Analyzing the Message of the Gettysburg Address You’ve analyzed the message in the first part of Lincoln’s speech. Now, let’s determine the text’s overall message. Read the whole speech below. Read slowly and out loud if possible. Then follow these strategies: Use the Highlighting tool () to mark language that suggests an overall message in yellow. Read the footnotes to understand unfamiliar vocabulary. Click on the question mark icon for further steps to take. Complete each step in the Notebook tool ().