Rhetorical Analysis Essay of “The Hill We Climb” Amanda Gorman
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Course
English 115 (115)
Institution
Southwestern College
An in-depth example of a rhetorical analysis essay. Includes a thesis statement, body paragraphs that demonstrate how the author of the poem used ethos, pathos, and logos to successfully convince her audience, and a conclusion paragraph that restates the thesis and main points of the essay. Also in...
As the youngest poet to ever perform at a presidential inauguration, Poet Laureate
Amanda Gorman read her poem The Hill We Climb on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on
January 20, 2021. Gorman’s heartfelt speech shares her vision of America with her powerful
and impactful use of ethos, pathos, and logos to express the idea that we are not by any means
a perfect country, yet we strive for a more united and healed America.
Gorman’s poem clearly represents the three modes of persuasion that are used in
rhetoric, including Ethos, which builds credibility and authority to attract the audience. The
poet makes her appeal to ethos by using a book that is well established and has been around
for millennia. She does so by stating, “Scripture tells us to envision that everyone shall sit
under their own vine and fig tree / and no one shall make them afraid” (Gorman, lines 41-42).
Her writing includes a verse from the Bible that has been quoted by many important figures
in history including George Washington and Lin-Manuel Miranda. She incorporates vine and
fig trees that represent freedom and peace, which fits in perfectly with the idea she’s trying to
convey. Amanda Gorman then goes on to reference one of the best-known poets of her day,
Maya Angelou, saying:
We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west. /
We will rise from the windswept northeast, /
where our forefathers first realized revolution. /
We will rise from the lake rimmed
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