Read these excerpts. Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address." 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. Whitman's "O Captain! My Captain!". Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells! But I, with mournful tread, Walk the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead. Which rhetorical appeal do both excerpts use?
Answer
A
pathos: the use of emotional appeals to affect the audience’s feelings
B
logos: the use of logic to convince the audience
C
ethos: the use of authority to persuade the audience to act the right way
D
brevity: writing or speaking that is short, brief, and to the point
Explanation
Both excerpts appeal to the audience’s emotions, especially grief and solemn dedication. Lincoln’s words honor those who died and urge the living to continue their work, while Whitman’s poem expresses sorrow over the Captain’s death. This emotional appeal is pathos, so the correct choice is “pathos: the use of emotional appeals to affect the audience’s feelings.”
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