Rhetoric: the Declaration of Independence

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Rachel Tewksbury Prof. Smith Feb. 20th, 2013 Rhetoric: The Declaration of Independence In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson brilliantly phrases his ideas about the events taking place between the colonies and Great Britain in a way that is timelessly applicable to any event: past, present, or future. He, instead of blatantly spouting specific political ideas, attests ageless matters of human existence. He even states this right off the bat with the very first sentence, "When in the Course of human events." Upon delving deeper into the rhetorical devices, meticulous vocabulary and creative syntax Jefferson uses, one can truly understand in greater detail what exactly Jefferson is conveying, as he uses these forms of rhetoric to set their revolution in the context of human history. Some rhetorical devices Jefferson uses are so subtle that the average reader does not recognize them as obvious forms of rhetoric. The audience is only left with the powerful message that he intended to convey. Alliteration, one of the simplest devices he uses is fairly subtle yet effective in creating mood or tone through out the Declaration. In breaking down the phrase “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” the words “Life” and “Liberty” sort of roll off the tongue together. This could be applied to make a point that life and liberty are one in the same; that with life comes a given freedom, and the right to pursue ones own happiness is branched under that freedom. Jefferson uses a few other types of creative alliteration in this writing. For instance, towards the end of the document, he exaggerates the words “repeated petitions.” This emphasis on the harsh “P” sound further elaborates how many times the colonists have tried to let their voices be known, but end up either accomplishing nothing or becoming even more worse off then before. Also towards the end he
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