An Analysis of the Gettysburg Address
Dissecting one of the greatest speeches ever given.
The more I read, and reread, this masterpiece of a speech, the more in awe I become.
Some History
Memorial Day honors those who died while serving in our country’s armed forces. Though it wasn’t named Memorial Day until after World War I, the holiday traces its roots to observances that followed the Civil War. It is a sad and unfortunate fact that it was in our own civil war that we lost the most troops—nearly three quarters of a million. The war where the most soldiers died was the one we fought against ourselves.
The Battle of Gettysburg occurred in Pennsylvania in 1863 from July 1 to July 3, resulting in Union forces defeating Confederate forces. This was halfway through the American Civil War, which lasted from 1861 to 1865. Over 7,000 soldiers were killed at Gettysburg, and more than 30,000 were wounded. It was the deadliest battle of the Civil War.
Four months later, on November 19, 1863, approximately 15,000 people gathered at the battlefield to commemorate the sacrifice of Union soldiers. Abraham Lincoln’s speech lasted only a few minutes, which was two hours shorter than the previous speech given that day. It was so short, that photographers didn’t even get of photo of him speaking. The below image is all we have of him, and it was taken before he spoke.
Zooming in, we see a blurry Lincoln in the center.
The Gettysburg Address
Before we get into my analysis, I recommend you read through the speech in its entirety. I even recommend speaking it out loud to get its full effect.
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
An Analysis
When reading the speech, the first thing that stands out is the rhythm, and how it carries you along, flowing from one phase to another. Yes, there are abrupt stops, like throughout the second paragraph, but those, I think, are intended to cause pause and reflection on purpose. The last sentence in that second paragraph really serves as a period to the first two paragraphs.
From there, the third paragraph grows in scope and tone, building on phrasing in previous sentences. It peaks at the final sentence, a lengthy 82 words, almost half of the entire speech! This last sentence not only ties together themes throughout the speech, but encapsulates a vision for the future.
As you dissect the speech, you’ll notice the following key themes:
Birth, life and death: fathers, birth, conceived, new, live, lives, living, dead, died, perish, final resting place
Balance and comparison: civil war, testing, gave lives…that nation live, living and dead, above our poor power, add or detract, larger sense…little note, long remember…never forget, we say…they did, dedicated to work rather than saying words, fought, dedicated to task rather than saying words, us the living…these dead, birth/living & dead, that & this, there & here, they & we
Alliteration: four…fathers…forth, score…seven, continent…conceived, new nation, poor power
Rhyme: great, dedicate, consecrate,
Repetition: we - 10, here - 8, dedicate(d) - 6, dead/died - 4, nation - 5, lives/living - 4
Sense of place (that zooms in, then zooms back out): this continent, a new nation, a battlefield, a portion of that field, this ground, here, this nation, the earth
Sense of vision focused on the future and progress: a new nation; to the proposition that all men are created equal; any nation; can long endure; final resting place; nation might live; long remember; unfinished work; thus far so nobly advanced; great task remaining before us; that cause; not have died in vain; new birth of freedom; that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish
To illustrate these attributes, I created a diagram that breaks each sentence and phrase into its corresponding component, so you can see how much is really embedded in this short speech.
You can download it here:
Now, let’s look at each sentence, phrase and word.
“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”
We start with a time, 87 years in the past, 1776. This frames the speech, and is important for timing and wording, which changes as the speech makes its pivot.
Clever alliteration, both with “fathers” and “forth,” but also a similar “ah” sound in “fathers” and “brought.”
Size-wise, he starts with “continent,” but then scales down to “nation,” soon we’ll focus more narrowly.
He uses two words that will repeat throughout—”conceive” and “dedicate.” The birth/conception one is especially important; it starts here with, “conceived in Liberty,” then the entire speech ends with “new birth.”
“the proposition that all men are created equal” - this is the first of ideals and vision for the future that he posits. There will be many.
“Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.”
He transitions from history (four score and seven years ago) to present (now).
Interesting that he doesn’t use the word “fighting” here, but instead uses “engaged,” which is a softer word. He uses “fighting” later on, but in past tense and referring to those “who fought” to advance unfinished work.
The first reference to balance and comparison by using the word “testing.”
“testing whether that nation or any nation…can long endure” - I also see this phrasing as part of his focus on vision/future/progress.
This is the first time he refers back to something in the speech by saying “that nation;” he will use this technique multiple times.
He repeats the words “conceived” and “dedicated.”
“We are met on a great battle-field of that war.”
First use of the word “great,” which also rhymes with “consecrate” and “dedicate.”
“That war” – referring back to the civil war mentioned earlier in speech.
“We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.”
Use of “dedicate” again, but in a different sense; the first was dedicated to a cause, now we are dedicating in honor.
“That field” – referring back to the battlefield.
“That nation” – referring back to the nation dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
We started at continent, then scaled down to nation, then battlefield, now a portion of that field.
First and second use of the word “live,” but in two different ways that balance one another—”gave lives”…so “nation might live.”
The word “here” is snuck in in such a way that we almost don’t even notice it. Throughout the rest of the speech this word will appear seven more times.
“It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.”
This is the big pivot point in the speech, as noted by the next sentence starting with “but.”
On the surface, I think this phrase relates to the dedication the field, but when taken more broadly, I think it refers to being engaged in a civil war to test whether a nation, dedicated to the idea that all men are created equal, can endure.
“But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground.”
Lincoln zooms out here to a broader view by use of the phrase “larger sense.”
Again, he uses “dedicate” and “consecrate.”
We also now see a shift away from “that” (field/war/nation) to “this,” which makes his points more personal to the audience.
“The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.”
The use of opposites: “living and dead,” “struggle,” “above our poor power,” “add or detract”
Another use of the word “consecrate.”
Another use of the word “here.”
Alliteration: “poor power.”
“The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.”
More opposites: “little note…long remember…never forget,” “we say…they did”
Note how smooth the first few words roll off the tongue: “world will little.” Part of it is due to alliteration between the words “world” and “will,” but it also comes from how the end “l” of “will” leads to the start of “little.”
Another use of the word “here.”
“It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.”
Now we pivot to future actions that we must take.
Another use of “live” (living).
Another use of “dedicate.”
Another use of “here.”
More on vision/future/progress: “unfinished work…thus far so nobly advanced”
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—
Another use of “here.”
Another use of “dedicate.”
More on vision/future/progress: “great task remaining before us.”
Also, did you note how these last two sentences use the word “rather” to highlight that words alone aren’t enough—work/task is required.
“that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—”
Another use of “dead.”
Use of opposites: “we take…they gave,” but also in the use of “increased” vs “full measure.”
“that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—”
Again, a move away from that or those to “these.”
Another use of “dead,” and also “died.”
Vision/future/progress: “not have died in vain.”
“that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—”
Earlier, we zoomed in to a portion of the battlefield, now we zoom out—“this nation, under God.”
Here we have another reference to conception and life, and a circling back to the beginning sentence as we focus on a “new birth of freedom.”
“and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Here we have a great crescendo, with rhythm and repetition and vision to end the speech.
The final zoom back out in scale to “the earth.”
Though we’re not quite sure of its origin, the quote, “If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter,” gets after the idea that fewer, more purposeful words can make a greater impact than simply throwing many words at an audience.
I think this is best seen in Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. No one remembers the two-hour long speech that preceded his, but we surely remember his famous few words.
