ipl-logo

Obama Inaugural Speech Rhetorical Devices

598 Words3 Pages

In President Barack Obama’s 2012 Inaugural Speech it is evident that he uses many rhetorical devices. A few examples are allusion, foil, oxymoron, repetition, personification, sentenia, parallelism, and distinctio. Even though Obama uses multiple rhetorical devices, sentenia, repetition, and distincto are used most often. All three devices play a major role in meaning of the speech. The use of sentenia, repetition, and distinctio enhance the purpose of the speech. One prominent rhetorical device that President Obama uses in his inaugural speech is a sentenia. A sentenia is a maxim or wise saying. The purpose of a sentenia is to reference a well known saying, similar to an allusion. One example of a sentenia in the speech is, “Life, Liberty, …show more content…

A case of distinctio is when a writer elaborates on the definition of a word to make sure there is no misunderstanding. One example is, What makes us exceptional -- what makes us American”. Obama adds “what makes us American” to clarify that the people who are exceptional, are the Americans. Another example is, “ We the people, declare today that the most of evident truths -- that all of us are created equal”. To elaborate on the evident truths, Obama adds the example “that all of us are created equal”. It is necessary that President Obama extensively describes examples because the reader will understand better. And if the reader comprehends more of the passage, then the speech will be successful. Also, elaborating more on a specific point strengthens Obama's arguments. In general, the use of distinctio allows the reader to understand a greater portion of Obama’s speech. The use of sentenia, repetition and distinctio each add different meanings to President Obama’s inaugural speech. The employment of a sentenia adds connections to the past. Repetition is mainly practiced to emphasize many of Obama’s goals. And distinctio benefits the audience because it adds clarification to an example. All in all, Obama successfully used rhetorical devices to deepen the meaning of his Inaugural

Show More
Related
804 Words | 4 Pages

Which bring us to the next rhetorical strategy, parallelism. Some of the parallelism used in Obama’s speech such as “…we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction.” (Pg. 688) makes the reader feel a sense of emotion from the writer and get an overview of the past. It allows them to be more engaged and gives them something to relate to. Which in this case, lead to a better approach of Obama getting his audience to interact and connect with him, and helped to put forth

Read More
558 Words | 3 Pages

The Rhetorical Elements of Barack Obama’s Speech President Obama uses rhetorical appeals throughout his speech. These rhetorical appeals help prove that each an every student should try their best in school. President Obama stated in his 2009 “Address to America’s Schoolchildren” that each student must take responsibility for his or her own education. President Obama uses many examples of ethos, logos, and pathos in his speech. In Obama’s 2009 “Address to America’s Schoolchildren” he has examples of ethos.

Read More
771 Words | 4 Pages

Without a good way of speaking to people, a speech-bearer will not get the message across in the desired fashion. America likes to be fed information and likes to hear and feel the passion in others rather than creating less public and unified little passions in themselves. Citizens like to hear their leaders interpretations and feel a sense of grouping from that, therefore most people will not have read the way Obama’s eulogy was written and analyzed it, but watched him read it and felt the rigor in his voice and therefore found a better sense of understanding. Things tend to make more sense to people when conveyed by someone they look to for guidance rather than when broken down themselves.

Read More
1441 Words | 6 Pages

It was important that Bush use rhetorical appeals such as ethos, pathos, and logos in his address to the nation. He also needed to use the hope and history on which America was built on to unite the

Read More
577 Words | 3 Pages

Abe Lincoln, in his second inaugural address, uses language with which the audience can connect and relate. Through inclusive pronouns, parallel sentence structure, pathos, and metaphors, Lincoln does not simply list off what the war has entailed or recommend a certain path the people must take. Lincoln instead consoles the nation as if it was a dear old friend whom is in dire need of advice. The first rhetorical strategy Lincoln used was inclusive pronouns such as “we”, “us”, and “all”. Additionally, the president began the address with the inviting words “Fellow Countrymen”.

Read More
478 Words | 2 Pages

Furthermore, President Obama’s first inaugural speech contained patriotism, allusions, and anaphoras to appeal to the effect of pathos. His diction helps to persuade his audience that he is understanding and emotionally connected to the situation that America has been in and the importance of sticking to the ideas that our founding fathers have implemented thus far in America’s

Read More
873 Words | 4 Pages

Introduction Hook: I never knew that one day, one idea could have such a big impact. That one thing could change the history, set up the rest of the country to follow suit with this specific topic, and things that need a change in general. Background: Over 50 years ago, on March 7, 1965, now known as bloody Sunday, segregation was still prevalent. At the time it was not allowed for blacks to vote at the time.

Read More
1040 Words | 5 Pages

Intro Growing up, we have all heard the many stories of George Washington. While many recognize him as one of the most important figures in U.S history, others only recognize him by one of his multiple accomplishments; he was the 1st president of the United States. With presidency comes the variety of duties and responsibilities, the main being a president 's inaugural adress. In George Washington 's very 1st inaugural, he uses three rhetorical strategies: personification, amplification, and last but not least, repitition to convey what he truly wants for the States and why a successful Constitution should be in order.

Read More
593 Words | 3 Pages

John F. Kennedy uses literary devices to capture the attention of the audience, sets himself equal to his audience getting their attention and support, and uses the christian religion to strike the emotions and gain the support of his audience. Kennedy uses many literary devices to catch the attention of his audience. One of these devices is repetition. One example of repetition that Kennedy uses is, “Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.

Read More
842 Words | 4 Pages

In President Bush’s address to the nation, he uses many rhetorical devices. A rhetorical device is a literary device that is used to persuade the audience to support the argument made. Bush’s address uses Ethos, Logos, and Pathos. They were invented and studied by the famous greek philosopher Aristotle. Ethos appeals to credibility, Logos appeals to logic or reason, and Pathos appeals to the audience’s feelings.

Read More
950 Words | 4 Pages

Obama’s use of repetition in his speech makes his praise of John Kerry more powerful and by using the same words in different contexts, he shows that his ideas are important and relevant to all people. For example, “It’s the hope of slaves sitting around a fire [...] the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores; the hope of a young naval lieutenant [...] the hope of a millworker’s son [...] the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name [...].” In this passage, the repetition of “the hope” applied to descriptions of different situations conveys the idea that everyone needs hope, and that America is a country built on hope. Obama also uses anaphora to drill certain ideas into the audience’s minds.

Read More
761 Words | 4 Pages

In 1962 President John F. Kennedy held a press conference in which he informed the audience on his stance for the rising steel prices. Kennedy not only wanted to inform the audience, he wanted to get them on his side of the argument. He wanted to show the audience that the rising steel prices were going to have a negative impact on the nation. To do this Kennedy used some of the rhetoric strategies and tools. He used periodic sentences, anaphora, and diction.

Read More
978 Words | 4 Pages

Barack Obama’s win for President in 2009 was a historical moment for the United States. His inaugural speech was much anticipated, because this was going to set the tone for his presidency. His speech told the American people that improving the economy is one of his priorities, but there were also other areas he would like to improve like healthcare and the education system. This was a speech that was meant to persuade the American public to take action for them to rise as a nation again, and for them to put their trust into him. His message addressed a couple of specific points like his gratefulness to the American people, the different crises America is facing, how America will overcome these crises, replying to his cynics, addressing the world, and then he reminded America again to be brave like they’ve always been to overcome the hard times (5 Speechwriting Lessons from Obama's Inaugural Speech, (n.d.).

Read More
553 Words | 3 Pages

He used rhetorical devices such as anaphora, parallel structure, and rhetorical questions to appeal to the listener and future reader’s sense of pathos. In Kennedy’s address to the nation, he used anaphora to trigger an emotional response from the listener. He gives the listener a sense of safety under his control, as he wants to “Let us begin anew--remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear.

Read More
730 Words | 3 Pages

In his inaugural speech given on January 20, 2001, George W. Bush address the country for the first time after being sworn in as the 43rd president of the United States. Millions of people from around the world tuned in to watch the president give his address. The people who voted for and against him are both wanting to hear what the president has to say. George W. Bush gives an effective inaugural address by using biblical allusions, collaborative language, and an anaphora in order to unite the country after a contentious election. Bush used biblical allusions to appeal mostly to the evangelicals who were listening to his speech.

Read More

More about Obama Inaugural Speech Rhetorical Devices

Related Topics

Open Document