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A Rhetorical Analysis Of Oprah Winfrey's Speech

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Oprah Winfrey is an iconic lady that everyone would love to have at their graduation for a speech. She talks to millions worldwide so why not have her at your own graduation? Oprah was able to go to Stanford University's graduation in 2008 to give the graduates a commencement speech. The students were very grateful that Oprah could make it and they were a little starstruck. Part of why she spoke was because her goddaughter graduated from Stanford that year so of course she had to say yes. Oprah's language strategies were very good and she had amazing word choice. In the speech she had multiple similes, metaphors, and repetition. She repeated "Ohmigod" three different times while telling a story to the graduates about her goddaughter first …show more content…

When she accomplished the first lesson she realized, "So, lesson one, follow your feelings. If it feels right, move forward. If it doesn't feel right, don't do it. And I got that lesson. When you're doing the work you're meant to do, it feels right and every day is a bonus, regardless of what you're getting paid" ("Oprah Talks"). She realized the second point, "And what I've found is that difficulties come when you don't pay attention to life's whisper, because life always whispers to you first" said, Oprah ("Oprah Talks"). She found happiness with her talk show, "but that happiness reached a depth of fulfillment, of joy, that I really can't describe to you or measure when I stopped just being on TV and looking at TV as a job and decided to use television, to use it and not have it use me, to use it as a platform to serve my viewers" ("Oprah Talks").
One review that was positive and very true was on SFGate, they said, Oprah Winfrey told more than 4,000 Stanford University graduates on Sunday to harness their power to their passions, trust their hearts and stand for something greater than themselves. Dressed in a black gown, white heels and red sash, Winfrey, Stanford's keynote commencement speaker, made her way to the stage with a few bodyguards. She then posed for pictures with students and delivered

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using language clear. Oprah used vivid language. When using vivid language its purpose is too aimed to bring your ideas alive by painting pictures with words. In order to make readers understand better. In the eulogy of Rosa Park, Oprah uses repetition which is a form of rhythm.

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Oprah Winfrey utilizes an array of persuasive stylistic devices such as anecdotes, cyclic nature of speech, metaphors and historical allusions to spread awareness of current global issues. Winfrey begins her speech with anecdotal evidence saying, “I was a little girl sitting on the linoleum floor” which gave personal dimension to the speech therefore, made the argument easier for the audience to relate to as they can now rely on her concrete example. The emotive-word linoleum made this story relatable and viscerally engaged the audience into picturing the linoleum floor of their, personal childhood. Winfrey referenced a spiritual ancestor, Recy Taylor which she mentioned to verify that brutality has been prevailing for decades, deftly weaving

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People remember this has a great speech because what she represents in this speech is hope, gratefulness, and guidance. Also the rhetorical devices she uses makes the speech that much more personal. Her use of an apostrophe or using an imaginary person was a great addition to the speech. She stats “ where after all do universal human rights begin? In a small places, close to home, so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world of the individual person; the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends”(adoption).

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Her show took on serious issues and provided people with a safe place to discuss them. In “Oprah Winfrey: Cultural Icon of Mainstream (White) America,” the author writes about a scene from a scene in the show where it states, “This remark— hailed by Winfrey and many in the audience as a move toward racial “healing” and reconciliation—is a testament to the rise and naturalization of colorblind ideology in late twentieth-century America.” The quote behind this was said during the Rodney King trial when a woman said she didn’t see color in people. Winfrey applauded this comment and brought it into the conversation. She shows her fans that she wants to truly listen to what they say.

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Oprah’s display as an orator should not go unnoticed. Throughout the entirety of her delivery, Oprah projects herself with a clear, calm, and strong yet soft emphasis. Oprah maintains stern eye-contact with the audience, and presents herself in a strong, iron-body demeaner. These oratorical techniques coincide to further captivate the audience and continue to ease the audience into the persuasion of the viewpoint presented in her speech. Given controversies of sexual assault in recent times, as well as ideas of feminism and female

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But then mentions that she learned the values of "honesty, integrity, dignity, decency, gratitude and humility" and that if she

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