Speeches

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation."¹ Let’s pause and acknowledge the flashbacks to the grueling process of memorizing President Abraham Lincoln’s famous speech “The Gettysburg Address” (1863) in elementary or middle school. At the time, it wasn’t easy to understand the point of the assignment, but with age comes wisdom. More exposure to historical speeches shows their impact on society, including literature. Persuasive speeches have taken nations to war and changed moral views. Evaluating famous speeches teaches critical thinking and allows us to recognize the motives behind what our leaders tell us.

Speech definition in literature

In literature, a speech is a public discourse performed by an orator. In other words, a person uses a public forum to inform, persuade, or entertain a group of people. Speeches help create a space for people to discuss policies that affect society, either after the decision or during the decision-making process. When a speech is widely believed to be particularly moving, it becomes classified as a work of literature.

History of public speaking

Egyptians were the first known society to formulate guidelines for effective public speaking. They believed speeches should focus on listening as much as speaking and that orators should carefully choose their words, emphasizing concepts with a sense of permanency. Their ideas about rhetoric mirrored their culture, as later eras would as well.

Classical Period (500-400 BC)

Ancient Greece picked up where the Egyptians left off, and as political participation was highly valued, rhetoric became a serious philosophical study.

Roman Era (30 BC-476 AD)

The Greeks’ eloquence influenced the Romans, so they began to devise their own rules of rhetoric. Their speeches included humor and diversions to create interest for the audience.

Medieval Era (400 AD-1400 AD)

Popular thought during the Medieval era considered rhetoric a way to manipulate and hide the truth. Speeches were mainly religious in nature.

Renaissance Period (1400-1600 AD)

As this period saw an increase in academic study, scholars began looking back at previous forms of speech-making. There was an increased focus on style and logic over rhetoric. Other scholars felt morality and ethics were essential parts of an effective speech.

Enlightenment Period (1600-1800 AD)

The Enlightenment took the best of the past and applied it to the present. Philosophers studied persuasiveness and rhetoric through the lens of scientific and moral reasoning. The Enlightenment period combined Rhetoric inspired by the Classical Era with new ideas about how speech delivery influenced audiences.

New School (1900-Today)

Classical rhetoric informs modern theories. Thanks to technology, speeches can now be pre-recorded and delivered over the internet in addition to live events. Podcasts, Ted Talks, YouTube, and video conferences are all ways modern speeches are delivered.

Fig. 1 - Frederick Douglass escaped slavery and became known for his intellectually inspiring speeches.

Types of speeches

There are three broad types of speeches:

• Persuasive: Speeches that try to influence an audience to believe or do something.

Persuasive speeches

Speeches that become known as works of literature are usually persuasive. The best way to persuade an audience has been studied since the Egyptians laid a foundation for rhetoric. However, philosophers throughout history have offered different theories regarding the most effective ways to use rhetoric to persuade an audience. As a result, much of what is taught today is actually thousands of years old.

Marcus Tullius Cicero of Ancient Rome established a five-step process for writing a persuasive speech that is still widely respected and used, called the Five Canons of Rhetoric (50 BC):

1. Invention: How someone develops their idea. For example, to get ready for a political debate, a candidate will brainstorm about the main points they want to try to make.
2. Arrangement: Deciding how the orator should organize the speech. Rather than diving right into the solution to a civil rights issue, a speechwriter first introduces the problem, so the audience knows why they’re supposed to act.
3. Style: Language choices within the speech. For example, an orator should know their audience well enough to know whether or not humor will be appropriate.
4. Memory: the act of memorizing a speech. To see why this is important, consider political leaders' consequences when they slip up mid-speech or misread words on a teleprompter.
5. Delivery: How an orator presents the speech to the audience. People tend to trust a speaker who uses direct eye contact more than one who seems distracted because they keep looking down or off to the side.

Persuasive speech topics

Topics of a persuasive speech usually boil down to one of three types of debatable points:

• Issues of factresemble informative speeches because they provide information but go a step further and offer an opinion on whether the information is accurate.
  • For example, the specific details surrounding a historical event can sometimes be debated.
• Issues of policyshed light on a problem and suggest a solution.
  • For example, public health is a policy issue.
• Issues of valueare usually subjective and ever-changing because they concern beliefs about what is right or wrong, what is beautiful, and what is good or bad.
  • For example, a speaker's arguments for or against the death penalty are influenced by their values.

Evaluating speeches

A speech analysis essay examines how successfully a speech uses rhetorical devices to appeal to its audience.

The Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle established a formula known as the rhetorical triangle that balances three characteristics that work together to create a powerful speech:

1. Logos (Word): In a speech, logos is the appeal to logic. In an analysis, look at how well the speech argues its main points.
2. Ethos (Character): Ethos appeals to character, meaning it scrutinizes the reliability of the speech’s author. Ethos evaluates whether the speaker’s argument is credible.
3. Pathos (Sympathy): Pathos appeals to the audience’s emotions. A speech analysis essay delves into the beliefs that underlie the argument and how they resonate with the audience.

Evaluate a speech using the rhetorical triangle and these guidelines:

1. What is the purpose of the speech?

2. Who is the target audience, and how does the speech appeal to them?

3. Does the speech back its claims with reliable proof?

4. Who is the speaker, and what is their effect on the speech?

5. How and where was the speech delivered?

6. Was the speech compelling? Why or why not?

Fig. 2 - The speaking style of the famous Indian social activist, Gandhi, is similar to the Ancient Egyptians' in that he focused on listening to others.

Famous speeches in English Literature

Some speeches transcend their moment in time to become famous examples of the genre that continue to inspire others.

Demosthenes “Third Philippic” (341 BC)

Demosthenes was an Ancient Greek orator whose skills impressed Cicero three hundred years later. “Third Philippic” is the third speech Demosthenes made to his fellow Athenians to persuade them to go to war against Phillip of Macedon, who was creeping into their territory. After the speech, the Athenian Assembly immediately decided it was time to act.

Demosthenes studied for years to become one of the most respected orators in Athens (Ethos).

Demosthenes calls out the Assembly’s previous inaction, which appealed to their sense of duty (pathos).

Demosthenes provides proof of Phillip’s aggressive and devious behavior against other communities to convince the Assembly (logos).

George Washington “1783 Resignation Speech” (December 23, 1783)

George Washington commanded the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War and became the United States’ first President. He wrote this speech after the Revolutionary War was over and he had completed the duty bestowed on him.

One of the things Washington is famous for is that he didn’t seek out the offices he held. Instead, people saw his leadership qualities and asked him to serve. And when the job was done, Washington respectfully stepped away to let someone else take over (ethos).

Washington compliments the men he fought with and thanks God for their success, which is even better than the most optimistic expectations as an appeal to Congress’s peace of mind (pathos).

He logically argues that his job is complete because the war is won, so he is ready to stand aside (logos).

Sojourner Truth “Ain’t I A Woman?” (1851)

Sojourner Truth was a formerly enslaved person who became an activist. She gave the speech “Ain’t I A Woman?” at the Women’s Convention in Akron, Ohio, which calls out popular beliefs about race and gender.

Truth’s autobiography, The Narrative of Sojourner Truth (1850), brought her national attention, and she began speaking on various topics. She helped enslaved people escape slavery, and when the Civil War started, she encouraged African American men to help fight with the Union (Ethos).

Truth appeals to the audience’s beliefs about motherly love to question why her race sets her apart as deserving the right to vote along with other women (pathos).

Truth argues that she has done as much work as any man, so if men can vote because they work, she should be allowed to vote also (logos).

Literary speeches meld rhetorical skills with creative writing. They transport the reader to their moment in history and inspire future generations to act. Literary speeches act as a time capsule that allows a glimpse into a famous (or infamous) person's thoughts and emotions and helps readers better understand their influence on society.