any value or concept you’re tackling in your writing.
Lincoln uses contrast beautifully as he describes the portion of Gettysburg field which will be used as a memorial:
…as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.
A classic contrast - life and death.
He continues to use this concept in a more obvious manner later in the speech:
The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.
In writing, we can use 4 main types of contrast to create this 3 dimensional effect:
Visual Contrast - differing colours, shapes, sizes
Social or Cultural Contrast - rich and poor; healthy and unhealthy; male and female
Personal Contrast - differing habits; personalities; skills
Emotional Contrast - courage and cowardice; love and anger
When you implement this, you create a picture that shows you consider the bigger scale of a concept. You don’t focus purely on one element and roll with it all the way down the hill.
Life is complex. While it is our jobs as writers to simplify where necessary, it doesn’t mean we should cut out the Yang to the proverbial Yin.
Metaphor
I still stand by a view that the best writers are the ones who notice the most unique patterns.
Metaphor is one avenue of us explaining these patterns we notice. We connotate two ideas by saying they are the same.
Throughout the speech, Lincoln makes multiple allusions to America through the lens of a biological metaphor.
He immediately fires this sentiment into the mind of the listener within the first line:
“…our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty…”
Along with multiple mentions of life and death regarding the men, Lincoln comes full circle and ties the metaphor all together with this line:
“…that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom…”
So, why does this work?
Words and ideas come with sentiment. Feelings associated to them. Characteristics associated to them.
When I mention the word ‘birth’, what comes to your mind?
Naturally, I imagine — a child, a mother, a father.
But it’s more than that.
It’s new life. Something fresh. Someone unseen before. Someone with potential. Someone who is fragile in their current state. Someone who needs nurturing and help to learn the way of the world.
When Lincoln utters ‘a new birth of freedom’, the word ‘birth’ doesn’t just force your mind to think of the nation as a child. It defaults to all the qualities and emotions it has associated to that word.
When we look deeper, it is the undertones of a word that allow us to unlock the power of metaphor.
Let’s look at a dead simple example from Canadian musician Tom Cochrane:
“Life is a highway.”
When you see the word ‘Life’, a bunch of characteristics pop out.
But what about the word ‘highway’? (or as I would say as a quirky Brit, motorway)
To me, I think of adventure. I think of moving. I think of moments of utter chaos and confusion. I think of moments of peace and I think of a long, winding track that leads somewhere.
When you hear this metaphor, your brains takes its “blueprint” of life and its “blueprint” of highway and overlaps them.
The more potent the similarities, the more effective the metaphor.
And even better yet…
The lesser mentioned, yet the more connected - the better.
I mentioned in a previous article on this topic about we could take the idea of personality and a volcano.
Unpredictable. Hot. Dangerous. Reactive.
Why couldn’t you describe someone as ‘volcanic’?
To me, that imagery is fascinating.
Metaphor truly gives you freedom to creative imagery in writing. If you ignore it or conform to cliché, you miss out on a crucial key to unlocking the door of style.
There are many great speeches that have graced our time.
But, to me, the Gettysburg address takes the fundamental concepts and applies them like masterful brushstrokes.
When you listen to that speech, and you picture yourself sat in a chair listening to Lincoln muster it, amidst the chaos that had unfolded and the uncertainty of what was to come — it ties together a package of truly ineffable beauty.
I love studying pieces like this that made my hairs stand on end. It highlights something incredible and comforting:
There are fundamental truths to great writing, and they are what connect the collective soul.
When you study these devices, you add your voice to this collective soul.
You get the keys to humanity’s heart.
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Dear lord this is insightful. Visca Lincoln.