Persuasive Elements in The Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a very famous document that was written in 1776. In this document the colonies tried to gain freedom from the mother country of England. The introduction explains to the rest of the world the reasons why the colonies wanted to revolt against the rule of England. The body of the document goes over the list of grievances and the reasons for their revolt against England. The conclusion simply consists of the signers and the pledges of The Declaration of Independence. Within this document is a wide variety of persuasive writing including repetition of key points, parallel structure, and biblical allusions.
First off is repetition of key points, this is a great form of writing to get a point out by the use of repetition. Jefferson’s first example of repetition is, “He has refused…He has Forbidden…He has refused…He has” (Jefferson 138). In this example he represents the colonies, and the repetition is explaining the struggle that the colony is going through. The repetition used in this gets out the point of the ongoing struggle of each individual thing that happens. Through the repetition the author tries to embellish the point. Another thing that repetition does is make a point more sev
The most interesting persuasive device used is biblical illusions. This is where a word or a group of words is used to an extreme form. The first example is in the introduction: “When, in the course of human events…Nature’s God…” (Jefferson 138). This is a word used to the extreme to help show the extent of the phrase. In this case the word is used to show how God would want nature to be equal. Another example is to
times that they have been treated unfair and the extent of their injuries. The colonies have been controlled so many times and the repetition just could not sum up the story of the colonies any better. Through repetition the colonies got of their point and were able to clearly express their injuries and their grievances.