Lou Gherig's Farwell Speech
The King's Speech
George Bush's Address to the Nation
Watch ALL THREE SPEECHES, then choose one and do a rhetorical analysis of it. Try and identify the five cannons of rhetoric in each. You can speak to the invention, organization, style, memory and delivery in each. Also, use the language we have learned. How is the rhetor establishing ethos, and appealing to logic and or speaking to the audiences emotions or pathos? What is the kairos of the speech? And in analyzing style, does the rhetor employ any schemes and or tropes? Really analyze the language.
Below are links to the speeches in writing for closer analysis.
https://baseballhall.org/discover/lou-gehrig-luckiest-man
https://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/George-VI-King-s-Speech-September-3-1939
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/gwbush911addresstothenation.htm
The speeches must all be done twice, so first come, first served. If you do your blog last, you will have to analyze whichever is left. Although I will say, they are all short and they are all fabulous.
A declaration of war would hang heavy on any tongue; so how could it be that King George IV, a man who suffered from a borderline debilitating stutter, could deliver Great Britain’s declaration on Germany in World War II with such eloquence and grace? The answer, of course, lies in the rhetoric applied to the writing and delivery of this profound piece. It is clear that this particular piece is treated with neither baselessness nor triviality, and is instead somberly underscored with the gravity of the situation. By way of invention, the entire speech is a response of consequence and thus calls on the commonplace of cause and effect. The organization or arrangement is very clear with the exordium and narratio creating a grim background for the sickeningly saddening thesis— that Great Britain is going to war with Germany. This and all subsequent sections of the speech are deeply enriched with the pathos of melancholic emotion. Throughout, King George IV provides his confirmatio by identifying each way that, despite all attempts to reconcile, the nation is unable to avoid conflict. His refutatio is borne from his confirmatio when he further identifies the rift using the logical differences between his own country and his enemy. He denotes the very doctrine they live by, claiming that it is primitive in nature and established through force, separate from the freedoms experienced in his own country. The peroratio is befitting of such an address serving as a call to arms and a prayer to God. Stylistically, the speech contains quite a bit of parallelism and antithesis, especially in the few comparisons between the enemy state and Great Britain. In the movie dramatization of the speech, King George does not seem to have the piece completely committed to memory. However, this does not seem completely necessary given the context that the speech is performed as a radio broadcast. The delivery is comprehensible as a result of the chunking that almost seems to be a byproduct of the king’s stutter. He is clear in both enunciation and pronunciations, and his tone matches the significance of the words being spoken, making each of the words far more believable. Furthermore, the clarity with which he speaks in spite of his impediment only serves to strengthen his ethos. It is only through rhetoric that such words could be delivered with the proper grace and dignity befitting of them.
ReplyDeleteI like how you included narratio, exordium, and refutatio to further develop your retorhical analysis.
DeleteI like how you discussed his speech impediment helping his ethos rather than hurter it. It gives a different view of something that usually hurts a person.
DeleteJuly 4, 1939, Lou Gehrig stood in the Yankee Stadium and gave one of the most iconic speeches in sports history. He stood in front of millions of baseball fans as he addressed his ‘break’ in being diagnosed with ALS. His kairos was almost perfect because not only was he front of his fans and the baseball community, but these people had also been talking about it for around two weeks at this point. This would make them all much more interested in what exactly he was going to say. Gehrig wastes no time establishing his ethos, saying that he’s been associated with baseball for seventeen years. He continues to name all of the influential leaders in the sport that he has gotten to work with, which shows his knowledge and skill in the game. He then talks about how he’s been looked up to, and everything good he has, not only from baseball, but from his life. When he starts with he ethos, he also slips in some pathos. He appeals to the emotions of the fans by telling them what he’s received from them, kindness and encouragement. He also does this at the end when he talks about what the people in his personal life have done for him. People like his mom, dad, in-laws, and wife. Logos, however, is where he talks about all the amazing people he’s met because of his baseball career. This shows things he’s gotten to learn from and how much he knows about the game. The last two cannons of rhetoric, memory and delivery, were the most apparent to me. This speech was from his heart, so he knew it inside and out. His delivery was so good. He gave a good tone, paused at appropriate places, and really emphasized words at important places. While Lou Gehrig had a hard break, his speech certainly showed he had a lot to live for.
ReplyDeleteYour example of kairos is great, I didn’t not see it like that!
DeleteI personally find it interesting that you found his memory and delivery to be the most significant parts of his speech. It must be true then that they serve a real purpose in the establishment of Gehrig's credibility.
Delete“Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” This is a statement from Lou Gehrig, a profound baseball player who developed ALS or otherwise known for Lou Gehrig’s Disease. The statement above demonstrates Lou’s goodwill to see the cup half full. Knowing that he has very little time to live and play baseball he develops this speech that touched the lives of many other people. Gehrig invents and organizes this speech through his determination of goodwill. His style is that of a man determined to make a statement. He wants to change people and not have them be sad for the loss. Lou Gehrig’s memory and delivery within the speech come from the heart. It’s a speech that sounds as it is coming from a courageous baseball man who is going to loose a lot but still recognizes what he has. Lou establishes pathos dramatically throughout his short speech. Many emotions are drawn from his speech showing that it is very well written and it’s incredible it can do this for how short it is. He draws these emotions by making the audience including himself think about what they have and then lets them think about what many other people don’t have. The kairos of the speech is a propitious moment when a man develops a life changing obstacle which takes a lot away from him. But he realizes he has many other things that he loves and makes him happy. At the end of the speech he says this, "So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for." He uses schemes and trophy throughout his speech. The main one he uses is anaphora after every statement he either says “sure I am lucky” or he says “ now that’s something.”
ReplyDeleteWow, maybe I should have put actual examples from the text in mine like you did in your examples of schemes and tropes. I will definitely consider doing that the next time.
DeleteI like the way you discussed his good will. It gave me a different view than what I saw.
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