This question is missing the options. I've found the complete question online. It is the following:
Read the excerpt from Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot 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.
Lincoln uses parallelism in this excerpt to
a. acknowledge the limitations of the memorial ceremony.
b. criticize the audience for its disinterest in the war.
c. encourage soldiers to continue the fight for national unity.
d. emphasize the need for improved military strategy.
Answer:
Lincoln uses parallelism in this excerpt to:
a. acknowledge the limitations of the memorial ceremony.
Explanation:
<u>Parallelism is the repetition of a grammatical structure inside a sentence. Parallelism is often used to create rhythm and consistency, as well as to make something easier to understand or more emphatic. </u>The structure Lincoln repeats is the following:
"we cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow"
He is using the subject "we" followed by the negative "cannot" and then a verb. The verbs are basically synonyms - dedicate, consecrate, and hallow. <u>His purpose with this repetition is to acknowledge the limitations of the memorial ceremony. It is their wish to consecrate that place, but they cannot do it. The soldiers who have lost their lives during war have already done it with their blood. It is impossible for those who are present at the ceremony to make that place holier that it already is. There is only so much they can do. The fallen soldiers have done far more, "far above our poor power to add or detract."</u>
