Analyzing Exceptional Speeches

Certain speeches become emblazoned on the collective brain of a culture. “I have a dream,” “Ain’t I a woman?” and “Fourscore and seven years ago” remain iconic long after their speakers have passed. What is it about some speeches that remain in our consciousness long after they are spoken? Is it the inherited wisdom of their greatness? Or is there something about their construction that makes them indelible? What factors contribute to making a speech memorable for decades to come?

In this lesson, students will study one of America’s best-known speeches, The Gettysburg Address, as well as six notable speeches: Robert F. Kennedy’s remarks at the University of Kansas; Barack Obama’s 2008 speech about race; environmental activist Greta Thunberg’s speech before the United Nations; soccer champion Abby Wambach’s Barnard College Commencement speech; and Oprah Winfrey’s acceptance of the Cecil B. DeMille Award. Students will learn about and identify the common elements of a speech and pinpoint both a speech and a passage that they find meaningful or memorable. Then, after exploring examples within these speeches of common rhetorical devices, students wiill return to their chosen selection to see which of these devices gives that section its resonance. The lesson will culminate in students creating a slide or classroom poster illustrating the quote and highlighting its rhetorical devices. These can serve as a means of reinforcing the devices with the rest of the class and can illuminate for the group the passages of writing that are worth remembering. 

Essential Questions:

• What do most speeches have in common? 
• How do rhetorical devices make speeches meaningful and memorable?
• How do speakers use time and place to reinforce their call to action?

Objectives:

Students will be able to…

• Identify the speaker, audience, occasion/issue and purpose of significant American speeches 
• Analyze how rhetorical devices imbue writing with meaning