The Eloquence of President John F Kennedy Examining

  • Slides: 25
Download presentation
The Eloquence of President John F. Kennedy Examining Figures of Speech http: //www. seattlemet.

The Eloquence of President John F. Kennedy Examining Figures of Speech http: //www. seattlemet. com/news-and-profiles/publicola/articles/publicalendar-november-13 2013

President Kennedy • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=K 7 b. Gilr. AQ 5 •

President Kennedy • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=K 7 b. Gilr. AQ 5 • John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the 35 th President of the United States • At age 43, he was the youngest to have been elected to the office, the second-youngest president, and the first person born in the 20 th century to serve as president. • The only Roman Catholic president and the only president to have won a Pulitzer Prize. • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=5 C 3 gq. IR 8 Ro. I

 • John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the 35 th President at

• John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the 35 th President at noon on January 20, 1961. • He won the election by one of the smallest popular vote margins in history. • Kennedy’s goals: (1)to inspire the nation (2) alert the world of challenges of the Cold War, and (3) promote hope for peace in the nuclear age. • He also wanted to be brief (power and poetry)

 • He studied other inaugural speeches and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address • The finely-crafted

• He studied other inaugural speeches and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address • The finely-crafted final speech had been revised and reworked numerous • 1, 355 words in length, comprised of short phrases and words • captivated his audience required a powerful delivery.

 • Following his inaugural address, nearly seventy-five percent of Americans expressed approval of

• Following his inaugural address, nearly seventy-five percent of Americans expressed approval of President Kennedy.

Part Two: Why was JFK’s Speech so Powerful? A. B. C. D. Figures of

Part Two: Why was JFK’s Speech so Powerful? A. B. C. D. Figures of Speech Master of rhetoric persuasive Good looking

What are Figures of Speech? • • Graces of language The dressing of thought

What are Figures of Speech? • • Graces of language The dressing of thought Embellishment Figures of Speech do decorate prose, but that is not there sole function

What Figures of Speech Do • According to Aristotle: • They give clearness and

What Figures of Speech Do • According to Aristotle: • They give clearness and liveliness to our expressions • They balance our writing between “the obvious and the obscure” • They help our audience grasp our ideas promptly

 • According to Longinus: • They “infuse vehemence and passion into our spoken

• According to Longinus: • They “infuse vehemence and passion into our spoken words” • “…when combined with argumentative passages it…persuades the hearer…”

 • Figures of Speech render out thoughts in a vivid, concrete way. •

• Figures of Speech render out thoughts in a vivid, concrete way. • They stir up emotional responses • Deliver a message clearly and effectively • Allows a writer or speaker’s eloquence exert powerful ethical appeal f

So, a Figure of Speech Is: • “a form of speech artfully varied from

So, a Figure of Speech Is: • “a form of speech artfully varied from common usage”— Quintilian

You Have Been using Figures of Speech All Your Life • Because language has

You Have Been using Figures of Speech All Your Life • Because language has figurative resources

Two Main Groups • Schemes- deviation from the ordinary pattern or arrangement of words

Two Main Groups • Schemes- deviation from the ordinary pattern or arrangement of words • Tropes- deviation from the ordinary and principal signification of a word

 • • • Both involve a change in meaning to a degree Both

• • • Both involve a change in meaning to a degree Both involve transference Trope transfers meaning Example irony Scheme transfers order of meaning Example Hyperbaton

Treasure in JFK’s Speech • • • Alliteration Anaphora Anastrophe Antithesis Assonance Consonance Metaphor

Treasure in JFK’s Speech • • • Alliteration Anaphora Anastrophe Antithesis Assonance Consonance Metaphor Simile Parallelism Paradox Repetition

 • Alliteration: repetition of the same sound beginning several words in a sequence

• Alliteration: repetition of the same sound beginning several words in a sequence • Example: • Alie angrily ate apples and acorns.

 • Anaphora: repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive

• Anaphora: repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses or lines. • Example: • Tracy didn’t scream. Tracy didn’t cry. Tracy didn’t say a word— until she saw the blood.

 • Anastrophe: transposition of normal word order • Example: • “Good, it is,

• Anastrophe: transposition of normal word order • Example: • “Good, it is, ” Yoda squealed while swinging his light saber, “the force to know. Geoge Lucus, your father is. ” http: //www. comicvine. com/forums/battles-7/yoda-runs-the-gauntlet-1517214/

 • Antithesis: contrast of ideas or words in a parallel structure • Example

• Antithesis: contrast of ideas or words in a parallel structure • Example • He’s easy on the heart, but hard on the eyes.

 • Assonance: repetition of vowel sounds in non-rhyming words • Example • "I

• Assonance: repetition of vowel sounds in non-rhyming words • Example • "I lie down by the side of my bride" • "Fleet feet sweep by sleeping geese" • "Hear the lark and harden to the barking of the dark fox gone to ground" by Pink Floyd http: //mosttalentedartists. blogspot. com/201 2_12_01_archive. html

 • Consonance: repetition of consonant sounds within words or ending words • Example

• Consonance: repetition of consonant sounds within words or ending words • Example • I'll swing by my ankles. She'll cling to your knees. As you hang by your nose, From a high-up trapeze. But just one thing, please, As we float through the breeze, Don't sneeze. - The Acrobats by Shel Silverstein

 • Metaphor: implied comparison through a figurative, not literal, use of words •

• Metaphor: implied comparison through a figurative, not literal, use of words • Example • Life is a highway, and I just got my driver’s license.

 • Simile- an explicit comparison between two unlike things, yet they have something

• Simile- an explicit comparison between two unlike things, yet they have something in common. • Example • I sat still, like jelly in a jar.

 • Paradox: a statement that seems self-contradictory, yet turns out to have a

• Paradox: a statement that seems self-contradictory, yet turns out to have a rational meaning • Example • Mitch is a one-man army.

 • Repetition: a word or phrase used two or more times in close

• Repetition: a word or phrase used two or more times in close proximity • Example • “A horse is a horse, of course, And no one can talk to a horse of course That is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mister Ed. ” • theme song of Mr. Ed, a 1960 s TV program.