JFK INAUGURAL SPEECH

Rhetoric and essay guide.

Youngest ever, first

Roman Catholic, won
by a small margin
Common Heritage,
purpose, human
rights, obligations

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Rhet. Strategies before writing an essay?

*Please copy these into your graphic

organizer

John F. Kennedy
43 yr old
Youngest
There are many common enemies, Cold War
Civil
Rights Mov
Pres.Such as tyranny, poverty, disease, and
war,

Est. Authority,
Asks nation and world
Respect, Support
To help do Gods work and not
Fight against each other
Democrat
Catholic
he wanted to establish his leadership,
gain respect, and create unity.
- Won by 120k vote
Cold Jan- 1961

AP LANG Wk4.3 EQ?- How can I Organize the

Rhet. Strategies before writing an essay?

tly short paragraphs (12 have 1, 6 have 2, 8 have 3)= Declarative= leade
ses 20 complex sentences = to sound thorough and logic
hora-= To those old allies, states, huts/villages/ sister republics
advasaries.= to acknowledge everyone, not forget poor
llelism- Let Both sides= gives balance, respect, equality to Russia
Periodic Sentence- a trumpet summons us , not to arms
or battle, but to face common enemies= builds
suspense and momentum to the crescendo to accept a
Asyndetonpay any price, bear any burden support any
common goal
friend, appose any foe begins with leaving out the final
conjunction to suggest he will do any and all things to help
Antimetaboleshows
his balance
fearing
to
friends and defeat
foes,
kindnesstoisnever
not a sign
of weakness.
negotiate
andomitted
asking what the nation/world can do.
Conjunctions
Words
repeated
in reverse
order
Horative
Sentenceasks the
country to act, participate,
take responsibility=
Leadership, trust his fellow citizens can- call to
action

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Some archaic words, like forbearers, Revolutionary and

Solemn oath= creates authority/credibility
fellow citizens- relates to
all, cooperate/not dictate
freedom, poverty, devotion,
loyalty, and sacrifice
Sister republics south of the border=
good neighbors/not selfish/racist
huts villages have connotations of helping
poor people- and builds ethos =wont
ignore/neglect
needy sacrifice, good
Ends
with strength,
conscience, sure reward

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- Wants to fight for peoples rights that

come from God, not Government
- Wants to help people help themselves
- -recognizes/respects Russia- rightly
armed., but suggets both sides seek for
peace, and fight common enemies of war,
tyranny, poverty, and disease
- These goals wont be met anytime soon
but still let us begin= focuses on moral
goals of trying and perseverance.

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Begins with allusions to the revolutionand subtly

alludes to the Declaration of Independence when
saying our rights come from God, as Jefferson
wrote we are endowed by our Creator with
unalienable rights. He possible left out naming
the DoI strategically, build intrigue, builds
logos/ethos,
but
with his
own
originality,
he uses
bonds of mass
misery
and
chains
of
poetic
language
to rhyme Government and Godpoverty=
pathos
Finishes Let
both sides with a powerful allusion
creating a fresh new and memorable way for
to Isaiah 58:6- that both sides help undo heavy
citizens to realize they are all free and have rights.
burdens and let oppressed go free-CLIMAX-to
establish
authority
and build pathos
biblical
Finishes
with
Encouragement
with antoallusion
of12,
freedom.
tovalues
Roman
to be patient and hopeful.
We can expect a sure reward (Proverbs
11:18) if we make Gods work our own

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Repetition all of the place

SEE SYNTAX
To those , Let Both sides, Ask not

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By using short, declarative sentences, antithesis, and antimetabole = Kennedys tone is

one of eloquence and confidence in
defending the nation, yet balanced with
compassion and energy = helping his
listeners see his logic.
Repetition shows his compassionate tone, and
makes his requests or directives memorable.
Yet allusions to the Bible reveal an
authoritative and moralistic tone= helping
establish trust from his listeners.

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By using clear/repetitious, and balanced

sentences (anti-thesis, and antimetabole) =
Kennedys aims to establish his authority, and
set confident tone for his supporters and
enemies.
He begins and ends with Biblical freedoms and
eternal admonitions- to focus on common
enemies, not on fighting each other, a message
he hoped mortal nations, like Russia, and
domestic groups, those fighting for Civil Rights,
would begin to follow.
*Add hook-

How do words like freedom, poverty, devotion,

loyalty, and sacrifice set the tone of the speech?
These words are strong sources of emotional
persuasion. They touch chords in us, while at the
same time they allow listeners to interpret the ideas
in a personal way. Such diction appeals to those
shared values the audience holds dear. They also set
the tone as formal, appropriate to the occasion of a
new president of the United States taking office.

2. Find examples of formal

rhetorical tropes such as
metaphor and personification.
personification.

Some examples of metaphor are beachhead of

cooperation, bonds of mass misery, and jungle of
suspicion; sister republics and prey of hostile powers
are examples of

RHETORICAL DEVICES?
3. DOES KENNEDY USE ANY FIGURES OF
SPEECH THAT MIGHT BE CONSIDERED
CLICHS? WHICH METAPHORS ARE FRESHER?
IS THERE A PATTERN TO THEIR USE?
This is probably a tough question for anyone and
will depend on the background of both teacher
and students. Some might consider the bonds of
mass misery and chains of poverty to be
clichs; they work in these paragraphs (9 and 10),
however, because Kennedy is not telling a new
story here. The language in the next couple of
paragraphs is fresher perhaps because Kennedy is
talking about hope for the future through the
United Nations, a fairly new organization, and
through technology and science. We see examples
of fresh language in such phrases as the area in
which its writ may run (paragraph 11), that takes
advantage of alliteration as it personifies the U.N.,

SYNTAX

1. THE SPEECH IS A SUCCESSION OF

TWENTY-EIGHT SHORT PARAGRAPHS.
TWELVE PARAGRAPHS HAVE ONLY ONE
SENTENCE, EIGHT HAVE TWO, AND SIX
HAVE THREE SENTENCES (MATH!!). WHY
DO YOU THINK KENNEDY USED THESE
SHORT PARAGRAPHS?
THE SHORT PARAGRAPHS ARE AN EARLY
VERSION OF WHAT WE NOW REFER TO
AS BULLET POINTS; EACH ONE REVEALS
ONE OF KENNEDYS PRINCIPLES OR
PROMISES. THEY ALSO OFFER NATURAL
PAUSES IN THE DELIVERY OF THE
SPEECH.

BREVITY IS A HALLMARK OF THE SPEECH. THE

SHORT SENTENCES ARE DECLARATIVE AND
COMMUNICATE AUTHORITY AND CONFIDENCE;
THEY MAY ALSO BE A NOD TO THE COLD
WEATHER THAT DAY. THE LONG SENTENCE IN
PARAGRAPH 4 TAKES ITS TIME MAKING THE
CONNECTION BETWEEN THE REVOLUTION
THAT CREATED THIS COUNTRY AND THE
GENERATION HARDENED BY THE RECENT
WORLD WAR.
3. MORE THAN TWENTY SENTENCES ARE
COMPLEX SENTENCESTHAT IS, SENTENCES
THAT CONTAIN A SUBORDINATE CLAUSE. HOW
DO COMPLEX SENTENCES SUGGEST HIDDEN
ENERGY?
THE SUBORDINATE CLAUSES THAT BEGIN
MANY OF THE COMPLEX SENTENCES HELP
BUILD STEAM; THEY ENERGIZE THE

ANTITHESIS IN PARALLEL GRAMMATICAL

STRUCTURES: TO THOSE OLD ALLIES;
TO THOSE NEW STATES; IF A FREE
SOCIETY CANNOT HELP THE MANY WHO
ARE POOR, IT CANNOT SAVE THE FEW
WHO ARE RICH; AND, OF COURSE,
[A]SK NOT WHAT YOUR COUNTRY CAN
DO FOR YOUASK WHAT YOU CAN DO
FOR YOUR COUNTRY. WHAT DOES THIS
USE OF OPPOSITES SUGGEST ABOUT THE
PURPOSE OF KENNEDYS SPEECH? THE
YOUNG KENNEDY, WHO HAD WON THE
ELECTION BY A SMALL MARGIN,
FOCUSED ON UNITY IN THIS SPEECH.
ADDRESSING OPPOSITES, AS HE DOES
HERE, REASSURES HIS AUDIENCE THAT
HE INTENDS TO BE EVERYONES

ALSO HELP CREATE THE TONE OF

YOUTHFUL ENERGY. TRY READING SOME
ALOUD TO HEAR THE ZIP THAT COMES
FROM THE CLASSIC SUBJECT-VERBOBJECT STRUCTURE.
6. PARAGRAPH 24 CONSISTS OF TWO
RHETORICAL QUESTIONS. HOW DO THEY
ACT AS A TRANSITION TO KENNEDYS
CALL FOR ACTION?
IN THIS SPEECH THE RHETORICAL
QUESTIONS REMIND US THAT THE
YOUNG PRESIDENT WAS INTERESTED IN
BUILDING CONSENSUS RATHER THAN
DICTATING. THEY ARE UNIFYING RATHER
THAN DIVISIVE. THE FIRST ASKS IF THE
WORLD CAN WORK TOGETHER TO

AP LANG WK4.1 EQ?- HOW DO WRITERS USE

RHETORICAL DEVICES?
7. FIND EXAMPLES OF RHETORICAL SCHEMES SUCH AS
ANAPHORA AND ZEUGMA. ON PAGES 58-59 WE OFFER A
GLOSSARY OF STYLISTIC DEVICES WITH EXAMPLES FROM
KENNEDYS SPEECH.

BUT WHILE IT IS FUN TO KNOW THEIR TECHNICAL NAMES,

RECOGNIZING THE PARALLEL QUALITY OF, SAY, ZEUGMA OR
ANTIMETABOLE, IS MORE IMPORTANT. AND EVEN MORE
IMPORTANT IS RECOGNIZING THE UNIFYING EFFECT OF
PARALLEL STRUCTURE AND OTHER SCHEMES AND TROPES. WE
STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT IT IS MORE IMPORTANT FOR FOR
STUDENTS TO EXPLAIN HOW A TECHNIQUE OR STRATEGY
WORKS THAN IT IS FOR THEM TO MERELY TO STATE THAT IT IS
THERE.

AP LANG WK4.1 EQ?- HOW DO WRITERS USE RHETORICAL

DEVICES?
8. CONSIDER THE SPEECHS MANY EXAMPLES OF PARALLELISM:
BORN IN THIS COUNTRY, TEMPERED BY WAR, DISCIPLINED BY
A HARD AND BITTER PEACE, PROUD OF OUR ANCIENT
HERITAGE; PAY ANY PRICE, BEAR ANY BURDEN, MEET ANY
HARDSHIP, SUPPORT ANY FRIEND, OPPOSE ANY FOE. HOW DO
THEY LEND THEMSELVES TO KENNEDYS PURPOSE? AS
MENTIONED ABOVE, PARALLEL STRUCTURE, HAS THE EFFECT
OF UNIFYING AND REASSURING THROUGHOUT THE SPEECH. IN
THE FIRST EXAMPLE, WAR IS JUXTAPOSED WITH PEACE, BUT
THE SUGGESTION IS THAT A STRONG PEOPLE CAN LEARN FROM
EACH. IN THE SECOND, THE PROGRESSION OF VERBS SHOWS
THAT KENNEDY UNDERSTANDS THE CONNECTIONS AMONG THE
PEOPLE HE IS PLEDGING TO SERVE, AS WELL AS THE COMMON
GOALS THEY ALL SHARE. THE PARALLELISM OF PARAGRAPH 21
ALSO SERVES TO CALL THE AUDIENCE TO ACTION IN A SHARED
AND UNIFIED PURSUIT. IT ALSO TEMPERS EXPECTATIONS,
WHILE SEWING HOPE FOR PEACE AND PROSPERITY IN THE
FUTURE.

9. KENNEDY USES HORTATIVE SENTENCES

(LANGUAGE THAT URGES OR CALLS TO ACTION)
IN PARAGRAPHS 2-21: LET US, LET BOTH
SIDES. LATER IN PARAGRAPHS 26-27, HE USES
THE IMPERATIVE: ASK AND ASK NOT. WHAT
IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO
FORMS AND WHY DID HE START WITH ONE AND
END WITH THE OTHER? AGAIN, THE PURPOSE
OF KENNEDYS SPEECH IS TO BUILD UNITY. THE
HORTATIVE SENTENCES USE OF LETS
SUGGESTS THAT HE IS WILLING TO ROLL UP
HIS SLEEVES AND DIG IN WITH THE REST OF
US. AS THE SPEECH NEARS THE END, HE IS
MORE DEMANDING. PERHAPS IT IS BECAUSE
HE HAS ALREADY SHOWN HIS COMMITMENT TO
SERVICE AND IS ALMOST DEMANDING THAT
THE REST OF US TO DO THE SAME.
ESSAY PROMPT: WRITE AN ESSAY ANALYZING
THE RHETORICAL ANALYSIS JOHN F KENNEDY

Use the
template to
help you write
your
rhetorical
analysis of
JFKs
inaugural
speech